Description
A memoir of the ambitious life and controversial political career of Louisiana governor Henry Clay Warmoth (1842-1931), War, Politics, and Reconstruction is a firsthand account of the political and social machinations of Civil War The usa and the war’s aftermath in one of the volatile states of the defeated Confederacy. An Illinois native, Warmoth arrived in Louisiana in 1864 as a part of the federal occupation forces. Upon leaving military service in 1865, he established himself in private legal practice in New Orleans. Taking full good thing about the chaotic times, Warmoth unexpectedly amassed fortune and influence, and soon emerged as a leader of the state’s Republican Party and, in 1868, was once elected governor. Amid an administration rife with scandal and corruption, the Louisiana Republican Party broke into warring factions. Warmoth survived an impeachment attempt in 1872, but a second attempt in 1873 culminated with his removal from workplace. This fall from Republican grace stemmed from his allegiance with white conservatives, remnants of the old guard, and staunch opponents of those Republicans who sought a much wider role for African Americans in Louisiana’s changing political landscape. Regardless of Warmoth’s obvious self-serving biases, the volume offers unparalleled depth of personal insight into the inner workings of Reconstruction government in Louisiana in the words of one in all its key architects.