My most recent book, The Failed Promise: Reconstruction, Frederick Douglass, and the Impeachment of Andrew Johnson (W. W. Norton, 2021), tells the story of Frederick Douglass’s heated struggle with President Andrew Johnson over the rights of Black Americans in the years immediately following the Civil War. I recount the conflicts that led to Johnson’s impeachment from the perspective of Douglass and the wider Black community. In counterpointing the lives and careers of Douglass and Johnson, I offer a new perspective on the lost promise and dire failure of Reconstruction. Read more about The Failed Promise >
Order online at: Barnes & Noble, Amazon, BAM, IndieBound, Bookshop, Apple Books; audiobook from Penguin Random House
“An illuminating study of Andrew Johnson’s presidency and impeachment, offering a much-needed focus on African American leaders like Frederick Douglass and Frances Harper. Levine dramatizes the turbulent context in which they and their allies fought for the promise of Reconstruction, even as its tragedy unfolded. With expert readings and clear prose, this is a thoughtful and original study of the dynamics between official politics, social movements, and the Americans whose very lives hung in the balance.”
–Holly Jackson, author of American Radicals: How Nineteenth-Century Protest Shaped the Nation
“In this brilliantly conceived, immensely original, and beautifully written book, Robert Levine tells a new story of Reconstruction by focusing on the radically different visions of Andrew Johnson and Frederick Douglass along with other black leaders. Far more than a dual biography, The Failed Promise clarifies the hopes and tragedies of the era in ways that nothing else has, while also informing efforts to reconstruct the U.S. today. It should be required reading.”
–John Stauffer, co-author of Picturing Frederick Douglass: An Illustrated Biography of the Nineteenth-Century’s Most Photographed American
“Robert Levine’s The Failed Promise is a fresh and distinctive account of the post-Civil War failure to advance the cause of racial equality. Levine tells the tragic story largely through the eyes of Andrew Johnson and Frederick Douglass, whom he portrays with vividness and nuance as they spar, separate, and sometimes converge. The Failed Promise is a valuable book about the past. But it is also a sober reminder of how the quest for Black equality–starting with the incontestable, yet always contested, right to vote–remains unresolved in the present.”
–Andrew Delbanco, author of The War before the War: Fugitive Slaves and the Struggle for America’s Soul from the Revolution to the Civil War
“In his engrossing new book, Levine has penned a nuanced and detailed study of the ‘hopes and frustrations of Reconstruction’ during Andrew Johnson’s presidency. While focusing on the relationship between Johnson and Frederick Douglass, Levine also includes the views of numerous African American writers who witnessed Johnson’s transformation from self-styled ‘Moses to Black People’ to betrayer of Reconstruction. The Failed Promise is a lesson for our times as we continue to confront our nation’s unfulfilled promise of racial equality.”
–Henry Louis Gates, Jr., author of Stony the Road: Reconstruction, White Supremacy, and the Rise of Jim Crow
REVIEWS
Publisher’s Weekly, Starred Review: “Brilliantly spotlighting Douglass’s rhetorical strategies and mounting despair over the failure of Reconstruction, this trenchant study speaks clearly to today’s battles over voting rights and racial justice.” [Read full review]
Kirkus, Starred Review: “Excellent, opinionated…Outstanding as both a biography and a work of Reconstruction-era history.” [Read full review]
Booklist, Starred Review: “This richly researched, comprehensive work is a crucial addition to American history.” [Read full review]
Library Journal, Starred Review: “In this engaging study, Levine places the renowned abolitionist and speaker Douglass at the center of Johnson’s presidency and impeachment. What emerges is a more complicated picture of Reconstruction, told from the viewpoint of Black Americans.” [Read full review]
Randall Fuller, Wall Street Journal: “Levine poignantly captures a moment when the future of the United States was up for grabs, when it was possible to imagine the full political participation of blacks and whites across the nation. In so doing, the author suggests the tragic consequences of failure and the way in which those consequences are still very much with us.” [Read full review]
Jennifer Szalai, New York Times: “Fascinating. . . . Levine vividly shows how Douglass, as he did throughout the Civil War, kept trying to draw attention to the larger moral picture. ” [Read full review]
DeNeen L. Brown, Washington Post: “Levine’s prose is often beautiful, but even more beautiful is his reliance on the truth of history. . . ‘The Failed Promise’ is an important book for anyone on a quest to deeply understand the racism in America’s history, the villains who propelled it and the heroes who fought against it. [Read full review]
Eugene L. Meyer, Washington Independent Review of Books: ” A valuable, fresh look at a dark chapter in American history.” [Read full review]
Barry Alfonso, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “Ultimately, the reader comes away with a greater appreciation of Douglass’ courage and eloquence, as well as the sense that Johnson was less a cold-hearted villain than a representative of his time.” [Read full review]
Nicolaus Mills, The Daily Beast: “Especially timely . . . In Levine’s judgment what is especially compelling about Douglass is the long view he took of the enduring legacy of slavery.” [Read full review]
Michael J. Megelsh, Journal of the Civil War Era: “Robert S. Levine’s The Failed Promise is a book that offers a nuanced contribution to the field, covering the momentous battle over civil rights and the soul of Reconstruction.” [Read full review]
David S. Reynolds, New York Review of Books: “A remarkable section of The Failed Promise is an account of a meeting between Johnson and Frederick Douglass and other Black leaders who visited the White House in January 1866.” [Read full review]
Daniel J. McInerney, Journal of American History: “The Failed Promise provides an excellent portrayal of the relationship between President Johnson and Douglass. Readers are provided a front-row seat to witness the tension and drama unfold.” [Read full review]
Amy M. Cools, Slavery and Abolition: “I strongly recommend this book as an invaluable addition to any library. The story of Douglass and Johnson as told in The Failed Promise provides another enlightening window into the Civil War, Reconstruction and their potential for African Americans that would remain largely unfulfilled for at least another century.” [Read full review]
Featured Selection of the History Book Club
Excerpted in Literary Hub
Best Books of 2021, Washington Independent Review of Books