Why read Intimate Reconstructions?

Book cover of Intimate Reconstructions: Children in Postemancipation Virginia

Book description

In Intimate Reconstructions, Catherine Jones considers how children shaped, and were shaped by, Virginia's Reconstruction. Jones argues that questions of how to define, treat, reform, or protect children were never far from the surface of public debate and private concern in post-Civil War Virginia. Through careful examination of governmental, institutional,…

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American history

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Why read it?

1 author picked Intimate Reconstructions as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Frances Clarke and Rebecca Jo Plant

Author

This inspired, award-winning study looks at how black and white households were reshaped in Virginia after the Civil War. It’s full of captivating stories: Black parents trying to wrest their children away from former enslavers; once-privileged White families having to send their boys or girls into the job market to compensate for the loss of enslaved laborers; or officials coping with masses of orphaned children. It also shows the different ways that adults used ideas of childhood for political ends, as well as how children themselves fared in the aftermath of war.

From Frances' list on The best books on childhood in Civil War Era America.