# Peace Among The Whites (Episode 6) | Reconstruction: An Unfinished Promise

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The Civil War ended in 1865—but did Reconstruction really end there?

In this episode of Reconstruction, Malcolm Gladwell examines the Compromise of 1877, the political deal that effectively ended Reconstruction and abandoned the federal government's commitment to protecting the rights of newly freed Black Americans. Through conversations with President Barack Obama and historians David Blight and Manisha Sinha, the episode explores how political compromise, economic interests, and shifting public priorities reshaped the future of American democracy.

What happens when the pursuit of unity comes at the expense of justice? And what can the collapse of Reconstruction teach us about the promises—and limits—of democracy today?

New episodes of Reconstruction are available every week. Subscribe for more conversations exploring the unfinished story of American democracy.

Reconstruction: The Unfinished Promise is hosted by Malcolm Gladwell and Barack Obama.

Subscribe for new episodes of Reconstruction: The Unfinished Promise every week.

About Reconstruction: An Unfinished Promise

Reconstruction begins where, for most Americans, the story of the Civil War ends: The North is victorious and slavery is abolished. But what happened next was one of the most important decades in American history, a moment when our country grappled with its original sin and imagined — and briefly enacted — a more perfect union.

Drawing from archives, letters, diaries, court records, eyewitness testimonies and some of America’s most accomplished scholars and storytellers, Reconstruction: The Unfinished Promise explores this unprecedented historical moment in rich, kaleidoscopic detail. The series unpacks a time when a determined band of reformers attempted to radically reimagine American society — from the Constitution to the roots of its economy to the very nature of citizenship itself.

Reconstruction was a time when Americans struggled over fundamental questions about our country. Who…

- What it is: Full episode
- Series: [Reconstruction: An Unfinished Promise](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/library/rights-holders/series/3cea12ff70aa)
- Next episode: [History of Democracy Revised (Episode 7) | Reconstruction: An Unfinished Promise](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/rights-holders/YOWUiqx3X-A)
- Length: 23 min
- Rights holder: [HIGHER GROUND PRODUCTIONS](https://highergroundmedia.com/) (its site links the channel: https://highergroundmedia.com/)
- Channel: [Higher Ground Productions](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnxUOhdgY4jC294vi7i4EVg)
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- Who can watch here: Adult profiles and older (no rating is recorded on YouTube, so adults only)
- Made for kids: No, as YouTube designates it
- On YouTube: [Watch on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LChLh8gIhU)

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