African American Politics and the Boundaries of Citizenship in Post-Civil War Boston

African American men and women in post-Civil War Boston were a significant voice in urban and national politics. They gave shape to new understandings of freedom and citizenship as they constructed political strategies for civil and political rights based upon community vigilance supported by state enforcement. They participated in debates over Reconstruction, voted in local and national elections, shifted between the Republican and Democratic Parties, challenged racial discrimination, mounted anti-lynching campaigns, and formed political coalitions with Irish-Americans. Success on the local level in Boston encouraged African Americans in the struggle for black uplift nationally.

This presentation explores the range of African American political activism in Boston and how challenges for civil rights and political inclusion are inextricably entwined with the transformations in the United States political party system and changes in the power of the national state. It seeks to uncover new avenues for exploring black and white political alliances and further expanding the political history of African American men and women.