Richard H. Abbott (Author)
RICHARD H. ABBOTT (1936-2000) was a professor of history at Eastern
Michigan University and the author of The Republican Party and the
South and Cotton and Capital.
John W. Quist (Editor)
JOHN W. QUIST is an associate professor of history at Shippensburg
University. He is the author of Restless Visionaries.
[A] thorough and informative study . . . Abbott is nothing if not
meticulous, often summarizing events state-by-state to suggest the
full sweep of the Republican press's history in the postwarSouth. .
. . A scholarly work of the first order . . . Abbott sheds new
light on the critical role that the press played in this history.
Moreover, his careful research in a long-neglected field makes this
work invaluable for scholars interested in the political history of
the Reconstruction era.--Steve Tripp "Civil War Book Review"
Abbott addresses a neglected topic of Reconstruction history and
adds to our understanding of southern Republicanism and journalism
history.--Carl R. Osthaus "Journal of American History"
Richard Abbott's For Free Press and Equal Rights identifies an
important niche in the era of Civil War and emancipation--that of
the Republican press during Reconstruction. The research is
excellent and original, by a historian with a lifetime's worth of
knowledge in the field. No one has explored this important issue in
such depth before. John Quist is to be congratulated for helping
the late Professor Abbott's last project come to full
fruition.--Michael Fitzgerald "author of Urban Emancipation:
Popular Politics in Reconstruction Mobile, 1860-1890"
Some of the most important historical monographs achieve their
status not by pioneering conceptual innovation but by shedding
light on previously neglected episodes or phenomena. A classic
example is Robert S. Starobin's Industrial Slavery in the Old
South. In For Free Press and Equal Rights, Richard H. Abbott does
for Reconstruction-era Republican newspapers what Starobin did for
industrial slavery. . . . Abbott has made a generous gift to
historians. His Herculean research has filled in one of the final
remaining lacunae in the history of Reconstruction. Moreover, he
has portrayed with humanity an oft-overlooked group who nobly tried
to bridge the post Civil War South's racial chasm.--Chad Morgan
"History: Reviews of New Books"
The late historian Richard H. Abbott has made a significant
contribution in this study examining Republican newspapers in the
Reconstruction South. Until now the topic has been almost entirely
neglected. Abbot uncovers a far-ranging and significant, if
ultimately doomed, regional newspaper press that attempted to
spread Republican ideology and the newly formed party. . . . This
is an extremely useful and well researched book.--William Warren
Rogers Jr. "American Historical Review"
Thorough and readable . . . Those with an interest in
nineteenth-century journalism can appreciate this comprehensive
study regarding the Republican press in the South during
Reconstruction. It establishes a sound historical context in which
both white and black newspapers labored.--Aleen J. Ratzlaff
"American Journalism"
With its careful examination of southern Republican newspapers, For
Free Press and Equal Rights sheds welcome new light on the volatile
politics of the post-Civil War South. Abbott has given us a nuanced
picture of the evolution of Republican policy as partisan editors
tried to hold black readers while attracting whites. Abbott also
uncovers the political imperative for the publishing contracts at
the heart of postwar political corruption. Together, these
important insights will prompt a new investigation of postwar
southern politics.--Heather Cox Richardson "author of The Death of
Reconstruction: Race, Labor, and Politics in the Post-Civil War
North, 1865-1901"
Abbott's work is thorough and groundbreaking, and should inspire
further examination of the Republican press in individual states
and more studies of individual editors.--Civil War History
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