In this issue

THE ANNOTATED FREDERICK DOUGLASS
In 1866, the famous abolitionist laid out his vision for radically reshaping America in the pages of The Atlantic.
Introduction and annotations
by David W. Blight

The Archive of Emancipation
In the papers of the Freedmen’s Bureau, I found the hopes and disappointments of a people on the cusp of freedom—including my own family’s.
By Lonnie G. Bunch III

Kennedy and the Lost Cause
In his 1956 book, Profiles in Courage, the future president promoted the southern mythology of Reconstruction. One Massachusetts grandmother wasn’t having it.
By Jordan Virtue

The Questions That Most Need Asking

“Reconstruction,” by Frederick Douglass, appeared in the December 1866 issue of this magazine. It was the most important article that The Atlantic published in the immediate postwar era. It was also, for its time, unusually concise, coming in at a mere 2,703 words.

4 mins

The Revolution Never Ended

The federal government abandoned Reconstruction in 1877, but Black people didn't give up on the moment's promise.

10+ mins

The Atlantic and Reconstruction

What we got wrong in 1901

5 mins

The Archive of Emancipation

In the papers of the Freedmen's Bureau, I found the hopes and disappointments of a people on the cusp of freedom-including my own family's.

10+ mins

The Annotated Frederick Douglass

In 1866, the famous abolitionist laid out his vision for radically reshaping America in the pages of The Atlantic.

10+ mins

The Years of Jubilee

In 1871, the choir of the struggling Fisk University engaged in a gambit to save the school: It decided to go on a singing tour of America. The choir achieved more than its members could have imagined.

10+ mins

The Men Who Started the War

John Brown and the Secret Six-the abolitionists who funded the raid on Harpers Ferryconfronted a question as old as America: When is violence justified?

10+ mins

Kennedy and the Lost Cause

In his 1956 book, Profiles in Courage, the future president promoted the southern mythology of Reconstruction. One Massachusetts grandmother wasn't having it.

10+ mins

The Black Roots of American Education

How freedpeople and their advocates persuaded the nation to embrace public schooling for all

10+ mins

A Traitor to the Traitors

The Confederate general James Longstreet became a champion of Reconstruction. Why?

10+ mins

Read all stories from The Atlantic

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