The sesquicentennial of the Civil War and Reconstruction invites reflection on the broad meaning of American democracy. In We Ask Only for Even-Handed Justice, John David Smith brings together a wealth of primary texts - editorials, letters, newspaper articles, and personal testimonies - to illuminate the experience of emancipation for the millions of African Americans enmeshed in the transition from chattel slavery to freedom from 1865 to 1877.

John David Smith is the Charles H. Stone Distinguished Professor of American History at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He is the author of many books, including, most recently, A Just and Lasting Peace: A Documentary History of Reconstruction and Lincoln and the U.S. Colored Troops.