Wetta Frank J - Reconstruction: Event, Experience and Myth: The Long Reconstruction

A century and a half after the Civil War, Americans are still dealing with the legacies of the conflict and Reconstruction, including the many myths and legends spawned by these events. The Long Reconstruction: The Post-Civil War South in History, Film, and Memory brings together history and popular culture to explore how the events of this era have been remembered.

Looking at popular cinema across the last hundred years, The Long Reconstruction uncovers central themes in the history of Reconstruction, including violence and terrorism; the experiences of African Americans and those of women and children; the Lost Cause ideology; and the economic reconstruction of the American South.

Analyzing influential films such as The Birth of a Nation and Gone with the Wind, as well as more recent efforts such as Cold Mountain and Lincoln, the authors show how the myths surrounding Reconstruction have impacted American culture.

This engaging book is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of Reconstruction, historical memory, and popular culture.

Frank J. Wetta is Lecturer, Department of History and Senior Fellow, Center for History Politics and Policy, Kean University. He is the author of The Louisiana Scalawags: Politics, Race, and Terrorism during the Civil War and Reconstruction (2012).

Martin A. Novelli is Professor of Film, History, and Humanities at Ocean County College, New Jersey. He also teaches fi lm history at the University of the Arts, Philadelphia.

The Long Reconstruction

The Post-Civil War South in History, Film, and Memory

Frank J. Wetta and
Martin A. Novelli

First published 2014
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

Simultaneously published in the UK
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2014 Taylor & Francis

The rights of Frank Wetta and Martin Novelli to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Wetta, Frank Joseph, 1942
The long reconstruction : the post-Civil War south in history, film, and memory / Frank Wetta and Martin Novelli.
pages cm
1. Reconstruction (U.S. history, 18651877)Social aspects. 2. Popular cultureSouthern StatesHistory19th century. 3. United StatesHistoryCivil War, 18611865Motion pictures and the war. 4. Collective memorySouthern States 5. Southern StatesSocial life and customs18656. MemorySocial aspectsSouthern States. 7. United StatesHistoryCivil War, 18611865Infl uence. 8. United StatesHistoryCivil War, 18611865Social aspects. I. Novelli, Martin. II. Title.
E668.W48 2013
973.8dc23
2013010029

ISBN: 978-0-415-89464-7 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-89465-4 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-12226-6 (ebk)

Typeset in Sabon
by Apex CoVantage, LLC

For Rachel and Mary

Frank J. Wetta

For my wife Lisa, for my sons Max and Jake,
and for my brother Lawrence

Martin A. Novelli

The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down:
Constructing Reconstruction History

I Am Vengeful and I Shall Not Sleep:
The Civil War and the Legacy of Violence during Reconstruction

A Gallant Soldier and a Christian Gentleman:
The Reconciliation of North and South

The Civil War and Reconstruction are commonly thought of as occurring in sequencefirst came the war and then Reconstruction. Actually, the war and the struggle over Reconstruction took place simultaneously until 1865. After the Confederate surrender in 1865, the contest over the future of the South continued for at least another twelve years. Some would argue the struggle continued much longerperhaps another hundred years. The chronology below divides this history into distinct phases that marked significant events in the process of Reconstruction. (See The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down: Constructing Reconstruction History.)

The process of Reconstruction during Lincoln's presidency was fluid, reflecting the president's belief that his primary duty was to save the Union. He based his Reconstruction policies on his expansive concept of the war powers of the presidency.