Equality: An American Dilemma, 1866–1896

In his most recent book, Beyond Equality: An American Dilemma, 1866–1896, Charles Postel explores how the most important reform movements of the post–Civil War era—the Grange, the Woman’ Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), and the Knights of Labor (KOL)—sought to remake the United States into a more egalitarian nation. As part of this history, Postel briefly spotlights the southern travels of Oliver Kelley, one of the founders of the Grange; Frances Willard, the well-regarded president of the WCTU; and Terence Powderly, the grand master of the KOL. Kelley toured the South in 1866 at the behest of President Andrew Johnson, who had asked him to assess the state of southern agriculture. Fifteen years later, when Frances Willard announced that she planned to visit the South, President James Garfield invited her to the White House to discuss her upcoming venture. Just three years later, in 1885, Terence Powderly publicized that he...