Year 12 historians welcomed Dr. Doddington from Cardiff University to Howell's on Thursday 3rd May; he delivered an interesting and enlightening lecture on attempts by radical Republicans to improve the status of African Americans in the period following the US Civil War. He also gave a detailed analysis of the political and economic factors which were to thwart these efforts, and cited examples of the appalling racist violence of this era, particularly during elections. The lecture was extremely well-timed this week as the students are embarking on their A level coursework topic, which analyses historians' interpretations of the development of African American civil rights from 1865 to 1975.