Stolen Justice: The Struggle for African American Voting Rights
A thrilling and incisive examination of the post-Reconstruction era struggle for and suppression of African American voting rights in the United States.

Following the Civil War, the Reconstruction era raised a new question to those in power in the US: Should African Americans, so many of them former slaves, be granted the right to vote?In a bitter partisan fight over the legislature and Constitution, the answer eventually became yes, though only after two constitutional amendments, two Reconstruction Acts, two Civil Rights Acts, three Enforcement Acts, the impeachment of a president, and an army of occupation. Yet, even that was not enough to ensure that African American voices would be heard, or their lives protected. White supremacists loudly and intentionally prevented black Americans from voting -- and they were willing to kill to do so.In this vivid portrait of the systematic suppression of the African American vote for young adults, critically acclaimed author Lawrence Goldstone traces the injustices of the post-Reconstruction era through the eyes of incredible individuals, both heroic and barbaric, and examines the legal cases that made the Supreme Court a partner of white supremacists in the rise of Jim Crow. Though this is a story of America's past, Goldstone brilliantly draws direct links to today's creeping threats to suffrage in this important and, alas, timely book.
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Stolen Justice: The Struggle for African American Voting Rights
A thrilling and incisive examination of the post-Reconstruction era struggle for and suppression of African American voting rights in the United States.

Following the Civil War, the Reconstruction era raised a new question to those in power in the US: Should African Americans, so many of them former slaves, be granted the right to vote?In a bitter partisan fight over the legislature and Constitution, the answer eventually became yes, though only after two constitutional amendments, two Reconstruction Acts, two Civil Rights Acts, three Enforcement Acts, the impeachment of a president, and an army of occupation. Yet, even that was not enough to ensure that African American voices would be heard, or their lives protected. White supremacists loudly and intentionally prevented black Americans from voting -- and they were willing to kill to do so.In this vivid portrait of the systematic suppression of the African American vote for young adults, critically acclaimed author Lawrence Goldstone traces the injustices of the post-Reconstruction era through the eyes of incredible individuals, both heroic and barbaric, and examines the legal cases that made the Supreme Court a partner of white supremacists in the rise of Jim Crow. Though this is a story of America's past, Goldstone brilliantly draws direct links to today's creeping threats to suffrage in this important and, alas, timely book.
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Stolen Justice: The Struggle for African American Voting Rights

Stolen Justice: The Struggle for African American Voting Rights

by Lawrence Goldstone

Narrated by James Shippy

Unabridged — 5 hours, 10 minutes

Stolen Justice: The Struggle for African American Voting Rights

Stolen Justice: The Struggle for African American Voting Rights

by Lawrence Goldstone

Narrated by James Shippy

Unabridged — 5 hours, 10 minutes

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Overview

A thrilling and incisive examination of the post-Reconstruction era struggle for and suppression of African American voting rights in the United States.

Following the Civil War, the Reconstruction era raised a new question to those in power in the US: Should African Americans, so many of them former slaves, be granted the right to vote?In a bitter partisan fight over the legislature and Constitution, the answer eventually became yes, though only after two constitutional amendments, two Reconstruction Acts, two Civil Rights Acts, three Enforcement Acts, the impeachment of a president, and an army of occupation. Yet, even that was not enough to ensure that African American voices would be heard, or their lives protected. White supremacists loudly and intentionally prevented black Americans from voting -- and they were willing to kill to do so.In this vivid portrait of the systematic suppression of the African American vote for young adults, critically acclaimed author Lawrence Goldstone traces the injustices of the post-Reconstruction era through the eyes of incredible individuals, both heroic and barbaric, and examines the legal cases that made the Supreme Court a partner of white supremacists in the rise of Jim Crow. Though this is a story of America's past, Goldstone brilliantly draws direct links to today's creeping threats to suffrage in this important and, alas, timely book.

Editorial Reviews

MAY 2020 - AudioFile

James Shippy narrates this history with deliberate phrasing aimed at young adults. After the Civil War, ratification of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments was intended to guarantee civil rights to formerly enslaved people. It quickly became apparent, however, that many states were systematically dismantling these rights—ironically, using the justice system to erode the Reconstruction-era amendments. Shippy’s subtle pauses and use of emphasis convey anger and disbelief over the litany of segregationist legislation and the twisted judicial renderings that allowed it, and conveys the determination of those striving against these efforts to thwart racial equality, particularly regarding voting rights. The epilogue is a summation of this ongoing struggle, and Shippy delivers it with fervor. If this audiobook doesn’t offend your sense of justice, you're not listening hard enough. L.T. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

From the Publisher

Praise for Unpunished Murder:A Booklist Youth Editors' Choice selection* "A gripping story and a well-informed perspective on American history. Spotlighting an event seldom discussed in books for young people, Goldstone provides a complex, useful historical context for understanding issues surrounding race and justice." — Booklist, starred review* "The book is, in large part, the story of how racism evolves, persisting in laws and politics despite major social advances." — The Horn Book, starred review"This book shines a light on a shameful sea change moment in U.S. history... Difficult and necessary." — Kirkus Reviews"This is a unique look at not only the massacre in question, but also at the history and workings of the Supreme Court of the United States... This work shows a more complete history of the Reconstruction era and the way the highest levels of government were affected by a country trying to heal and make amends." — School Library ConnectionPraise for Higher, Steeper, Faster:* "For those who love history, aviation, or stories of great daring, this is pure pleasure." — Kirkus Reviews, starred review* "Readers will breathlessly follow the race to conquer the sky." — School Library Connection, starred review* "Goldstone deftly combines captivating descriptions of the personalities — male and female — with discussion of the many improvements and ever-present hazards of early flying." — Publishers Weekly, starred review"This look at the early days of the industry highlights the thrill and awe of a watching public as well as the fact that the sky was no longer any sort of boundary." — Booklist"Armchair thrillseekers will settle in and read this one straight through." — Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

School Library Journal

★ 12/01/2019

Gr 6 Up—Goldstone's thorough work captures the inconsistency of the U.S. Supreme Court's rulings involving the voting rights of African Americans, particularly in the Reconstruction and post-Reconstruction eras. For the most part, U.S. Supreme Court appointees during the post-Reconstruction period mirrored the general shift of attitude by white America toward reconciliation with the South, even if it meant ignoring or repealing the rights granted to African Americans with the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. Goldstone builds a convincing case that the Supreme Court played a pivotal role in the reversal of African American voting rights after Reconstruction. Furthermore, he offers evidence that efforts to restrict voting rights apply to the present-day Supreme Court, citing the 2013 decision to remove the requirement mandating special permission to change election laws at the state and local levels in designated areas within the country. Immediately after the 2013 decision, many states began to institute voting restrictions, including the requirement of photo identification. VERDICT Goldstone has provided new and compelling insight into the societal impact of the U.S. Supreme Court's decisions related to voting rights. A must-buy for all high school collections.—Susan Catlett, Green Run High School, Virginia Beach

MAY 2020 - AudioFile

James Shippy narrates this history with deliberate phrasing aimed at young adults. After the Civil War, ratification of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments was intended to guarantee civil rights to formerly enslaved people. It quickly became apparent, however, that many states were systematically dismantling these rights—ironically, using the justice system to erode the Reconstruction-era amendments. Shippy’s subtle pauses and use of emphasis convey anger and disbelief over the litany of segregationist legislation and the twisted judicial renderings that allowed it, and conveys the determination of those striving against these efforts to thwart racial equality, particularly regarding voting rights. The epilogue is a summation of this ongoing struggle, and Shippy delivers it with fervor. If this audiobook doesn’t offend your sense of justice, you're not listening hard enough. L.T. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID: 2940172396564
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date: 01/07/2020
Edition description: Unabridged
Age Range: 12 - 17 Years

Read an Excerpt

With the army concentrated in the cities or other densely populated areas, the Klan’s reputation in the countryside as a terrorist organization beyond the reach of law spread dread among black residents. Often, Klan members needed simply to show up to keep black men from the voting booth. Even worse, in those cases, the Klan would not specifically have broken any laws."If a party of white men, with ropes conspicuous on their saddlebows, rode up to a polling place and announced that hanging would begin in fifteen minutes, though without any more definite reference to anybody, and a group of blacks who had assembled to vote heard the remark and promptly disappeared, votes were lost, but a conviction on a charge of intimidation was difficult. Or if an untraceable rumor that trouble was [looming] for blacks was followed by the mysterious appearance of horsemen on the roads at midnight, firing guns and yelling at nobody in particular, votes again were lost, but no crime or misdemeanor could be brought home to any one."Even with the army in occupation, Klan terror was successful. In the presidential election of 1868, in eleven counties in Georgia, each with a majority of black voters, not a single vote was reported for Grant and the Republicans. That same year, when the Reconstruction state constitution was up for a vote in Mississippi, "it was charged by the Republicans . . . that whites terrorized the negroes by the Kuklux method, and either kept them away from the polls or intimidated them into voting against the Constitution."By 1875, largely because of the campaign of terror by Klan groups and other violent white supremacist organizations, seven of the eleven secessionist states had been "Redeemed," or returned to Democratic control. The remaining four, Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina, would become the centers of both the war-at-any-cost effort to restore white rule and the last desperate attempts to maintain at least some areas of equal rights in the South.Perched on the fulcrum of this seesaw was the United States Supreme Court.

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