1877: America's Year of Living Violently

Michael A. Bellisiles. 1877: America's Year of Living Violently. New York: The New Press, 2010.

Ten years after the publication of his controversial Arming America, Michael A. Bellesiles returned to the public eye with a much less contentious account of what most historians would agree was indeed an exceptionally violent and unsettled year in American history. Eight years after its appearance, none of the controversy over sources and integrity which rightly plagued the reputation of his previous book have arisen. This is a solid, well-supported account of a very bad time in American history.

The book is organized thematically, framed by brief vignettes from the beginning and end of the year. Each chapter covers a particular issue or event--the aftermath of the contested 1876 Presidential election, which led to increased sectional and partisan tensions which many thought would lead to another civil war; the violent re-imposition of white supremacy in the former Confederacy; military actions against Western Indian tribes and Mexican-American citizens; the violent suppression of the labor movement and Women's suffrage; and the increase in homicide and the prevalence of guns in the civilian population.

Bellesiles, doesn't cover much new ground, but he does tie together many different events through extensive research of contemporary newspaper coverage, creating a convincing picture of an overarching national conversation about--and anxiety over--violence overtaking the nation and society. Each chapter is a well-written summary of an important facet of the story, but the book gathers its strength from the overall effect of a year which most Americans were happy to see the end of, but which also shaped much of the social, legal, political, and economic inequalities which marked the next several decades of American history.