Reviews
"A thoughtful reminder both of the limits of the possible in Reconstruction and of the need to expand the agenda of inquiry beyond the concept of race in the minds of the nation's presidents. Simpson has a fine sense of the politics of the age, an age where the demands of politics propelled policy making profoundly."-- Phillip Shaw Paludan , author of The Presidency of Abraham Lincoln "A valuable and lively account of Reconstruction as a national policy problem. A very accessible perspective on a complicated, even intractable, episode in American history that highlights the differences in each man's policies and styles of leadership."-- Michael Perman , author of The Road to Redemption: Southern Politics, 1869-1879, An excellent study that will be consulted not only by specialists but by anyone interested in the history of the Civil War, American race relations, and American government.American Historical Review A superb book that places the Reconstruction presidentsAbraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, and Rutherford B. Hayesin the context of their times and illuminates the difficult and complex task they faced.Florida Historical Quarterly A thoughtful and well-written book that deserves widespread attention.Journal of American History, "An excellent study that will be consulted not only by specialists but by anyone interested in the history of the Civil War, American race relations, and American government."-- American Historical Review "A superb book that places the Reconstruction presidents--Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, and Rutherford B. Hayes--in the context of their times and illuminates the difficult and complex task they faced."-- Florida Historical Quarterly "A thoughtful and well-written book that deserves widespread attention."-- Journal of American History, "A thoughtful reminder both of the limits of the possible in Reconstruction and of the need to expand the agenda of inquiry beyond the concept of race in the minds of the nation's presidents. Simpson has a fine sense of the politics of the age, an age where the demands of politics propelled policy making profoundly."- Phillip Shaw Paludan , author of The Presidency of Abraham Lincoln "A valuable and lively account of Reconstruction as a national policy problem. A very accessible perspective on a complicated, even intractable, episode in American history that highlights the differences in each man's policies and styles of leadership."- Michael Perman , author of The Road to Redemption: Southern Politics, 18691879, "A thoughtful reminder both of the limits of the possible in Reconstruction and of the need to expand the agenda of inquiry beyond the concept of race in the minds of the nation's presidents. Simpson has a fine sense of the politics of the age, an age where the demands of politics propelled policy making profoundly."Phillip Shaw Paludan , author of The Presidency of Abraham Lincoln "A valuable and lively account of Reconstruction as a national policy problem. A very accessible perspective on a complicated, even intractable, episode in American history that highlights the differences in each man's policies and styles of leadership."Michael Perman , author of The Road to Redemption: Southern Politics, 18691879
