A Short History of Reconstruction [Updated Edition]

by Eric Foner

The establishment of public school systems, the granting of equal citizenship to blacks, and the effort to revitalize the devastated Southern economy refuted the traditional description of the period as a “tragic era” of rampant misgovernment. Revisionists pointed out as well that corruption in the Reconstruction South paled before that of the Tweed Ring, Crédit Mobilier scandal, and Whiskey Rings in the post-Civil War North. By the end of the 1960s, Reconstruction was seen as a time of extraordinary social and political progress for blacks. If the era was “tragic,” it was because change did not go far enough, especially in the area of Southern land reform.

1960s Revision: Reconstruction mismanagement/ scandalous was present but surely nothing of the scale plaguing post-civil war North (Tweed ring in NY, etc.), which were endured for similar time lengths, if not more. The effort, if it had a fault, was that it wasn't as wide in scope (Southern land reform) as it should have been.