The Mind of Brian

Capitol Men December 17, 2011

As I have been branching out from Presidential biographies to more pieces discussing wider political issues in American history, I decided to pick up the book Capitol Men by Philip Dray at the Lisle Library. I don’t usually judge books by the covers, but it said on the cover “Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize” so I figured that it would have to be good. To be honest, it wasn’t overly gripping like some other books where I just can’t seem to put it down; it was good, not great (probably why it was a finalist rather than the winner of the prize!). What was it about? Well, it is about Reconstruction in the South post-Civil War through focusing on the lives of the first African-American Congressmen. I really feel like I must have been sleeping during the unit on Reconstruction in high school or it may have been during wrestling season when I was distracted, but this period is fascinating, both for what happened and what was overturned. There were a number of former slaves as well as free blacks who became representatives, senators, governors, or state congressmen, with South Carolina having a number of them. One thing to keep in mind was that with the freeing of slaves, the 3/5 compromise (that slaves count as 3/5 for the purpose of representation in the House) was no longer valid, meaning the South had MORE people now and that in some cases, a large number of them were not white. The country really could have been reshaped in light of this new reality; I never realized how pivotal this time was/could have been. The sad thing is that much of the work of someCongressmen (black and white) during this period would be overturned, dismantled, and ignored until almost 100 years later with the Civil Rights Movement. In some ways, the leaders of the movement were seeking to recapture the gains that were quickly lost. There were even some precursors to the bus boycotts and voter drives of the Civil Rights movement.

The book chronicles the lives and rise of many of these leaders. I think Dray could have helped the reader with a more clear layout of how he was going to discuss the leaders and a glossary of significant figures in the front of the book–it would have helped me follow the book better and engage in the stories. It was an odd mixture of interrelated stories while also being somewhat separate. There were many fascinating and new stories, from a slave stealing a boat from the Confederacy during the War to the “Exodusting” of blacks out of the South to the West. There were also many tragic incidents of violence, disputed elections, and political corruption. All elements of American history not remembered by this history buff nor seemingly well covered in an AP US History class.

In reading about Reconstruction an the post-Civil War era, I have come to have an even greater appreciation for Lincoln’s presidency. The mishandling of the numerous presidents who preceded him led to the war, and the mishandling of affairs by the presidents who followed (including, ironically, Grant, the War hero) create the new reality of the country. Perhaps Lincoln wasn’t as good as many thought but rather just a lot better than the rest of the presidents from 1840-1900.