Why Reconstruction Matters (1 Viewer)

[jazzeum]

This is an excellent article by Eric Foner, Professor of History at Columbia University, who is the pre-eminent expert on the Reconstruction Era. He received the Bancroft Prize for his book on Reconstruction as well as the Pulitzer Prize, Lincoln Prize and Bancroft Prize in 2011 for his book on Lincoln, The Fiery Trial.

Why Reconstruction Matters.html

 

[theBaron]

Thanks for sharing the link!

I've wondered how things would have developed, had Lincoln lived and served out his second term.

Prost!
Brad

 

[Poppo]

"The end of Reconstruction as a tragedy for democracy".

Who to blame? The north put the south under the martial law for years and freed the slaves without any refund, neither giving them any lands. Why? Because the northern finance just wanted to take the southern lands, they didn' t care at all of improving the ex slaves' condition of life.All the article is focused on the freed blacks state, forgetting that the southerns were mainly poor white farmers.These people during the " reconstruction" litterally starved, as well as the blacks.Also, the writer forgets to mention the northern racism in fact, in the universities, access to work, transports, de facto segregation in the big northern cities...This is more a political than an historical article.
Only Lincoln could have, as he wished, reintegrated with common sense the ex confederate states in the Union.

 

[jazzeum]

Thanks for sharing the link!

I've wondered how things would have developed, had Lincoln lived and served out his second term.

Prost!
Brad

Pleasure. Foner is a great writer.

It's hard to predict what would have happened. Maybe nothing would have been different. However, Lincoln was a clever politician and the impasse that developed between Johnson and the Radicals likely wouldn't have happened under Lincoln and things would have proceeded in a more measured way and perhaps some of the pitfalls avoided, particularly the rollback of rights gained by the freedmen. Impossible to know.