Thomas Chapman
False Reconstruction; or, The Slavery that is not Abolished
(Saxonville, MA, 1876).
Like many 18th and 19th century American political pamphlets, False Reconstruction: Or, The Slavery That is Not Abolished (1876), mixes the language of a sermon with an exposition of democratic ideals. Chapman warns that the outcome of the Civil War is deeply threatened by the shortcomings of Reconstruction, the inaction of the federal government, and violent forces loyal to the Confederacy. He reviews the history of American slavery and the political compromises that perpetuated it, demanding public action to protect common liberty and equality. Chapman's pamphlet was published not long before the last vestiges of Reconstruction were ended by President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1877.
