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Neither Carpetbaggers Nor Scalawags NewSouth Books The reconstruction of Alabama brought with it the unprecedented opportunity for African Americans - antebellum free blacks and former slaves - to receive an education, to work for wages, to worship free of white observation, to marry and live with their families, and to participate in political matters. Although these social changes are historically important, the story of African Americans who became officeholders in Alabama has long been misunderstood. Black officeholders have been saddled with the infamy of what went wrong during Reconstruction without having been the subject of academic inquiry, In addition, few studies have applauded their efforts. Neither Carpetbaggers Nor Scalawags attempts to make clear the role blacks played during Alabama Reconstruction. Many African American officeholders in Alabama came from the Black Belt counties, although some of them cam from as far north as Madison and Lauderdale counties and others came from as far south as Mobile. They assumed public office for the first time when they served as registrars and later as delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1867. Neither Carpetbaggers Nor Scalawags distills many of their public utterances and some of their private deeds in order to highlight their role in forming Alabama's first Republican party and in reshaping postwar affairs in Alabama. Their story has never been told until now.
Reviews of Neither Carpetbaggers nor Scalawags "Alabama's antebellum reconstruction opened up unparalleled opportunities for free blacks and former slaves to achieve education, to work for wages, to worship freely, to marry and raise families, and to engage in the political process. Bailey chronicles the oft-misunderstood role that African American officeholders played in post-war Alabama. The author opens his narrative with a description of the devastated state in 1865, with many blacks remaining on their plantations for various reasons. Historic photos punctuate the account, bringing more life to an already lively history. Dividing his book into two parts, The Fork in the Road and The Road Not Taken, Bailey portrays a state challenged by whites' determination to lead blacks in the face of African American resolve to become part of the political process as voters and ascending leaders."
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