The work opens with an analysis of the ante-bellum conditions in Alabama, detailing the composition of the population, the rising sectional controversy, and the growth of secession sentiment. Fleming explains how the state's division into white and black counties influenced its political trajectory and why the population ultimately turned toward secession.
The narrative then shifts to the internal conditions of Alabama during the war years. It covers military operations, the devastation wrought by invading armies, the hardships of the home front, and the economic collapse driven by the blockade. Special attention is given to the conscription laws, the exemption conflicts, and the growth of disaffection among tories and deserters.
The aftermath of the war brought severe social and economic disorder, marked by lawlessness, the wreck of railways, and the initial struggles of the newly freed negroes. Fleming discusses the measures of Presidential Restoration, the operations of the Freedmen's Bureau, and the military government under the Reconstruction Acts, which placed the state under martial law.
Congressional Reconstruction introduced carpet-bag and negro rule, accompanied by heavy taxation, public debt, railroad frauds, and radical changes in the educational and religious systems. The rise of secret societies like the Ku Klux Klan and the Knights of the White Camelia reflected the violent resistance of the white population against the new political order.
The final phase covers the reorganization of the industrial system through the share and credit systems, the political struggles of the Reconstruction era, and the eventual overthrow of Reconstruction in eighteen seventy-four. The narrative concludes with the return of white control to the state government and the lasting legacy of the period on Alabama society.
