A Short History of Reconstruction [Updated Edition]

by Eric Foner

Discontent developed more slowly outside the mountains. It was not simply devotion to the Union but the impact of the war and the consequences of Confederate policies that awakened peace sentiment and social conflict. In any society, war demands sacrifice, and public support often rests on the conviction that sacrifice is equitably shared. But the Confederate government increasingly molded its policies in the interest of the planter class. Slavery’s disintegration compelled the Confederate government to take steps to preserve the institution, and these policies, in turn, sundered white society.