Crucible of Reconstruction

In Crucible of Reconstruction, Ted Tunnell unravels the byzantine complexities of Louisiana's restoration to the Union, from the Federal occupation of New Orleans in 1862 to the downfall of the Radical Republicans a decade and a half later. With new data and fresh insight Tunnell writes about the war years and the period of Presidential Reconstruction, but his ultimate concern is Radical Reconstruction. He breaks new ground with his dissection of the uneasy coalition of Unionists, free blacks, and carpetbaggers that formed the Louisiana Republican party and struggled to create a biracial socity based on equality.