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Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877
This "masterful treatment of one of the most complex periods of American history" ("New Republic") made history when it was originally published in 1988. It redefined how Reconstruction was viewed by historians and people everywhere in its chronicling of how Americans -- black and white -- responded to the unprecedented changes unleashed by the war and
...morePaperback, 736 pages
Published
February 1st 2002
by Harper Perennial
(first published 1988)
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Starts with looking at Lincoln and the 200,000 Af-Am soldiers who fought as Union soldiers. Looks at A. Johnson and the impeachment process as he failed to be able to work with others and was not committed to reconstruction. Book looks at the role of Radical Republicans bringing significant change to the South and the eventual regression as Dems and the KKK brought about a rain of terror not addressed until the 1950's and 60's. Pres Grant in the 1870's was asked to stop the violence in the So...more
This is a subject that is of great importance, and unfortunately often neglected for the sexiness of the Civil War. This work of Foner's is the place to go, if one wishes to read a comprehensive survey of Reconstruction. In this lengthy volume, Foner dives into political, economic, military, social and legal history which leaves the reader with a great foundation for further study or discussion. In my view, it is essential to have a very good grasp of the Civil War prior to reading this, for it ...more
The United States has always been a heterogeneous nation, right from the beginning; its politics has always reflected that fact. Nowhere is this more evident than in the period known in US history as Reconstruction, which took place between 1865 and 1877. Though relative short, it was a turbulent time, as everyone--politicians North and South as well as newly freed slaves tried to define what exactly freedom meant. At that time, while there was widespread agreement in the North about eman...more
Considering the Reconstruction was one of the most important time periods of American history, it is amazing that the average person knows almost nothing about it (including me before reading this book). This book contains an exhaustive, inclusive, and thorough examination of the Reconstruction including the policies, the reactions of the North and the South, and the plight of the freedmen from the freedmen’s perspective. This will be the only book you’ll ever need to read on the Reconstructio...more
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Brennan
rated it
Recommends it for:
US History lovers, sociologists, poli sci majors, political junkies
Anyone with an interest in American history will enjoy this; it's incredibly well researched (from letters, newspapers and origninal sources in state archives throughout the south that had apparently never been tapped for this degree of scholarship) and despite it's scope I found it to be a page turner. All the things that the Civil War didn't resolve - what Emancipation means, what is the role of non-whites in civil society, how will a society heal itself of a 250 year era of moral depravity, ...more
This is one of those books that, excuse the cliche, shifted the paradigm. Before Foner's work most history teachers taught the story of Reconstruction as a tragedy and a horrible ordeal for the poor defeated white people of the South who had to live under "Negro rule": the Union army, the corrupt carpetbagger, and the detestable scalawag in alliance with the ignorant freedmen after the Civil War. You may have seen this treatment in DW Driffith's classic film Birth of a Nation. Yes, it ...more
Brilliant book on Reconstruction -- most fascinating to me was the last quarter of the book, which tied the end of Reconstruction and the end of Federal support to the freed slaves and the rise of labor organizations and the LACK of Federal support for worker's attempts to get fair wages and an eight hour day. The same arguments (and I mean exactly the same arguments) regarding how Federal force/control should and should not be used have been going on for nearly 150 years.
Probably the best history of Reconstruction going (he also wrote a shorter version). One must look to the history of Reconstruction to understand America today, for its legacies - as much as those of slavery - are still with us. Also, after reading this, one realizes that the politics of today are no different from those 150 years ago - which gives Tocqueville's views of America in the 18th century (basically nothing has changed since then either) more relevance.
Paul
added it
So far, Foner seems to be a historian who writes well. I was rather ignorant of this period of American history and had conceived prejudices about it. Now I am seeing how they stand up to what Foner describes.
Usually I have three books going, each in a different location in the house.
Update: I am learning things, but it is rather a plodding work. I am looking forward to being finished with this one. Much as I felt while reading "The Education of Henry Adams." My brother-in-...more
Usually I have three books going, each in a different location in the house.
Update: I am learning things, but it is rather a plodding work. I am looking forward to being finished with this one. Much as I felt while reading "The Education of Henry Adams." My brother-in-...more
Foner is a genius, and this book is the seminal revisionist work on American Reconstruction. He sweeps aside the 'Gone With the Wind' and 'Birth of a Nation,' stereotypes of white carpetbaggers exploiting ignorant freedmen and explores how Reconstruction governments actually operated. Not only did they empower the freed slaves, but they also worked much-needed reforms in State governments in the South, which were decades behind their Northern counterparts in such basic services as prisons, sch...more
I am one who can get through history books, ones that to many seem dry. I got about 50 pages into this and deemed it far too detailed. It desribed every thing at a snail's pace, and for me lost the forest for the trees. I couldn't face an entire book, which is too bad, because i know virtually nothing about Reconstruction and was eager to learn more.
One of the best works of history I have ever read. A definitive and comprehensive survey of a fascinating, critically important, but too often overlooked period of our nation's history. Foner seems to know everything there is to know about the subject and tells his story in clear and easily readable prose -- something not to be taken for granted.
I'm re-reading this book. It's a good resource on a frustrating time in our history mainly because of its great potential. Postbellum days. I think this is a period we're mirroring and we owe it to ourselves to learn about why we messed up last time...and what we almost could have had too. 150 years ago we were obsessed with Manifest Destiny and kicking Native Americans out, bickering over compensation from having to give up slaves, and temperance. This was a subject that we glossed over in my s...more
Reconstruction was only a decade--give or take a few years depending on when you date it's start--so it always gets short shrift in history survey courses, which is cheating, a bit. Not to sound like an asshat, but Reconstruction remedies most of that. The style is entertaining as well.
A fairly dense historical treatise, occasionally fascinating. What I learned: without knowledge of the post-civil war years, I think it is impossible to appreciate the modern civil rights movement.
Good book; very interesting. Although times it was a little dull, it gave great insight into the years of Reconstruction. I had to read it for my graduate seminar class so it wasn't my first pick but was glad to have read it.
Wow. this is an incredibly thorough and interesting goldmine of information about this tumultuous period of our history. usable as a textbook on this era, but moderately readable as well.
I read Foner as part of an organizing seminar some 15 years ago. As a Northern, I was fascinated to learn a different perspective of the Civil War and its aftermath. Yes, it is true that the 'victors write the history.'
Peter
rated it
Foner is probably America's most accomplished social historian, and this book is a major reason why. The discussion of what actually happened during Reconstruction is fascinating and necessary, but my favorite part was about the rise of the "liberal reformers," who put their notions of respectability and class interest ahead of following through with the Civil War. There was a lot familiar there, sadly.
One of the most thoughtful, comprehensive history books I have ever read. Vital to understanding U.S. history.
Craig J.
added it
"Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877 by Eric Foner (2002)"
This is the one volume scholarly treatment that we need in order to properly appreciate what really happened after Civil War ended and how it affects us today.
There are many tremendous books on the Civil War and the times leading up to it, but I think this is pretty the only decent book you find on what happened during Reconstruction. Everything else I've see is eitehr narrowly focused or too biased.
Side note: Got this for $1 at a recent LA Central Library weekend sale....more
There are many tremendous books on the Civil War and the times leading up to it, but I think this is pretty the only decent book you find on what happened during Reconstruction. Everything else I've see is eitehr narrowly focused or too biased.
Side note: Got this for $1 at a recent LA Central Library weekend sale....more
Apparently this book took me 11 months to read. It is very informative but too dense. The only memorable personality is Andrew Johnson's, and the larger threads of the narrative are often obscured by minutiae.
As to the central question, I do not feel I have got the whole story. Fine, economic depression and changing priorities caused the Republican party to give up on Reconstruction. But why would they, if it had been working so well? For balance, I will now go read a book that ar...more
As to the central question, I do not feel I have got the whole story. Fine, economic depression and changing priorities caused the Republican party to give up on Reconstruction. But why would they, if it had been working so well? For balance, I will now go read a book that ar...more
Sarifkin
is currently reading it
After finishing Team of Rivals, I wanted to read the sequel since I realized that I really only know the bare-bones sketch of what happened during Reconstruction and, as I learned in the first few pages, that is probably very incorrect. So I figured I'd pick up what is supposed to be the definitive work. A bit dry, and I needed a bit of a break from the era. So I'll hold off a few more days.
Eric Foner takes apart the mythology surrounding the "failure" of reconstruction and basically redefines this period for a generation. Where once the story was about the corruption and incompetence (and extreme radicalism) of those who tried to change the system, he gives a nuanced and better-supported view of What Really Happened.
A must read for anyone who's interested in the Civil War or the 14th Amendment. Foner is also also an amazing storyteller who treats everyone as an actor - from slave to president.
I can't bring myself to give it more than 3 stars because I didn't REALLY like. I did find the information fascinating, and I learned a great deal. But...it was so hard to read and so long that those aspects took away a lot of the other enjoyment.
Still--good book.
Still--good book.
This is serious history of the Reconstruction of the South both during and after the Civil War. Very informative and explains why our country is the way we see it today.
Fascinating run through of the reconstruction and redemption eras starting from the beginnings of reconstruction during the civil war. Ultimately grim and depressing.
This book was indispensible as I researched the Reconstruction period of American history for a project. Foner writes in a familiar, authoritative way.
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Eric Foner is DeWitt Clinton Professor of History at Columbia University, where he earned his B.A. and Ph.D. In his teaching and scholarship, Foner focuses on the Civil War and Reconstruction, slavery, and nineteenth-century America. His Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution, 1863–1877, won the Bancroft, Parkman, and Los Angeles Times Book prizes and remains the standard history of the p...more
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