The Reconstruction Era
Highlights
1. African Americans and others knew that the institution of slavery was one of the primary practices being tested.
2. Everyone in the United States as experiencing the tensions generated by the increasing number of religious denominations and by the rise of scientific inquiry that challenged traditional explanations and introduced new social theories and practices.
3. The great post-bellum task was one of the reaffirming the blueprint for a new and better version of the Pilgrim’s City upon a Hill and of rebuilding its institutions and reconciling its population.
4. The desire to remake, not merely repair, the country was especially apparent in discussions of gender roles and rights.
5. Reconstruction is generally identified as the years 1865 and 1877.
6. With slavery officially outlawed, the white south moved quickly to protest its interest by codifying the very white supremacist ideology that had under girded the chattel slave system.
7. The limited social and economic gains that African Americans experienced immediately after the war were quickly reversed when, in 1877, withdrawal of federal troops, reversal by state and federal courts of protective legislation for African Americans, and the return to power of the Democrats signaled the end of Reconstruction.
8. It took only 2 or 3 years to deconstruct the institutions and to repeal of replace the legislation of the Reconstruction decade.
9. Random violence and systematic oppression were supported by Jim Crow laws, which legalized racial segregation in virtually every area of life.
10. The last part of the 19th century and the 1st few years of the 20th centuries became known in African American history as the “the Nadir of Black Experience”.
11. The “Progressive Period” is called Decades of Disappointment for blacks with the great migration.
12. Despite the violence and blatant inequalities, literacy among African Americans rose.
13. African American writers recorded it all in ways parallel to intersecting with and diverging from methods.
14. African American literature in the 19th century and early 20th century confirmed and manifested creativity.
15. Post-bellum slave narratives championed the rugged individualism and successful transcendence.
16. Post-bellum slave narrators recast the sin and suffering of slavery as trials and tribulations.
17. As education developed with the advent of freedman’s schools as did the need for relevant and accurate texts.
18. Texts were used to shoe white readers black were able to rebuild nation and instruct blacks to a more satisfying future.
19. The majorities of black writers were published 1st and frequently in the African American press which was ignored.
20. The African American press wasn't a single company but a diverse group unified to explore forward thinking.
2. Everyone in the United States as experiencing the tensions generated by the increasing number of religious denominations and by the rise of scientific inquiry that challenged traditional explanations and introduced new social theories and practices.
3. The great post-bellum task was one of the reaffirming the blueprint for a new and better version of the Pilgrim’s City upon a Hill and of rebuilding its institutions and reconciling its population.
4. The desire to remake, not merely repair, the country was especially apparent in discussions of gender roles and rights.
5. Reconstruction is generally identified as the years 1865 and 1877.
6. With slavery officially outlawed, the white south moved quickly to protest its interest by codifying the very white supremacist ideology that had under girded the chattel slave system.
7. The limited social and economic gains that African Americans experienced immediately after the war were quickly reversed when, in 1877, withdrawal of federal troops, reversal by state and federal courts of protective legislation for African Americans, and the return to power of the Democrats signaled the end of Reconstruction.
8. It took only 2 or 3 years to deconstruct the institutions and to repeal of replace the legislation of the Reconstruction decade.
9. Random violence and systematic oppression were supported by Jim Crow laws, which legalized racial segregation in virtually every area of life.
10. The last part of the 19th century and the 1st few years of the 20th centuries became known in African American history as the “the Nadir of Black Experience”.
11. The “Progressive Period” is called Decades of Disappointment for blacks with the great migration.
12. Despite the violence and blatant inequalities, literacy among African Americans rose.
13. African American writers recorded it all in ways parallel to intersecting with and diverging from methods.
14. African American literature in the 19th century and early 20th century confirmed and manifested creativity.
15. Post-bellum slave narratives championed the rugged individualism and successful transcendence.
16. Post-bellum slave narrators recast the sin and suffering of slavery as trials and tribulations.
17. As education developed with the advent of freedman’s schools as did the need for relevant and accurate texts.
18. Texts were used to shoe white readers black were able to rebuild nation and instruct blacks to a more satisfying future.
19. The majorities of black writers were published 1st and frequently in the African American press which was ignored.
20. The African American press wasn't a single company but a diverse group unified to explore forward thinking.
Literature
I Sit and Sew
By Alice Moore Dunbar Nelson
I sit and sew—a useless task it seems,
My hands grown tired, my head weighed down with dreams--
The panoply of war, the martial tred of men,
Grim-faced, stern-eyed, gazing beyond the ken
Of lesser souls, whose eyes have not seen Death,
Nor learned to hold their lives but as a breath--
But—I must sit and sew.
I sit and sew—my heart aches with desire--
That pageant terrible, that fiercely pouring fire
On wasted fields, and writhing grotesque things
Once men. My soul in pity flings
Appealing cries, yearning only to go
There in that holocaust of hell, those fields of woe--
But—I must sit and sew.
The little useless seam, the idle patch;
Why dream I here beneath my homely thatch,
When there they lie in sodden mud and rain,
Pitifully calling me, the quick ones and the slain?
You need me, Christ! It is no roseate dream
That beckons me—this pretty futile seam,
It stifles me—God, must I sit and sew?
By Alice Moore Dunbar Nelson
I sit and sew—a useless task it seems,
My hands grown tired, my head weighed down with dreams--
The panoply of war, the martial tred of men,
Grim-faced, stern-eyed, gazing beyond the ken
Of lesser souls, whose eyes have not seen Death,
Nor learned to hold their lives but as a breath--
But—I must sit and sew.
I sit and sew—my heart aches with desire--
That pageant terrible, that fiercely pouring fire
On wasted fields, and writhing grotesque things
Once men. My soul in pity flings
Appealing cries, yearning only to go
There in that holocaust of hell, those fields of woe--
But—I must sit and sew.
The little useless seam, the idle patch;
Why dream I here beneath my homely thatch,
When there they lie in sodden mud and rain,
Pitifully calling me, the quick ones and the slain?
You need me, Christ! It is no roseate dream
That beckons me—this pretty futile seam,
It stifles me—God, must I sit and sew?
My Analysis
Situation: The poem tells a story in which the speaker struggles with having to sit and sew rather than be in battle like she wants. The poem expresses a mood of frustration and disappointment. The speaker isn’t identified but is definitely a woman. It might be assumed that the speaker is also the author. It isn’t clear who she is talking to but it could be God although you can trust the speaker.
- Tone: Speaker’s attitude is one of frustration and angst. A tone of desperation and frustration is appropriate for reading aloud. Words like useless, and futile give me a clue to the tone.
Structure:
- Form: I believe the poem is a ballad. The writer probably chose this form because she could relate her ideas easier.
- Movement: The poem develops as the speaker goes through her train of thought with growing conviction. The images are developed by free association. The poem circles back to where it started.
- Syntax: There are 5 complete sentences. Most are noun than verb but some are not.
- Punctuation: There is enjambment and punctuation in the middle of the line. I think she does this to separate her thoughts from her personal feelings.
- Title: The title symbolizes her not being able to help in battle. It relates as this is what she condemns herself to do.
Language:
- Diction: The language is formal. Moods of desperation, boredom, frustration, eagerness, are associated with the words that stand out to me.
- Allusions: There is an allusion to Christ and the war of the time.
- Imagery: Imagery adds to the poems as you are able to fully understand what the speaker feels she is missing.
Musical Devices:
- Rhyme scheme: It occurs in a regular pattern. The effect is intensifying.
- Rhyme/meter: There are stressed syllables at the end of every line. The rhythm makes it more lyrical.
Literature I Would Like to Read
- Ode to Ethiopia by Pauline Lawrence
- Tired by Fenton Johnson