An aristocracy of color

Description:

As historian D. Michael Bottoms shows in An Aristocracy of Color, many white Californians saw in this and other Reconstruction legislation a threat to the fragile racial hierarchy they had imposed on the state's legal system during the 1850s. But nonwhite Californians -- blacks and Chinese in particular -- recognized an unprecedented opportunity to reshape the state's race relations. Drawing on court records, political debates, and eyewitness accounts, Bottoms brings to life the monumental battle that followed.

subjects: Race relations,  Mexican Americans,  Race relation,  Chinese Americans,  History,  African Americans,  Minorities,  Minorities, united states,  African americans, west (u.s.),  African americans, california,  United states, race relations

Places: California,  West (U.S.)

Times: 19th century