Rebuilding a Community: Prosperity and Peace in Post-Civil War Knoxville, Tennessee, 1865-1870

The purpose of this study is to examine how healing occurred in postwar Knoxville. The central idea is that no single facet, whether economic, political, or social, was responsible for the successful attainment and maintenance of peace in the city. That being said, the importance of economics to the peace process cannot be overstated. Knoxville was evenly divided between Northern and Southern sympathizers just before and during the war. In the immediate postwar period the prevalence and proximity of former enemies led to an eruption of violence on the city’s streets. By 1866, however, peace reigned over the city as businesses boomed and people went to work. This thesis focuses on how this transition from violence to peace took place and flourished in Knoxville during the five years following the end of the American Civil War.