"Steven A. Goldman looks at the contentious post-Civil War era from the perspective of Union veterans carried on the fight for equality in the decades to come. He explores the root causes of this historic contest, the changing attitudes of northern servicemen with respect to the Civil War's purpose, and the psychological effect of involvement in the unfinished cause of freedom and equality for all Americans"-- Provided by publisher.

Foreword (John R. Sellers, PhD) -- Introduction -- Shouldering "the unfinished work" -- Getting political : the 1866 midterm elections and Fourteenth Amendment -- Reconstruction and African American equality -- Doing battle with the Ku Klux Klan and the end of Reconstruction -- The fight against Jim Crow and the Grand Army of the Republic -- The Grand Army of the Republic keeps the faith -- Reconciliation, resistance to the lost cause and lynching -- Commemoration and controversy : how to honor the Civil War dead -- Betrayal, remembrance and standing fast -- The Lee statue : the Grand Army's last stand.