This Week in Reconstruction, February 1-8, 1868

This Week in Reconstruction, February 1-8, 1868

Never has there been a more appropriate time for the growth of railroads than now. Railroads take over as the form of communication between Virginia, which is still politically isolated from the Union, and the rest of the nation. As punishment for white Southern rebellion, an act passed by the House of Representatives allows Congress to reclaim southern land that is currently used for railroads. The Dispatch interprets this event as another unjust Northern aggression. White Richmonders no longer identify as rebels and are certainly not worthy of this punishment or stripping of property during such hard times. The conflict surrounding railroads provides a physical embodiment of Southern and Northern tension. As the North rips away land from the white Virginians, represented by the irate language of the Dispatch, they only grow more frustrated with their current state. These Northern "monsters" disrupt the economic and social progress white Southerners cultivate through these railways. Once again Northerners find ways to belittle these white Southerners in all of their efforts to better themselves and their beloved state.

February 1-8, 1868

Mallory Haskins

Haskins-Week-5