• 1865 Alabama: From Civil War to Uncivil Peace
by Christopher Lyle McIlwain, Sr. (Univ of Ala Pr, 2017)
In 1865 Alabama, author Christopher McIlwain "examines the end of the Civil War and the early days of Reconstruction in the state and details what he interprets as strategic failures of Alabama’s political leadership. The actions, and inactions, of Alabamians during those twelve months caused many self-inflicted wounds that haunted them for the next century." The author's thesis "focuses on four factors: the immediate and unconditional emancipation of the slaves, the destruction of Alabama’s remaining industrial economy, significant broadening of northern support for suffrage rights for the freedmen, and an acute and lengthy postwar shortage of investment capital. Each element proves critically important in understanding how present-day Alabama was forged."In the final estimation, the book "provides a sifting analysis of what really happened in Alabama in 1865 and why it happened—debunking in the process the myth that Alabama’s problems were unnecessarily brought on by the North. The overarching theme demonstrates that Alabama’s postwar problems were of its own making. They would have been quite avoidable, (the author) argues, if Alabama’s political leadership had been savvier."
Alabama 1865 is a companion to McIlwain's earlier study Civil War Alabama
(Alabama, 2016), which covers the war years (I don't have a copy of it, so can't comment on it). Apparently, readers will not find themselves nodding to themselves throughout McIlwain's overviews. According to George Rable's Civil War Alabama jacket blurb, the author "advances a number of striking and controversial interpretations." In similar vein, in Alabama 1865 McIlwain offers a "controversial argument regarding the effect of Lincoln’s assassination." More on this from the book description: "Most historians assume that Lincoln favored black suffrage and that he would have led the fight to impose that on the South. But he made it clear to his cabinet members that granting suffrage rights was a matter to be decided by the southern states, not the federal government. Thus, according to McIlwain, if Lincoln had lived, black suffrage would not have been the issue it became in Alabama."
(Alabama, 2016), which covers the war years (I don't have a copy of it, so can't comment on it). Apparently, readers will not find themselves nodding to themselves throughout McIlwain's overviews. According to George Rable's Civil War Alabama jacket blurb, the author "advances a number of striking and controversial interpretations." In similar vein, in Alabama 1865 McIlwain offers a "controversial argument regarding the effect of Lincoln’s assassination." More on this from the book description: "Most historians assume that Lincoln favored black suffrage and that he would have led the fight to impose that on the South. But he made it clear to his cabinet members that granting suffrage rights was a matter to be decided by the southern states, not the federal government. Thus, according to McIlwain, if Lincoln had lived, black suffrage would not have been the issue it became in Alabama."
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