Seven history students from the Fresno campus of National University came to Madera to share a piece of the Valley’s past with the Madera County Historical Society.
Their presentation at the Society’s annual meeting on Monday, with about 75 attendees, showed how Reconstruction in the aftermath of the Civil War reached across the country to impact Madera and Fresno Counties.
Their class is examining how conflict afflicted the lives of former Confederate soldier Harry St. John Dixon and former slave Gabriel Moore in California while Reconstruction was taking place in the faraway South.
The group, which is part of an American History class taught at National, is tying the Valley’s past with the broader national picture, from Andrew Johnson’s administration to the present...