Black over White: Negro Political Leadership in South Carolina During Reconstruction (Blacks in the New World)

By Thomas C. Holt

Book Overview

In this prize-winning book Thomas Holt is concerned not only with the identities of the black politicians who gained power in South Carolina during Reconstruction, but also with the question of how they functioned within the political system. Thus, as one reviewer has commented, "he penetrates the superficial preoccupations over whether black politicians were venal or gullible to see whether they wielded power and influence and, if they did, how and to what ends and against what obstacles."

"Well crafted and well written, it not only broadens our knowledge of the period, but also deepens it, something that recent books on Reconstruction have too often failed to do." -- Michael Perman, American Historical Review.
" . . . a valuable study of post-Civil War black leaders in a state where Negro control came closest to realization during Reconstruction. . . . Effectively merging the techniques of quantitative analysis with those of narrative history, Holt shatters a number of myths and misconceptions. . . . It should be on the reading list of all students of Reconstruction and nineteenth-century black history." -- William C. Harris, Journal of Southern History
"Holt presents his work modestly as a state study of reconstruction politics. But this should not obscure a significant intellectual achievement and a contribution of fundamental importance, demonstrating the value of social-class analysis in understanding the politics of the black community." -- Jonathan M. Wiener, Journal of American History.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0252007751
• ISBN13: 9780252007750
• Release Date: August 1979
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press
• Length: 276 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.8" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Socio-political history of African Americans Politicians during Reconstruction

From back cover: "In this prize-winning book Thomas Holt is concerned not only with the identities of the black politicians who gained power in South Carolina during Reconstruction, but also with the question of how they functioned within the political system. Thus, as one reviewer has commented, 'he penetrates the superficial preoccupations over whether black politicians were venal and gullible to see whether they wielded power and influence and, if they did, how and to what ends and against what obstacles.' *** '...a valuable study of post-Civil War black leaders in a state where [...] control came closest to realization during Reconstruction. ...Effectively merging the techniques of quantitative analysis with those of narrative history, Holt shatters a number of myths and misconceptions...' -From review by William C. Harris, 'Journal of Southern History'

Black over White: Negro Political Leadership in South Carolina During Reconstruction

Excellent, one of the most forgotten histories of this country; the political struggles of Freedman in South Carolina, one of the most populated areas of the country. Read and study a political history the state where the Civil War was started.