Civil Wars, Civil Beings, and Civil Rights in Alabama's Black Belt

Bertis D. English is professor of history at Alabama State University.

• A Note about TerminologyList of IllustrationsForewordAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Secession and War2. Political Organization, Economic Reorganization, and Racial Violence in the Aftermath of War3. Religious and Educational Development from the Antebellum through Early Postbellum Years4. First Redemption, 1870 to 18725. Rousing Reconstruction: The Republican Interlude of 1872 to 1874, Part I6. Racial Conflict, Agricultural Competition, and Political Conquest: The Republican Interlude of 1872 to 1874, Part II7. The Onset of Second Redemption, 1874 to 1875, and Onward8. Hope, Travail, and Reconciliation: The Importance of Perry County, Past and PresentAppendix A: Black Delegates to the 1867 Alabama Constitutional ConventionAppendix B: Perry County Business Licenses, 1870 and 1871Appendix C: African Americans Who Held Major Political Offices in Alabama, 1867 to 1875Appendix D: Historically Black American Colleges and Universities That Predate the Alabama State Lincoln Normal School and University in MarionAppendix E: Black Men in Perry County Who Voted for the 1875 State ConstitutionAppendix F: Selected Earned Doctorates by Alumni of the Alabama State Lincoln Normal School and University in Marion, 1884 to 1936NotesSelected BibliographyIndex

Bertis D. English presents a treasure chest of relevant and important historical material related to Perry County, Alabama, providing information that comprehensively illuminates experiences of the area’s residents in a way that state and regional studies cannot." —Kenneth M. Hamilton, author of Booker T. Washington in American Memory"Among the understudied aspects of Reconstruction, are the places where the Klan dog didn’t bark, much, and where terrorist violence was less common. Bertis English’s book examines one of these areas, where white elites and freedpeople stepped back from the brink of all-out racial conflict. Understanding how this occurred, and what the constraints were, animates this illuminating study. This unusual approach deserves attention." —Michael W. Fitzgerald, author of Reconstruction in Alabama: From Civil War to Redemption in the Cotton South