Recreates the 12 years after the Civil War when Andrew Johnson was maligned by his enemies because he was seeking honestly to carry out the conciliatory and wise policy of Lincoln. Brutal men, inspired by personal ambition or party motives, assumed the pose of philanthropists and patriots, and thus deceived and misguided vast numbers of well-meaning people in the North. Shows the psychological effect on Southern people of the despotic policies of which they were the victims.

'The king is dead; long live the king' -- Andrew Johnson: a portrait. -- With Chase among the ruins. -- Thaddeus Stevens: a portrait. -- 'The war goes on' -- The final break. -- Patriots mob a president. -- The revolution hurries on. -- The great American farce. -- Carpetbaggers and a protest. -- A passing phase. -- Washington: the social background. -- A season of scandal. -- Weird schemes and new leaders. -- The Klan and the Kirk War. -- Sumner's back to the wall. -- Land and year of jubilee. -- The radical ranks break. -- Degradation and depression. -- The slipping scepter. -- Military satraps and revolution. -- The falling of rotten fruit. -- The year of the Centennial. -- The red shirts ride. -- The crowning crime -- and release.