The Reconstruction Era National Historical Park, formerly Reconstruction Era National Monument is a

United States National Historical Park National Historic Site (NHS) is a designation for an officially recognized area of national historic significance in the United States. An NHS usually contains a single historical feature directly associated with its subject. The National Historic ...

Beaufort County, South Carolina Beaufort County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 187,117. Its county seat is Beaufort. Beaufort County is part of the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort, SC Metropolitan Statist ...

established by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

in January 2017 to preserve and commemorate activities during the

Reconstruction Era The Reconstruction era was a period in American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebuild the country after the bloo ...

that followed the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. The monument was the first U.S. National Monument dedicated to the Reconstruction Era.Jennifer Schuessler
President Obama Designates First National Monument Dedicated to Reconstruction
''New York Times'' (January 12, 2017). The

John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act The John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act of 2019 is an Omnibus bill, omnibus lands act that protected public lands and modified management provisions. The bill designated more than of National Wilderness Preservation ...

, signed March 12, 2019, by President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

, re-designated it as a national historical park. It is administered by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

Creation of the monument

The campaign to create a Reconstruction Era National Monument spanned fifteen years, beginning in the final days of the

Bill Clinton administration Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

, when outgoing

Interior Secretary The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natural ...

Bruce Babbitt The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been a ...

visited the Beaufort area, accompanied by historian

Eric Foner Eric Foner (; born February 7, 1943) is an American historian. He writes extensively on American political history, the history of freedom, the early history of the Republican Party, African-American biography, the American Civil War, Reconstru ...

, author of the book '' Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877''. The initial effort to create the national monument failed in Congress amid opposition from the

Sons of Confederate Veterans The Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) is an American neo-Confederate nonprofit organization of male descendants of Confederate soldiers The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the militar ...

.Bill Rauch
Can the South Make Room for Reconstruction?
''The Atlantic'' (September 17, 2016). In 2004, when the creation of a ''Beaufort Reconstruction History Park'' was being considered, the Sons of Confederate Veterans organized a campaign to persuade U.S. Representative Joe Wilson (who then represented the area of the proposed park) to oppose it. After receiving letters from the group's members and meeting with the group, Wilson told the

that he would not support the park. The proposal was revived in 2015, however, after two historians commissioned by the Park Service —

Gregory Downs Gregory (formerly Gregory Downs) is an outback town and locality in the Shire of Burke, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Gregory had a population of 72 people. Geography The town is situated on the banks of the perennial Greg ...

of the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...

and

Kate Masur Kate Masur is an American historian and author. She is a professor of history at Northwestern University. Her book ''Until Justice Be Done'' was a 2022 Pulitzer Prize finalist and winner of the American Historical Association The American Histo ...

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

—undertook a field study of sites associated with the Reconstruction era and issued a report entitled ''National Historical Landmark Theme Study on the U.S. Reconstruction Era, 1861–1898''. At an April 2016 symposium entitled "The Reconstruction Era: History and Public Memory" in

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the city ...

, sponsored by Historic Columbia and the University of South Carolina History Center, Downs, Masur, and others spoke. At that symposium, a Park Service official indicated that opposition to the proposed national monument from the Sons of Confederate Veterans had softened. Two U.S. Representatives from South Carolina, Democrat

Jim Clyburn James Enos Clyburn (born July 21, 1940) is an American politician and retired educator serving as a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina. He has served as House majority whip ...

and Republican

Mark Sanford Marshall Clement "Mark" Sanford Jr. (born May 28, 1960) is an American politician and author who served as the U.S. Representative for South Carolina's 1st congressional district from 1995 to 2001 and again from 2013 to 2019, and also as the ...

(whose district has included Beaufort since redistricting in 2010), were major champions of the monument's designation and had sought to create the monument via an

act of Congress An Act of Congress is a statute enacted by the United States Congress. Acts may apply only to individual entities (called Public and private bills, private laws), or to the general public (Public and private bills, public laws). For a Bill (law) ...

.Emma Dumain
Just under the wire, Obama establishes national monument to Reconstruction era in Beaufort County
''The Post & Courier'' (January 12, 2017). A proposal to create the Reconstruction Era National Monument through executive action received overwhelming support at a public meeting held by Clyburn and the Park Service in December 2016.Stephen Fastenau

''Beauford Gazette'' (December 15, 2016). The great-great-grandson of

Robert Smalls Robert Smalls (April 5, 1839 – February 23, 1915) was an American politician, publisher, businessman, and maritime pilot. Born into slavery in Beaufort, South Carolina, he freed himself, his crew, and their families during the American Civil W ...

—a freed slave who rose to become a member of Congress from South Carolina during Reconstruction—was a supporter of the monument's designation. The Reconstruction Era National Monument, created in the final days of President Obama's term, was established on the same day as two National Monuments honoring the

American civil rights movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the United ...

: the

Freedom Riders National Monument The Freedom Riders National Monument is a United States National Monument in Anniston, Alabama established by President Barack Obama in January 2017 to preserve and commemorate the Freedom Riders during the Civil Rights Movement. The monument is ...

and the

Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument The Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument is a United States National Monument in Birmingham, Alabama established in 2017 to preserve and commemorate the work of the Civil Rights Movement. The monument is administered by the National Park Serv ...

.Melanie Eversley
Obama designates 3 civil rights sites as national monuments
''USA Today'' (January 12, 2017). Obama created the monuments using his executive authority under the

Antiquities Act The Antiquities Act of 1906 (, , ), is an act that was passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by Theodore Roosevelt on June 8, 1906. This law gives the President of the United States the authority to, by presidential procla ...

, which confers upon the president the unilateral authority to create most national monuments. A public dedication ceremony was held in March 2017. The monument's dedication was also celebrated at that year's annual Original Gullah Festival.

Sites that are part of the historical park

The monument includes four locations in and near

Beaufort, South Carolina Beaufort ( , a different pronunciation from that used by the city with the same name in North Carolina) is a city in and the county seat of Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1711, it is the second-oldest city in South ...

.Jessicah Lawrence, "Beaufort designated as Reconstruction era national monument," ''Beaufort Today'' (January 16, 2017). The Beaufort area came under the control of the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

in November 1861. As a result, it was one of the first places in the United States where

emancipated slaves Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The Britis ...

"voted, bought property and created churches, schools and businesses." The four sites that are part of the park are: * Darrah Hall at Penn CenterPlan Your Visit
Reconstruction Era National Monument, National Park Service. (originally Penn School): Founded in 1862, this was an early school in the South for freed slaves. In 1864, it moved to its current location (now part of the monument) on Saint Helena Island. Even before the national monument was declared, Penn Center was part of a

National Historic Landmark District National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

. It is significant not only for its association with Reconstruction and civil rights, but also as a center of

Gullah The Gullah () are an African Americans, African American ethnic group who predominantly live in the South Carolina Lowcountry, Lowcountry region of the U.S. states of Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina, within the coastal plain ...

cultural heritage. * Brick Baptist Church: Located next to Penn Center, this church building was constructed in 1855 "by slaves who were relegated to its balcony out of the sight and presence of white worshipers." In 1861, after the

Battle of Port Royal The Battle of Port Royal was one of the earliest amphibious operations of the American Civil War, in which a United States Navy fleet and United States Army expeditionary force captured Port Royal Sound, South Carolina, between Savannah, Geor ...

, some 8,000 freed slaves took control of the church. It is the oldest church on Saint Helena Island. * The Old Beaufort Firehouse (706 Craven Street) in downtown Beaufort, near other historically significant sites. The old firehouse, which is also part of the 304-acre Beaufort National Historic District, now houses the visitor center for the national historic park.Emily Williams
How Reconstruction is being retold in Beaufort, one of the newest national parks
''Post & Courier'' (April 22, 2019). *

Camp Saxton Site The Camp Saxton Site is a property located in Port Royal, South Carolina. It was listed in the National Register Historic Places on February 2, 1995. Location and History Situated along the Beaufort River, it is bounded on the east by the river ...

/Emancipation Grove at

Port Royal Port Royal is a village located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest city in the Caribbean, functioning as the centre of shipping and co ...

— this is the location where Union Army

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Rufus Saxton Rufus Saxton (October 19, 1824 – February 23, 1908) was a Union Army brigadier general during the American Civil War who received America's highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions defending Harpers Ferry during Confed ...

publicly read the

Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the Civil War. The Proclamation changed the legal sta ...

to a gathering of 3,000 slaves from the surrounding

Sea Islands The Sea Islands are a chain of tidal and barrier islands on the Atlantic Ocean coast of the Southeastern United States. Numbering over 100, they are located between the mouths of the Santee and St. Johns Rivers along the coast of South Carolina, ...

New Year's Day New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Wh ...

1863. Additionally, it was the site where some of the first African-Americans were mustered into the U.S. Army, as enlisted soldiers in the 1st South Carolina Volunteers. The Emancipation Oak, an oak tree, is located in a nearby grove. The area is now part of Naval Hospital Beaufort.

References

External links

Official National Park Service site
{{authority control Gullah culture Gullah history National Monuments in South Carolina National Monuments designated by Barack Obama Protected areas of Beaufort County, South Carolina Protected areas established in 2017 2017 establishments in South Carolina Reconstruction Era African-American history of South Carolina Tourist attractions in Beaufort County, South Carolina National Historical Parks of the United States

Creation of the monument

Sites that are part of the historical park

See also

References

External links