Education and the Redefinition of Reconstruction, 1875–1890

• In Event: Education as a Public Good: Debates Across History

Abstract

Historians continue to debate what led to the end of Reconstruction. Mostly they agree, however, that Reconstruction ended in 1877 when the federal government “renounced any ambition to enforce its idea of a ‘republican form of government’ in the Southern states.” This paper argues that in fact the federal government did not completely renounce such an ambition. Instead it redefined it. The way to ensure a ‘republican form of government’ was through education, and the way to enforce it in the South was to make education a national issue. Drawing on a comprehensive study of education provisions in territorial, state, and federal organic law, this paper re-examines the origins and consequences of efforts to redefine Reconstruction from 1875 to 1890.

Author

• Nancy Beadie, University of Washington