1. D. Michael Bottoms argues that viewing Reconstruction from the West “suggests a radically different narrative, one that carries significant implications for understanding race relations in twentieth century America” (7). Why does Bottoms argue that California, a state that never left the Union, is a useful place to discuss Reconstruction? Does California’s example suggest historians have erred in making Reconstruction exclusively a story of tensions between white people and African Americans? Did non-white people successfully forge alliances to fight for rights? Finally, what, if any, is the contemporary relevance of the material Bottoms presents?
