Attorney Albion Tourgee

Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit makes an interesting comment about Reconstruction in the South after the Civil War, in the context of a biography of Albion Tourgee.

He had been a champion of racial equality during Reconstruction, but the U.S. public tired of keeping troops in the South and the national press painted Reconstruction as an unrealistic failure, leading to the takeover of pro-segregation forces and the enactment of Jim Crow laws. Tourgee continued to fight these -- with some support from Civil War veterans -- but it was mostly unsuccessful, setting the stage for long-term problems that affect America to this day.

Hmm.