Freedom Was in Sight

A Graphic History of Reconstruction in the Washington, D.C., Region

Kate Masur, Elizabeth Clarke

• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
• Year: 2024
• Print ISBN: 9781469680187, 9781469683881
• eBook ISBN: 9781469680194
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: African American History
• Index: History

The Reconstruction era was born from the tumult and violence of the Civil War and delivered the most powerful changes the United States had seen since its founding. Black Americans in Washington, D.C., and its surrounding region were at the heart of these transformations, bravely working to reunite their families, build their communities, and claim rights long denied them. Meanwhile, in the capital, government leaders struggled to reunite and remake the nation. Famous individuals such as Frederick Douglass and Ida B. Wells played central roles, as did lesser-known figures like Emma Brown, the first African American teacher in Washington’s public schools, and lawyer-journalist William Calvin Chase, longtime editor of the Washington Bee.

Freedom Was in Sight! draws on the words and experiences of people who lived during Reconstruction, powerfully narrating how the impacts of emancipation and civil war rippled outward for decades. Vividly drawn by award-winning graphic artist Liz Clarke and written by Pulitzer Prize–finalist Kate Masur, a leading historian of Reconstruction, this rich graphic history reveals the hopes and betrayals of a critical period in American history.

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Freedom Was in Sight
• Reconstruction: A Brief Overview
• Chronology of Local and National Events
• Selected Primary Sources
• Further Reading
• Acknowledgments
• Index