Type of behavior is appropriate for nativeborn helping americans. Watched afterwards tonight at 9 00 p. M. Eastern on book tv on cspan2. Charles is a professor of history at San Francisco state university. He is a scholar and elected to the society of american historians in 2018. His book, published in 2007, about the popular roles of the 1890s, Frederick Jackson turner award from american historians. His new book, equality and american dilemma, 1866 1896 as about the powerful struggles for equality unleashed by the civil war. Now, you did not need to take my word for how wonderful it is because crystal of Yale University had this to say. Equality is deeply researched, beautifully written of the epic struggle to find the meaning of equality in post civil war of america. This magnificent portrait, the women unit and its filled with the social movement that took root during the reconstruction. Confronting some of the most difficult questions of American History, new dimensions of our understanding of the racial, gender and equalities that continue to shape our political landscape. Please join me in welcoming doctor charles. [applause] thank you, susan. Thanks for people coming, this is wonderful. I think one of the reasons to come to an event like this is you get to read meet the author but the purpose for me, it offers a chance to get an idea of where it was coming from. Whats the. Of the book . History books really arent about the past and all, they are really about the present. The context in which the book was written, influences on the writer who put it together and make no secret of this, this book was written after the financial crisis of 2007, 2008. It was written in context of occupy wall street and the questions about the economic inequality in the u. S. It was written in the context of ferguson and black lives matter and russians operational justice and equality in america. Towards the end of this book and putting the book together, the Womens Movement happened. The role of President Trump and the me too movement. Im a historian of political ideas. Im interested in social movements and ideas generated by social movements. Im particularly interested in the intersects of how you think about the relationship for the struggle for economic equality and sexual equality and racial equality. How do those things fit together so thats where this book was written. It was my mental agenda that i went through this material. The really great thing about this, when i was starting the social movements unleashed by the smashing of slavery and racial equality at the end of the civil war. This. Unleashed a tidal wave of claims for equality and equal rights in the u. S. After americans are fighting to make freedom realized in equal status within the u. S. , protection of loss, access to politics and the judicial system americans are setting up equal rights leads and setting up on that front. But in their struggle they push the question of equality into the center of american life. We have a 1868, the 14th amendment which is the first time in American History we have the constitution actually protecting equal rights in american society. Equal rights for men which is a problem but nonetheless, equal rights protection measure in the constitution. So this claim for equality or centered on the africanamerican struggle for freedom, many other constituencies and groups have their own things. The most important included the farmers movement. It was still largely Agricultural Society and world society. Theres the Womens Movement, sexual equality. Theres Labor Movement. They were soured to have equality between capital and labor. So please tidal waves of social movements and for me, for my purpose, this is a Great Laboratory for thinking about these relationships. Between the different struggles for equality and how the fit together or maybe how they dont. One way to think about this is perhaps people acquainted with stories of this is the time of individual struggle and individual success. This is the period of mark twains gilded age. The rise of the corporation and the rise of that. Normally dont think about the post civil war years, this was a moment in American History. He time when equality was taken very seriously. I think its another way to think about it. Can i just stop for a moment and invite people to sit down . I would like it if people would sit down. We are confronted with one thi thing, what does equality mean . Part of the problem is theres meanings of equality. I wanted to. Out, at the end of the civil war, theres one concept of equality that was widespread. Thats basically abraham think its ideal of what lincoln described as equal privileges in the race of life. Another way, equality of opportunity. That was a widespread ideal in the u. S. At that time. Whats interesting about the postwar decades is the extent to which americans viewed that principal and its a sham if you dont also have measures to have equality of condition. Unless you have measures and equality of circumstances, you cannot have equality of opportunity. That gives equality a very elastic rod form. People want substantial equality. Not just words but actual practical equality into that meant egalitarian moments. Theres another quality, to fight for these things americans were rightly aware you do that on your own. These are matters of combination it if you were going to have equality, you have to have solidarity. You have this millions of americans join associations. They join clubs. They build cooperative societies. This is a period of combination and solidarity. There were three really big ones. National, cover the country and probably had the most power in a political sense and in terms of sheer influence in society. Thats the subject in my book. The farmers range husbandry. The knights of labor. These are funny names. I accept that they are weird names for being important organizations. I would like to rename them as a General Organization of farmers or the National Organization of women General Organization of labor but im not going to use those names so thats essentially what they were in many ways. The power of these movements and similar movements, i think make this not only a egalitarian moment in history but a collectivist moment in American History. So theres a lot to be said in terms of positive. Those are ideas of, we could use equality and solidarity right now in america. We could use a big dose of it. It should be pointed out though, in the beginning, much of this impulse and solidarity was fractured, sometimes you think its aligned and sometimes they didnt. Sometimes they crashed. The results were disastrous. The results as part of how we can explain how this great collective moment resulting at the end of us. Is the period of jim crow in america. Chinese exclusion and other extraordinary measures of inequality against people of color in particular. Lets start with the grange. Its an interesting creature. The grange was founded in a Federal Office Building in washington d. C. In 1867. It was founded by six federal employees, bureaucrats. Clerks and administrators which is an interesting way to think about a National Organization of farmers. It was formed as russian bureaucrats. We always think theres always this story of farmers against washington. Thats not how the great reformed. If formed in a Federal Office Building and the imagination and plan is that it would be part of the department of agriculture. Headquartered in the department of agriculture in washington. That never happened but it does become the National Organization of farmers. This formed in 1967 18. It spread across the state in places like nebraska, a majority of farmers were members of the grange. In places like mississippi or south carolina, a majority of white farmers remember the grange. In california valleys, farmers belong to the grange. It was both a meeting place, a social society and also a Class Organization to serve the interest of farmers. It had a egalitarian vision, a whole series of questions. The most striking laws called sexual equality. It advocated for the womens vote in women joined the grange in large numbers. There is no question and womens equality was important. Its fighting for equality of farmers within economy. The grange was the dominant antimonopoly force in american society. It was a force fighting against wall street and Corporate Power and for egalitarian economy that no longer discriminates against the nation farmers. Thats what its known for, efforts were regulating railroads, controlling the economy in positive ways. Structure for americans farmers. Some of the story i knew before researching but the big story that i didnt know, it raises a core piece of this book, the role of the farmers range in a defeat of reconstruction at the end of the civil war. Reconstruction. Roughly the end of the civil war when there was experience informing governments across the former confederacy in multi racial or by egalitarian government where africanamericans had a right to vote, protection of the law and participate as full citizens. These reconstruction experiments were attacked ferociously by former slave owners, by white power. They unleashed the ku klux klan in massive rates of terror against reconstruction experiments. To keep them going, the federal government intervened. They occupied the former confederacy and took measures to protect these experiments against terror. So this important thing is happening in the south, in the context is National Debate about what would be africanamericans place in american society. What happens as you would expect that across the midwest where there were many supporters of lincolns Republican Party for the many veterans in the civil war who fought against slavery abolitionist and strong in places like minnesota or michigan or other places or oh ohio, i figured there would be a strong legacy among farmers in the sense of support radical reconstructions. And there was but what happens is the grange was organized with specific purpose of bringing the country back together again and healing the wounds of the civil war. Thats what they said their first purpose was. The farmers across that line in a common struggle against corporate monopoly. Thats what they said they were going to do. I was the purpose of the grange. The one who said shakespeare didnt actually write shakespeare. Fantastic stories. Hes quite a character. This book is full of characters in that way but he was the leader of the grange in minnesota. He articulated positions, he had been a radical republican, i radical meant you were for racial equality. I was the definition in 1865 or 1867. Someone who favored racial equality. He had been in congress and fought the good fight for racial equality and had been a radical republican. By 1871, he joined the grange and he decided that the real fight is no longer for black rights. Thats been settled because you have the 13th amendment and 14th amendment guaranteeing equality before the law in the 15th amendment in 1870 which gives Voting Rights to black men. So he says the fight for racial equality is over. Todays fight is against wall street and monopoly. The days of fighting for rights of black men are over. Now is the rights of the white man for slavery. He leads the grange into forming and defeating any politicians who favors reconstruction. The slogan is, we will defeat federal reconstruction and monopoly. Pappy comes the grange. In places like ohio, which is a swing state, its always been a swing state. The grange has 75000 numbers and forming a block that says look, if the government and any politician who supports reconstruction is over. So think this is an important thing to think about, that farmers democracy is the up spelling from below. Its making it impossible for politicians to continue with the policy of radical reconstruction. What happens is people in the north and west, theres this block against in the name of fighting monopoly. The fight against Corporate Power. This is in california and the rangers would meet pigments in support of the struggle to overthrow the bifacial government in the south. In the name of equality of the farmers and equality of farmers. For black people on farms not having any rights, not only did they not have rights but the kkk is wreaking havoc. They are making the 14th and 15th amendment questionable. So thats exactly the contents. However, this is explained how it works, its one of the most interesting, its sort of like revelations. No one has extorted before, there was this argument that farmers, its only essentially white farmers. If they were being oppressed, ill give you an example. After the civil war, Congress Passed a tax. It was a tax to make the people who reached the civil war pay for any small degree so they had to pay something called a context. While it ended. In the 1870s, the grangers campaign for reparations, so the federal government would pay them back for that context. [inaudible] you could put it that way. In essence, they are trying to unify the country on the basis of white solidarity. Youre not going to say bad things about black people at all. Its not divisive language. Thats not the language he uses. His language is, we need solidarity against Corporate Power. Thus the language of it. Its mainly focusing on the railroads, telegraphs also whole Marketing System in which they are working. We can go further on this but that is the gist of it. Ive said this, i dont think you hear donnelly using racially language in that way. He wasnt a demagogue, he wasnt talking about black people. Most of the grangers ive read, thats not the language they are using. We are using the language of we need solidarity against Corporate Power. As the language they are using. Thats in the north. As in california. In mississippi and south carolina, the grange is exactly what you are suggesting. Grangers often were the supremacists. Was even a group in some places where they were the ku klux klan. In this very bland language of monopoly, they are playing right into the hands in support of these people. I want to turn to the Womens Movement. Theres people who make me aware of this fact but the Abolitionist Movement was a biracial movement that was fighting for equality of black men or African Americans and women. That was the platform of the Abolitionist Movement. After the civil war, set coalition splits and the division is basically the Womens Movement led by elizabeth and Susan B Anthony. Split with this coalition on the grounds that the 14th and 15th amendment gave rights to black men but not white women. They formed a National Womens association Suffrage Movement at 12 known and names probably well known. Elizabeth and Susan B Anthony infamously joined white supremacist campaigns to strip black people of the vote and other civil rights in the name, women dont have rights in the constitution so white women dont so black women shouldnt either. [inaudible] [inaudible question] i think that might be a good answer. [inaudible question] theres a basis for this. I do think it was they aligned with the most extreme racist campaigns against black rights. Theres a much bigger story here in terms of Womens Movement. A much bigger strike that i dont think is told. I dont think people may be acquainted with. The womens christian temperance union. It was normally a campaign to shut down alcohol, causa nature of its campaigns. It was a christian campaign, whinge womens christian temperature. But it was a much Bigger Movement than that. A much more expensive movement than that. A woman named francis who was probably the most influential women of the late 19th century. Much more influential and Susan B Anthony. Her organization was ten times the size of the suffered organization. A much bigger phenomenon. Francis was not just some narrow prism, she was an expensive egalitarian who believed in broad human equality. She had a policy called do everything, do everything policy of trances and under this, w ctu fought for divorce laws, child labor laws, age of consent laws, Property Rights, womens Political Rights in terms of Voting Rights and also was labor rights and made alliances with the Labor Movement and toward the end of her career, francis was a soft described socialist and this was her vision. She had a vision of sexual and human equality and interestingly, the w ctu is quite different because it was also a place where africanamerican women entered the w ctu to fight for an intersectional equality of race and gender, the most famous women of this was francis harp harper. In abolitionist, she was very well known poet in the literature figure. African american women. She joins to rage the campaign for womens equality and sexual equality. Very articulate ways, too. This is an important part of the legacy of the wctu. At the same time, francis harp harper, africanamerican woman who fights for sexual and racist equality. In the head of the wctu, francis has big political ambitions. Shes a charismatic, powerful and dynamic woman. She has ambitions of turning the wctu into a Political P