Reconstruction Archives

July 19, 1881: Atlanta Washerwomen’s Strike

Black women in Atlanta who washed clothes for a living organized an effective Reconstruction era strike — with clear demands, strategic timing, and door-to-door canvassing.

Black Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre

Book — Non-fiction. By Brandy Colbert. 2021. 216 pages.
History of Oklahoma including Trail of Tears, Reconstruction, Black towns, Red Summer, Jim Crow, Black and white newspapers, lynchings, Tulsa Race Massacre, and the ongoing fight for reparations and historical memory.

Statue of Octavius Catto with people gathered around it

Oct. 10, 1871: Octavius Catto Killed on Election Day in Philadelphia

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Black educator, baseball player, and civil rights activist Octavius V. Catto was murdered by a white supremacist on election day.

Freedom’s Unfinished Revolution: An Inquiry Into the Civil War and Reconstruction

Teaching Guide. By American Social History Project with foreword by Eric Foner. 1996.
Primary documents, essays, and questions to teach the untold story of Reconstruction.

Oct. 25, 1868: St. Bernard Parish Massacre

The St. Bernard Parish massacre of African Americans was carried out by white men to terrorize the recently emancipated voters in Louisiana.

Oct. 19, 1870: First African Americans Elected to the House of Representatives

For the first time, African Americans were elected to the House of Representatives in 1870.

Make Good the Promises: Reclaiming Reconstruction and Its Legacies

Book — Non-fiction. Edited by Kinshasha Holman Conwill and Paul Gardullo. 2021. 224 pages.
Essays on the history and legacy of Reconstruction, a companion to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture exhibit.

Freedom Road

Book — Fiction. By Howard Fast. 1944. 294 pages.
The politics and economics of Reconstruction told through memorable historical fiction.

The Amazing Age of John Roy Lynch

Picture book. By Chris Barton. Illustrated by Don Tate. 2015. 50 pages.
An in-depth look at the Reconstruction period through the life of one of the first African-American congressmen.

Nov. 5, 1867: Alabama State Constitution

Delegates gathered in Montgomery, Alabama, to draft a new state constitution during Reconstruction.

Nov. 3, 1874: Robert Smalls Elected

Robert Smalls was elected to Congress from South Carolina during Reconstruction.

Nov. 1, 1890: Mississippi Constitution

Mississippi adopted a state constitution with poll tax and literacy tests to roll back the gains of the Reconstruction era.

Nov. 23, 1887: Thibodaux Massacre

Between 30-60 striking Black Louisiana sugarcane workers were massacred.

Teaching a People’s History of Abolition and the Civil War

Teaching Guide. Edited by Adam Sanchez. 2019. Rethinking Schools. 181 pages.
Students will discover the real abolition story, one about some of the most significant grassroots social movements in U.S. history.

Oct. 30, 1870: Protest of Racist Policies on Streetcars in Louisville

Reconstruction era protest of racist discrimination on streetcars in Louisville, Kentucky.

Dec. 6, 1865: 13th Amendment Ratified

The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution officially ended the institution of slavery.

Dec. 4, 1865: Ex-Confederate States Blocked From Joining 39th Congress

After the Civil War, representatives from states recently in rebellion were blocked from being sworn-in at the 39th Congress.

Seizing Freedom Podcast

Podcast. Written and hosted by Kidada E. Williams. 2021.
A Black history podcast tells stories "drawn from archives of voices from American history that have been muted time and time again."

Black Was the Ink

Book — Fiction. By Michelle Coles. Illustrations by Justin Johnson. 2021. 368 pages.
A powerful coming-of-age story and an eye-opening exploration of the Reconstruction era.

Jan. 9, 1864: Sgt. William Walker Found Guilty of Mutiny

Sgt. Walker was convicted of mutiny and killed, one of nineteen Union soldiers executed by the Union army for mutiny during the Civil War, fourteen of whom were Black.

Dec. 13, 1872: Reconstruction Era Convening to Demand End to Slavery in Cuba

A meeting was held in New York of abolitionists to address the injustice of continued slavery in Cuba.

Educational Reconstruction (Book) | Zinn Education Project

Educational Reconstruction: African American Schools in the Urban South, 1865-1890

Book — Non-fiction. By Hilary Green. 2016. 272 pages.
An in-depth look at postwar African American education and the gains of Reconstruction.

April 23, 1866: Freedmen Demand Equal Medical Treatment

William Beverly Nash and several others asked the federal government to intervene to ensure equal medical treatment for all.

Nov. 7, 1861: The Port Royal Experiment Initiated

The Union Army occupied the Sea Islands off the coast of South Carolina, freeing approximately 10,000 people who had been enslaved, starting what became known as the Port Royal Experiment.

portrait of Detroit educator Fannie Richards

May 12, 1869: Detroit Educator Fannie Richards Helps to Desegregate Michigan Schools

The Michigan Supreme Court ruled in favor of school desegregation in the case of Joseph Workman v. the Detroit Board of Education, almost 90 years before the United States’ landmark Brown v. Board of Education.

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