Who is a Citizen? Our Nation’s First Racial Reckoning, 1865-1924

February 1: How Black People Became Citizens; The South and the Nation, 1865-1876
February 8: Industrializing the Economy and Expanding White Citizenship, 1865-1924
February 15: Black People Lose Their Citizenship: Red People Lose Everything, 1876-1924
February 22: Consequences: The (Re)Birth of a Nation and the Birth of a White Empire, 1896-1924

From the end of the Civil War to the opening of the 20th century, Americans of several races and ethnicities struggled–often violently–over the question of who qualified for citizenship. In the end, white people settled this question by deciding that they alone enjoyed full citizenship rights. The consequences of that decision continue to haunt us up to the present day. Presentations will be based on Dr. Stewart’s YouTube video lectures Jim Stewart's Historical Tonic for Fragile White Folks.

Stewart is professor emeritus of history at Macalester and an eminent scholar of the Abolitionist Movement. 

This miniseries is part of the Tuesday with a Scholar Series and is presented in partnership with the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute of the University of Minnesota. Funded by the Friends of the Ramsey County Libraries.