In David Blight’s Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory, Blight examines the period of 50 years after the American Civil War. Using the two themes of race and reunion, Blight looks at how public memory clashes with private memory. He decides to look at the three significant visions that emerged during this period after the civil war. The three visions are the reconciliationist vision, the white supremacist vision, and the emancipationist vision. Examining these three visions and how they fit into the American memory is what Blight does with Race and Reunion. As one reviewer puts it, Race and Reunion “should be read by anyone who has ever considered what different society we might have become if white supremacy had not defeated the promise of re-construction race relations… and if a memory of the Civil War that celebrated equality between white and black Americans could have prevailed.”

Finding meaning in the death and destruction of war is nothing new from a historical viewpoint. David Blight does a great job of exploring how the romanticism of the Civil War helped shift its spot in history. Defining the Civil War and the memories surrounding it is something the American public did and is still doing today. On the one hand, the African American memory of the Civil War is one of oppression and freedom that emerged from the war. While on the other hand, there is the Civil War memory unblemished by cruelties that presents the war as a fight between two brothers. Trying to find meaning in either of these visions have been to no avail. The Reconciliation vision has not been accepted by the majority of the population enough to thrive. America is still trying to find meaning in the death and destructure of the Civil War.

I enjoyed reading Race and Reunion. With all the current issues of race going on in the media today, I found this book helpful in terms of why reconciliation has not happened for the United States. The observation of romanticization of historical memory shows that it can be dangerous in a historical context. A reviewer of the Journal of American History put it like this “He [Blight] has addressed some hopelessly difficult issues, and the result is a moving and eloquent book that should force Americans to think afresh about the troubled legacies of their Civil War.” Another reviewer said sweet memories bring healing while bitter memories bring salvation. There is perhaps hope for the future with this new look David Blight has provided for Civil War. With a lot of information Race and Reunion is a book that needs to be read again and again to digest all the arguments.