Books by William Gillette

In short, the Fifteenth Amendment was not a radical document but rather was pushed by Republican moderates in an effort to consolidate their power.

According to William Gillette, recent reinterpretation of Reconstruction by revisionist historians has often tended to overemphasise idealistic motivations at the expense of assessing concrete achievements of the era. Thus, he maintains, the failure of both the purpose and the promise of Reconstruction has not been deeply enough analysed.

The perspectives William Gillette offers in Jersey Blue, from the recruiting ground, the battlefield, and the home front, cast new light on New Jersey's wartime activities, state identity, and our understanding of the interrelationships between New Jersey's national, regional, and state developments.