A Union veteran and writer known for critiquing the romanticized views of the South in post-Civil War literature. He maintained an emancipationist perspective on the war's legacy.

An African American academic and orator who promoted reconciliation and mutual economic interests between former slaves and masters. He faced criticism for his conciliatory stance towards racial progress.

An influential abolitionist and former enslaved person who opposed reconciliationist views and emphasized the ideological roots of the Civil War. He was a vocal critic of sentimental narratives about the war.

A politician and newspaper editor who advocated for reconciliation and citizenship for Black Americans. He moderated his abolitionist stance while running for president as a Liberal Republican.

A Black journalist and civil rights advocate who exposed the epidemic of lynching and countered the notion that Black progress alone would achieve reconciliation. She challenged complacency in national racial matters.

A Union general and conservative Republican president who marked the decline of Radical Republicanism. He authored a reconciliationist memoir before his death in 1885.

A Black American academic and civil rights activist who co-founded the NAACP. He critiqued Bookerism and was outspoken against racism and violence in the Jim Crow South.

A Democratic president known for his reconciliationist rhetoric and implementation of federal segregation. His actions demonstrated the intertwining of white supremacy and reconciliationist policies.