Reconstruction: A Concise History

Reconstruction: A Concise History – Ebook Instant Download/Delivery ISBN(s): 9780190865696,0190865695,9780190865719, 0190865717

Product detail:

• ISBN 10: 0190865717
• ISBN 13: 978019086571
• Author: Allen C. Guelzo

The era known as Reconstruction is one of the unhappiest times in American history. It succeeded in reuniting the nation politically after the Civil War but in little else. Conflict shifted from the battlefield to the Capitol as Congress warred with President Andrew Johnson over just what to do with the South. Johnson’s plan of Presidential Reconstruction, which was sympathetic to the former Confederacy and allowed repressive measures such as the “black codes,” would ultimately lead to his impeachment and the institution of Radical Reconstruction. While Reconstruction saw the ratification of the 14th and 15th Amendments, expanding the rights and suffrage of African Americans, it largely failed to chart a progressive course for race relations after the abolition of slavery and the rise of Jim Crow. It also struggled to manage the Southern resistance towards a Northern free-labor economy. However, these failures cannot obscure a number of accomplishments with long-term consequences for American life, among them the Civil Rights Act, the election of the first African American representatives to Congress, and the avoidance of renewed civil war. Reconstruction suffered from poor leadership and uncertainty of direction, but it also laid the groundwork for renewed struggles for racial equality during the civil rights movement.In this concise history, award-winning historian Allen C. Guelzo delves into the constitutional, political, and social issues behind Reconstruction to provide a lucid and original account of a historical moment that left an indelible mark on the American social fabric.

Table of contents:

1. Chapter One: Vengeance: April–December 1865
2. Chapter Two: Alienation: December 1865–March 1867
3. Chapter Three: Arrogance: March 1867–May 1868
4. Chapter Four: Resistance: May 1868–March 1869
5. Chapter Five: Distraction: March 1869–May 1872
6. Chapter Six: Law: 1866–1876
7. Chapter Seven: Dissension: September 1872–April 1877

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