About the book
During the Civil War, the US government abolished slavery without reimbursing enslavers, diminishing the white South’s wealth by nearly 50 percent. After the Confederacy’s defeat, white Southerners demanded federal compensation for the financial value of formerly enslaved people and fought for other policies that would recognize abolition’s costs during Reconstruction. As Amanda Laury Kleintop shows, their persistence eventually led to the creation of Section 4 of the Fourteenth Amendment, which abolished the right to profit from property in people. Surprisingly, former Confederates responded by using Lost Cause history-making to obscure the fact that they had demanded financial redress in the first place. The largely successful efforts of white southerners to erase this history continues to generate false understandings today.
Kleintop draws from an impressive array of archival sources to uncover this lost history. In doing so, she demonstrates how this legal battle also undermined efforts by formerly enslaved people to receive reparations for themselves and their descendants—a debate that persists in today’s national dialogue.
Editions of Counting the Cost of Freedom
- Hardcover
- ISBN 9781469688640
- Paperback
- ISBN 9781469688657
- EBook
- ISBN 9781469688664
- PDF
- ISBN 9781469688671
Read an Excerpt
During the Civil War, the US government abolished slavery without reimbursing enslavers, diminishing the white South’s wealth by nearly 50 percent. After the Confederacy’s defeat, white Southerners demanded federal compensation for the financial value of formerly enslaved people and fought for other policies that would recognize abolition’s costs during Reconstruction. As Amanda Laury Kleintop shows, their persistence eventually led to the creation of Section 4 of the Fourteenth Amendment, which abolished the right to profit from property in people. Surprisingly, former Confederates responded by using Lost Cause history-making to obscure the fact that they had demanded financial redress in the first place. The largely successful efforts of white southerners to erase this history continues to generate false understandings today.
Kleintop draws from an impressive array of archival sources to uncover this lost history. In doing so, she demonstrates how this legal battle also undermined efforts by formerly enslaved people to receive reparations for themselves and their descendants—a debate that persists in today’s national dialogue.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Counting the Cost of Freedom about?
During the Civil War, the US government abolished slavery without reimbursing enslavers, diminishing the white South’s wealth by nearly 50 percent. After the Confederacy’s defeat, white Southerners demanded federal compensation for the financial value of formerly enslaved people and fought for other policies that would recognize abolition’s costs during Reconstruction. As Amanda Laury Kleintop shows, their persistence eventually led to the creation of Section 4 of the Fourteenth Amendment, which abolished the right to profit from property in people. Surprisingly, former Confederates responded by using Lost Cause history-making to obscure the fact that they had demanded financial redress in the first place. The largely successful efforts of white southerners to erase this history continues to generate false understandings today.
Kleintop draws from an impressive array of archival sources to uncover this lost history. In doing so, she demonstrates how this legal battle also undermined efforts by formerly enslaved people to receive reparations for themselves and their descendants—a debate that persists in today’s national dialogue.
What core themes, tropes, or subjects are explored in Counting the Cost of Freedom?
History and Archaeology > History > History of the Americas
Where can I read a sample of Counting the Cost of Freedom?
You can read an official preview of the few pages here https://www.book2look.com/book/9781469688640
How long is Counting the Cost of Freedom and how many pages does it have?
Counting the Cost of Freedom has 272 page(s)
Is Counting the Cost of Freedom part of a series, and can it be read as a standalone?
Yes it is a part of series Civil War America
Who is/are the Author/s of the book Counting the Cost of Freedom?
Amanda Laury Kleintop
What are the ISBN numbers for the physical and digital editions?
Counting the Cost of Freedom is available as hardcover(ISBN 9781469688640) and paperback(ISBN 9781469688657) and ebook(ISBN 9781469688664) and pdf(ISBN 9781469688671)
Where can I buy Counting the Cost of Freedom online or support local independent bookshops?
You can buy Counting the Cost of Freedom from below
Where can I buy Counting the Cost of Freedom?