Reconstruction Symposium Planned by Andrew Johnson Heritage Association and National Park Service

In collaboration with the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site (NPS), the Andrew Johnson Heritage Association announces a symposium entitled: “Then and Now: Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction” to be held on September 17, 2021 at the General Morgan Inn and Conference Center.

The one-day program will seek to promote better understanding of Andrew Johnson and his role in Reconstruction. The Reconstruction Era, with its many political and social challenges, is often glossed over as “the time after the Civil War.” Most historians today would agree that the war transformed the nation. The history and culture that emerged at such a pivotal moment in the nation’s memory will be explored by a panel of experts in a one-day symposium.

Study, review, and examination of historical figures such as Andrew Johnson and his Tennessee predecessors James K. Polk and Andrew Jackson will help citizens understand how and why the war shaped the nation’s contemporary memory and institutions. Central to this are race relations and slavery during the Civil War and after during the Reconstruction era, which continue to mark the nation today.

            Speakers for this program will include:

• Dr. Daniel Feller: Professor, Director of the Papers of Andrew Jackson, University of Tennessee
• Dr. Andrew Slap: Associate Professor of History, ETSU: Author of “The Doom of Reconstruction: The Liberal Republican Movement in the Civil War Era”
• Dr. Tara White: History Instructor, Wallace Community College, Selma, AL. Dr. White has an extensive background in African-American research and programming and has managed several historic sites including being the site director for the Alabama State Capitol and Montgomery Greyhound Bus Station.
• Dr. Angela Zombek: Assistant Professor, University of North Carolina – Wilmington. Dr. Zombek has authored several works including, “Penitentiaries, Punishment, and Military Prisons,” and is Series Editor of “Interpreting the Civil War: Text and Context” for Kent University Press.
• The program will be moderated by Dr. Don Sexton, Professor Emeritus of History, Tusculum University

A unique feature of this program is that all the speakers and the Q/A session will be recorded and a transcription provided to all attendees as part of the registration fee. The cost of this one-day program including a buffet lunch and a copy of the transcription is $25.00. A Registration Form can be obtained by sending an e-mail to George Collins at shay46@earthlink.net or calling 423-525-0240. A copy of the Registration Form can also be obtained by clicking the link below:

The Association is a non-profit organization founded in 1982 by President Johnson’s great granddaughter, Martha Johnson Patterson Barlett. The Association is the “Official Friends Group” of the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site and supports its educational programming.