Book Review 4 "The Day Freedom Died"

Was America truly the land of the free where everyone is treated with equality? After the emancipation of slavery during the Civil War, civil rights and suffrage was awarded to the former slaves. A decade would pass and the United States would turn her back against the men who she just freed. American journalists Charles Lane's The Day Freedom Died focuses on the discreet details regarding the events that transpired Easter Sunday, 1873 in rural Grants Parish, Louisiana. This historical novel revolves around the story of politics and betrayal when describing one of America's great blunders.

The style in which Charles Lane decided the depict the events and repercussions of the Colfax Massacre was by detailing each impact character and determining why each man did what they did. He would illustrate the backgrounds of the characters and how they were raised, military careers, higher educations etc. He would also tie together the literal causes and effects of the massacre along with its influence on politics in the upcoming century.

The characters within the novel range at a great degree. Since the novel has a historian base to it, the characters are not the focal point of the book, although he would go in depth about key people and their impacts in the aftermath of the massacre. J.R. Beckwith was one of the few character who spanned across a large portion of the book. Beckwith was a well educated lawyer who caught word of the injustices in Colfax and took upon himself to bring to justice the perpetrators.

The setting illustrates the rural nature of the town of Colfax and the area of Grants Parish in 1873. Due to the obscurity of Colfax's location, the town struggled to get immediate attention when attempting to ward of the escalating violence produced by local KKK factions along with the radical democrats who wished to dispatch the incumbent Republicans. The setting would broaden to a national level after the resulting mistrials in New Orleans.

I recommend this book to people who enjoy historical events that shaped the future of America. People who prefer fantasy novels, however, may not enjoy the 352 page history lesson. I'm sure people like Mr. Qualls would enjoy this however.