Landscape of Ruin: The Southern Economy during Reconstruction
Civics & Coffee: A History Podcast
09/06/25
•17m
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How do you replace enslaved labor and rebuild an economy?
In the aftermath of the Civil War, the Southern economy didn’t just have to recover; it had to reinvent itself. Join me as I explore how systems like sharecropping and the cotton lien system emerged to replace slavery, and why these systems often kept both Black and white farmers trapped in poverty.
This episode unpacks the economic realities of Reconstruction, revealing how freedom didn’t always come with opportunity—and how the structures put in place during this era shaped the South for generations.
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Art, Ambition & the Gilded Age: The Miniature Painter Revealed with Kathleen Langone
September 2, 2025
•23m
What can a miniature portrait painter teach us about fame, fortune, and forgotten women of the Gilded Age?
In this episode I welcome historian and author Kathleen Langone to explore the fascinating life and career of Amalia Kussner — one of the Gilded Age’s most sought-after portrait artists. Drawing from her new book, The Miniature Painter Revealed: Amalia Kussner's Gilded Age Pursuit of Fame and Fortune, Langone discusses Kussner’s remarkable rise, her elite clientele (including American and European royalty), and her lasting impact on art and society.
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Talking to Books: Education during Reconstruction
September 13, 2025
•15m
After the Civil War, education became one of the most powerful tools for newly freed Black Americans and one of the most fiercely contested. Join me as I explore the rise of Black education during Reconstruction, from grassroots schools built by the Black community to the founding of the first Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
Learn how freed people organized, taught, and funded early schools, often under threat of violence. I also touch on the role of the Freedmen’s Bureau and Northern missionaries, alongside the foundational influence of institutions like Howard.
Key voices like W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington helped shape the early debate around education’s role in Black advancement—and their visions still echo today.
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