SOUTHWESTERN HISTORICAL QUARTERLY最新文献

英文中文

George T. Ruby: Champion of Equal Rights in Reconstruction Texas by Carl H. Moneyhon (review) 乔治·t·鲁比:重建德克萨斯的平权斗士卡尔·h·莫尼汉著(书评)

3区历史学 Q3 Arts and Humanities

SOUTHWESTERN HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

Pub Date : 2023-07-01 DOI: 10.1353/swh.2023.a900777

Reviewed by: George T. Ruby: Champion of Equal Rights in Reconstruction Texas by Carl H. Moneyhon Brian Matthew Jordan George T. Ruby: Champion of Equal Rights in Reconstruction Texas. By Carl H. Moneyhon. ( Fort Worth: Texas Christian University Press, 2020. Pp. 413. Notes, bibliography, index.) Though his life spanned just four decades, George Thompson Ruby earned the esteem of Black leaders in post–Civil War America. From Haiti [End Page 132] to New Orleans to Texas, where he became a charter member of the state's Black political leadership class during Reconstruction, Ruby toiled for equal rights and a more inclusive democracy. "George Ruby was not the sort of man Texas history traditionally has seen as a hero," Carl Moneyhon comments in this diligently researched biography, the first cradle-to-grave treatment of its subject. "Still, there was something heroic about him" (361). Quarrying period newspapers and previously untapped manuscript sources, Moneyhon recalls a life that well illustrates the promise and betrayals of Reconstruction. The biography opens by recalling the reformist zeal of George's father, Reuben, who became his son's exemplar. George Ruby was also shaped by his formal education; in 1859, he became the first Black high school graduate in his adopted hometown of Portland, Maine. Extant sources do not allow much access to Ruby's personal life, but this early context permits certain hallmarks of his character to come into focus. Just weeks before the rebels bombarded Fort Sumter into submission, young George Ruby set sail for Haiti, where he hoped fellow U.S. emigrants might realize their dream of equality and self-government. Ruby became one of the most enthusiastic boosters of the project, producing a blizzard of rosy missives for periodicals back home. Despite Ruby's best efforts, the short-lived emigration scheme came to grief. Letting up on none of his energies, Ruby promptly relocated to New Orleans and went to work teaching the formerly enslaved population in the city and its rural hinterlands. When chronic underfunding and White resistance enfeebled Louisiana's freedmen's schools, Ruby moved to Galveston. In Texas, Ruby found an outlet for his innate political ambition. He became an early organizer for the Loyal League and Republican Party. He scored an appointment as inspector for the Freedmen's Bureau, a position that obliged him to canvass the state, survey conditions on the ground, and report on his findings. This work not only offered a primer on local White antagonism to Reconstruction, but also helped Ruby to foster personal connections with new Black voters. As one of ten Black delegates tapped for the state constitutional convention in 1868, Ruby sat on key committees and sought to enshrine in the final document fundamental guarantees of equal rights. Ruby also aligned himself with his party's radical wing in efforts to divide the state and disfranchise former rebels. In 1869, voters sent him to the Texas Sena

书评:乔治·t·鲁比:卡尔·h·莫尼翁布莱恩·马修·乔丹在重建德克萨斯的平等权利的冠军乔治·t·鲁比:在重建德克萨斯的平等权利的冠军。卡尔·h·莫尼汉著。(沃斯堡:德克萨斯基督教大学出版社，2020年。413页。注释、参考书目、索引。)虽然乔治·汤普森·鲁比的一生只有40年，但他赢得了内战后美国黑人领袖的尊重。从海地到新奥尔良，再到德克萨斯州，在重建期间，他成为该州黑人政治领导阶层的特许成员，鲁比为平等权利和更具包容性的民主而努力奋斗。“乔治·鲁比不是得克萨斯州历史上传统上被视为英雄的那种人，”卡尔·莫尼汉在这本经过认真研究的传记中评论道，这是第一本从摇篮到坟墓的传记。“尽管如此，他还是有些英雄气概”(361)。挖掘时期的报纸和以前未开发的手稿来源，莫尼汉回忆了一个生活，很好地说明了重建的承诺和背叛。这本传记一开始就回顾了乔治的父亲鲁本(Reuben)的改革热情，他成为了乔治的榜样。乔治·鲁比也受到了正规教育的影响;1859年，他成为他的第二故乡缅因州波特兰的第一位黑人高中毕业生。现存的资料不允许太多地接触到Ruby的个人生活，但是这个早期的背景允许他的性格的某些特征成为焦点。就在叛军炮轰萨姆特堡迫使其投降的几周前，年轻的乔治·鲁比(George Ruby)启航前往海地，他希望在那里的美国移民同胞能够实现他们平等和自治的梦想。Ruby成为了这个项目最热心的支持者之一，为国内的期刊撰写了大量乐观的信件。尽管林心如尽了最大的努力，这个短暂的移民计划还是失败了。鲁比毫不松懈地立即搬到了新奥尔良，开始在城市和农村腹地教那些曾经被奴役的人。当长期的资金不足和白人的抵抗削弱了路易斯安那州的自由民学校时，鲁比搬到了加尔维斯顿。在德克萨斯州，鲁比为自己与生俱来的政治野心找到了发泄的途径。他成为忠诚联盟和共和党的早期组织者。他被任命为自由民局(Freedmen’s Bureau)的巡查员，这个职位要求他调查整个州，调查当地的情况，并报告他的发现。这部作品不仅为了解当地白人对重建的敌意提供了基础，而且还帮助林心如与新的黑人选民建立了个人联系。作为1868年州制宪会议的十名黑人代表之一，鲁比参加了关键的委员会，并试图在最终文件中载入平等权利的基本保证。鲁比还与他的政党的激进派别结盟，努力分裂国家，剥夺前叛乱分子的选举权。1869年，选民将他选入德克萨斯州参议院，在那里他成为埃德蒙·j·戴维斯州长立法议程的可靠支持者。尽管鲁比有雄辩的口才、写作的才能和立法的才能，但他最终被证明无法建立一个真正的混血儿联盟，也无法超越他的黑人支持基础。保守派媒体对鲁比大加指责(这是他重要性的一个明显标志)。他所在的共和党在黑人民权问题上存在无可救药的分歧。1871年，敢于在德克萨斯州建立一个混血民主制度的人所面临的政治阻力变得更加强大，当时一个新的大胆的民主党出现了，预示着第二年州立法机构将回到民主党的控制之下。鲁比一生坚持不懈的乐观现在变成了冷酷的听天由命。他回到了路易斯安那州，但在那里，暴力和派系斗争也结束了重建。在他1872年出版的短命的共和党竞选报纸的报头上，鲁比宣称:“铭记正义，我们敢于真实”(280-281)。这可能是他的墓志铭。德州历史学家和重建时期学者再次感谢卡尔·莫尼洪，因为他重现了一个非凡的人生，并巧妙地将其置于那个时期复杂的政治环境中。布莱恩马修乔丹山姆休斯顿州立大学版权©2022得克萨斯州历史协会

{"title":"George T. Ruby: Champion of Equal Rights in Reconstruction Texas by Carl H. Moneyhon (review)","authors":"","doi":"10.1353/swh.2023.a900777","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/swh.2023.a900777","url":null,"abstract":"Reviewed by: George T. Ruby: Champion of Equal Rights in Reconstruction Texas by Carl H. Moneyhon Brian Matthew Jordan George T. Ruby: Champion of Equal Rights in Reconstruction Texas. By Carl H. Moneyhon. ( Fort Worth: Texas Christian University Press, 2020. Pp. 413. Notes, bibliography, index.) Though his life spanned just four decades, George Thompson Ruby earned the esteem of Black leaders in post–Civil War America. From Haiti [End Page 132] to New Orleans to Texas, where he became a charter member of the state's Black political leadership class during Reconstruction, Ruby toiled for equal rights and a more inclusive democracy. \"George Ruby was not the sort of man Texas history traditionally has seen as a hero,\" Carl Moneyhon comments in this diligently researched biography, the first cradle-to-grave treatment of its subject. \"Still, there was something heroic about him\" (361). Quarrying period newspapers and previously untapped manuscript sources, Moneyhon recalls a life that well illustrates the promise and betrayals of Reconstruction. The biography opens by recalling the reformist zeal of George's father, Reuben, who became his son's exemplar. George Ruby was also shaped by his formal education; in 1859, he became the first Black high school graduate in his adopted hometown of Portland, Maine. Extant sources do not allow much access to Ruby's personal life, but this early context permits certain hallmarks of his character to come into focus. Just weeks before the rebels bombarded Fort Sumter into submission, young George Ruby set sail for Haiti, where he hoped fellow U.S. emigrants might realize their dream of equality and self-government. Ruby became one of the most enthusiastic boosters of the project, producing a blizzard of rosy missives for periodicals back home. Despite Ruby's best efforts, the short-lived emigration scheme came to grief. Letting up on none of his energies, Ruby promptly relocated to New Orleans and went to work teaching the formerly enslaved population in the city and its rural hinterlands. When chronic underfunding and White resistance enfeebled Louisiana's freedmen's schools, Ruby moved to Galveston. In Texas, Ruby found an outlet for his innate political ambition. He became an early organizer for the Loyal League and Republican Party. He scored an appointment as inspector for the Freedmen's Bureau, a position that obliged him to canvass the state, survey conditions on the ground, and report on his findings. This work not only offered a primer on local White antagonism to Reconstruction, but also helped Ruby to foster personal connections with new Black voters. As one of ten Black delegates tapped for the state constitutional convention in 1868, Ruby sat on key committees and sought to enshrine in the final document fundamental guarantees of equal rights. Ruby also aligned himself with his party's radical wing in efforts to divide the state and disfranchise former rebels. In 1869, voters sent him to the Texas Sena","PeriodicalId":42779,"journal":{"name":"SOUTHWESTERN HISTORICAL QUARTERLY","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135409686","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}