MSU hosts historian, author to speak on Ulysses S. Grant's battle to protect Reconstruction
Contact: Pattye Archer
STARKVILLE, Miss.—Historian and author Fergus M. Bordewich will discuss his new book “Klan War: Ulysses S. Grant and the Battle to Save Reconstruction” on Tuesday Oct. 1 at 6:30 p.m.
“Klan War” (Deckle Edge, 2023) explores President Grant’s determined efforts to dismantle the Ku Klux Klan and preserve the hard-won achievements of Reconstruction. Bordewich’s analysis offers crucial insights into one of America’s most critical historical struggles.
“This talk is important because “Klan War” highlights Grant’s resolve to enforce the 14th and 15th Amendments, which secured citizenship and voting rights for African Americans,” said Anne E. Marshall, executive director of the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library and Museum. “Enforcing these rights was no small feat, given the strong opposition in both the South and many parts of the North.”
Bordewich relied heavily on the “Papers of Ulysses S. Grant,” (Southern Illinois University Press, 1967) a collection curated by Grant Presidential Library, Marshall said.
Describing the Ku Klux Klan as “the first organized terrorist movement in American history,” Bordewich's book details the Klan's rise after the Civil War and draws unsettling parallels to modern-day extremism from radical insurrectionists and white supremacists.
“This aspect of Grant’s presidency is often overlooked,” Marshall added.
Bordewich, author of eight other acclaimed nonfiction books, including “Congress at War” (Deckle Edge, 2020) and 2016 D.B. Hardeman Prize winner “The First Congress,” (Simon & Schuster, 2016) lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife. His works often focus on critical junctures in American history.
Marshall said she encourages students, faculty and local residents to attend the talk and book signing. The event will take place in the John Grisham Room, third floor, Mitchell Memorial Library. MSU parking gates will open at 6 p.m. for closer proximity to the library.
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