The essay "An Insurrection That Never Happened: The "Christmas Riots" of 1865 by Stephen Nissenbaum examines the social and economic circumstances in the south after the completion of the civil war and the beginning of reconstruction. Though the focus of the essay is the atmosphere experienced during the Christmas season, the general topic of the essay addresses the concerns both blacks and whites were having during the reconstruction period. Nissenbaum states that; "The story of the Christmas Riots' of 1865 is a microcosm of the entire period that became known as the reconstruction" (p.14). This statement is correct for a number of reasons, first and foremost was the fact that the southerners (both black and white) were expecting some sort of federal aid, and the fact that it was close to the Christmas season only elevated the futile feelings of optimism. The second reason was the fact that the Christmas holiday usually represented a time of craziness with a relaxation of the rules. The whites were afraid that the jovial atmosphere might turn violent now that the slaves had their new freedoms; this elevated their level of paranoia. .
There were a number of reasons for the residents of the southern states to have elevated expectations for some form of resolution to be reached for the Christmas holiday, though most of the hopes were harbored by the African Americans. Rumors had been circulating between the union soldiers and the blacks that the government was going to give them land and "other necessities of economic independence"(p.8). Another factor that led the blacks to believing that a government solution was going to be implemented by Christmas was the fact that "Christmas had long been associated with the symbolic inversion of the social hierarchy"(p.9). These growing hopes amongst the southerners caused by the Christmas holiday was not only indicative of how people felt during reconstruction, but was also compounded by the holiday season.