Well, if you suddenly realize you know basically zilch about a topic, you can look into your friends list and see if you know an expert who can make a recommendation.
In my case, after all the Civil War Heritage hooha this week, it occurred to me that I’ve never read anything remotely definitive about Reconstruction. So I looked up Professor David Noon of Lawyers Gun & Money and asked him what the most reputable source was, and he was kind enough to recommend Forever Free, written by a man felt by historians to be the best authority on the subject.
I wouldn’t have known where to start without Facebook.
After you’ve read it, maybe you can fill me in on something. I always hear black/African-American Senators, Governors, Representatives, etc. qualified with the term “since Reconstruction.” Was the American political scene brimming over with African-American politicians BEFORE Reconstruction? If not, why not just say “In American history”? Are we trying to justify their absence up to a point by using a euphemism for “since non-whites were finally allowed to participate”?
I think there were a few African-American politicians elected in the South during Reconstruction, but when that came to a close so did any chances for more to be elected until the 1960s. Hence the terminology.
I’ll let you know if my surmise is accurate.
Facebook has lots of uses.