In this first thorough examination of Reconstruction at the county level across an entire state, award-winning historian Randolph B. Campbell examines six Texas counties during that period, revealing a diversity of experience that challenges popular generalizations. Reconstruction at the grass roots in Texas, Campbell asserts, varied greatly from county to county, depending on demography, economic growth, and the extent of federal intervention. In the case of Texas, and possibly other states as well, he concludes, generalizations about Reconstruction need to be qualified to recognize the distinct ways in which localities experienced the period.
Randolph B. Campbell, Regents Professor of History at the University of North Texas, is the author of several books, including An Empire for Slavery: The Peculiar Institution in Texas, 1821–1865.
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