The Day Freedom Died

The Day Freedom Died
Author :
Publisher : Macmillan + ORM
Total Pages : 345
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781429936781
ISBN-13 : 1429936789
Rating : 4/5 (789 Downloads)

Book Synopsis The Day Freedom Died by : Charles Lane

Download or read book The Day Freedom Died written by Charles Lane and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2008-03-04 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The untold story of the slaying of a Southern town's ex-slaves and a white lawyer's historic battle to bring the perpretators to justice Following the Civil War, Colfax, Louisiana, was a town, like many, where African Americans and whites mingled uneasily. But on April 13, 1873, a small army of white ex–Confederate soldiers, enraged after attempts by freedmen to assert their new rights, killed more than sixty African Americans who had occupied a courthouse. With skill and tenacity, The Washington Post's Charles Lane transforms this nearly forgotten incident into a riveting historical saga. Seeking justice for the slain, one brave U.S. attorney, James Beckwith, risked his life and career to investigate and punish the perpetrators—but they all went free. What followed was a series of courtroom dramas that culminated at the Supreme Court, where the justices' verdict compromised the victories of the Civil War and left Southern blacks at the mercy of violent whites for generations. The Day Freedom Died is an electrifying piece of historical detective work that captures a gallery of characters from presidents to townspeople, and re-creates the bloody days of Reconstruction, when the often brutal struggle for equality moved from the battlefield into communities across the nation.


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