"A series of interviews with people from various backgrounds, showing how people's personal experiences influences their politics"--

"This book argues that racism and white supremacist attitudes in the North, and not just the opposition of Andrew Johnson, blocked the adoption of Black suffrage (for men) in 1865. The virulent, racist tactics of the Democratic Party, as well as racism among a minority of Republicans and the small size of the northern Black population helped explain why the vigorous efforts of northern Blacks, southern Blacks, abolitionists, and Radical Republicans...

""Mud, Blood, and Ghosts" is a thoughtful, creative, and deeply researched story about the origins of Populism in America and its anti-immigrant and racist attitudes"-- "Populism has become a global movement associated with nationalism and strong-man politicians, but its root causes remain elusive. Mud, Blood, and Ghosts exposes one deep root in the soil of the American Great Plains. Julie Carr traces her own family's history through archival documents...