Mondays, October 6 - November 10 | 1:00-3:00 PM | $68 | 6 weeks

Instructor: Jim Edelman

The end of the Civil War brought a period of great hope and peril. America needed to heal, rebuild, and provide justice after the bitter conflict. Formerly enslaved people were released, but what did it mean to be free? What social, economic, and political rights would they have?

Reconstruction was the first time the United States tried to become a multiracial Democracy (although only for men). Approximately 2,000 freedmen served in political offices across the South, including hundreds of state legislators, fourteen Congressmen, and two Senators. During this time, many state legislatures established the first public schools in the South, implemented more equitable taxation, and passed laws against racial discrimination.

White supremacists resolved to defeat Reconstruction through voter suppression, falsely disputing election results, and massacres sanctioned by local law enforcement. As the courts undermined legislation, southerners violently rolled back most of what had been accomplished.

Sound familiar? Reverend William Barber, Henry Louis Gates Junior, and others argue that we are in a new Reconstruction era. Can we find new ways from history’s tragedies to strengthen our Democracy and pursue freedom for all? We explore connections between the issues during Reconstruction and those we face today. Optional reading available.

About your instructor:

Jim Edelman enjoyed a twenty-five-year career in corporate and investment finance. He then went into teaching - math and economics at a public high school in Memphis, Tennessee. Since retiring to Boulder in 2015 with his wife, Susan, Jim has taught at Front Range Community College, Monarch High School, and the Boulder County Jail. This is an updated course.

Join us immediately after your exchange class for Estate & Financial Planning: Strategies for a Meaningful Legacy, register here.

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