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Eric Foner

Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877 Paperback – Illustrated, February 5, 2002

by Eric Foner (Author)

138 ratings

Part of: New American Nation (10 books)

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There is a newer edition of this item:

Reconstruction Updated Edition: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877 (Harper Perennial Modern Classics)
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Newly Reissued with a New Introduction: From the "preeminent historian of Reconstruction" (New York Times Book Review), a newly updated edition of the prize-winning classic work on the post-Civil War period which shaped modern America.

Eric Foner's "masterful treatment of one of the most complex periods of American history" (New Republic) redefined how the post-Civil War period was viewed.

Reconstruction chronicles the way in which Americans—black and white—responded to the unprecedented changes unleashed by the war and the end of slavery. It addresses the ways in which the emancipated slaves' quest for economic autonomy and equal citizenship shaped the political agenda of Reconstruction; the remodeling of Southern society and the place of planters, merchants, and small farmers within it; the evolution of racial attitudes and patterns of race relations; and the emergence of a national state possessing vastly expanded authority and committed, for a time, to the principle of equal rights for all Americans.

This "smart book of enormous strengths" (Boston Globe) remains the standard work on the wrenching post-Civil War period—an era whose legacy still reverberates in the United States today.

Print length

736 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Harper Perennial Modern Classics
Publication date

February 5, 2002
Dimensions

6.13 x 1.18 x 9.25 inches
ISBN-10

0060937165
ISBN-13

978-0060937164
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From the Back Cover

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 the end of slavery. This "smart book of enormous strengths" (Boston Globe) has since gone on to become the classic work on the wrenching post-Civil War period -- an era whose legacy reverberates still today in the United States.

About the Author

Eric Foner is DeWitt Clinton Professor of History at Columbia University and the author of several books. In 2006 he received the Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching at Columbia University. He has served as president of the Organization of American Historians, the American Historical Association, and the Society of American Historians. He lives in New York City.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper Perennial Modern Classics; Illustrated edition (February 5, 2002)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 736 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0060937165
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0060937164
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.68 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.13 x 1.18 x 9.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,571,029 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #5,159 in African History (Books)
- #7,452 in U.S. Civil War History
- #9,862 in History & Theory of Politics

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Eric Foner

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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 period. In 2006 Foner received the Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching at Columbia University. He has served as president of the Organization of American Historians, the American Historical Association, and the Society of American Historians. He is currently writing a book on Lincoln and slavery.

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gloine36

An excellent exploration of a very dark period in American History.

Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2015

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I have to confess that I read this book as part of the three course Civil War and Reconstruction series that Professor Foner delivered via EdX from 2014-2015. The final week of the third course began Wednesday, April 22nd. This has been an outstanding series of courses and really illustrates how a MOOC can be effective in delivering information to a large number of active learners. However, these MOOCs fall short of college credit for several reasons. I found that this particular series was useful as I read some of the suggested reading with them such as Foner’s The Fiery Trial of Abraham Lincoln and Reconstruction.

I really dislike this period of history. It is dark and gloomy compared with the brightness other periods have. Yet, in reading Reconstruction I see where we have to understand what happened following the Civil War in order to understand how America got to where it is. This book has been a great help in developing my understanding of this pivotal period in our nation’s history. It is full of information and uses a plethora of sources to support the author’s interpretation. In addition, the version I read was the Perennial Classics imprint and it had footnotes with it. That was very useful because Foner’s notes contained some nice comments and explained his thought process in ways the narrative did not.

Having read a few of Foner’s works, I can say that his writing style has definitely changed for the better over time. I find this is common with many historians. Their earlier works are still that of graduate students writing for an academic audience whereas their writing will change over time to the telling of a story supported by facts. They get better at writing for a larger audience and Eric Foner has been one historian who has accomplished this. Not all do, sad to say. I have to admit that this book was a bit difficult because of the way Foner used the facts in the narrative. It sort of bogged down the reading, but it did make it clear that he was not making up information, but working with these primary sources from the beginning.

The result is a very striking interpretation which completely rejects the old Dunning school of thought on this period. The overt racism is at times nauseating to read about. Thousands were murdered as whites sought to regain political control over the southern states. Terrorism was widespread as rifle clubs, the KKK, and other bands of whites used any means available to regain power and to put white supremacy back as the foundation of southern living. This is a very important issue that needs to be explained to our students as we deal with terrorism from Islamic fundamentalists in our modern age. The past is very illuminating.

Were I to teach a course on Reconstruction I would certainly use this book as the textbook. For that matter, I would use Foner’s course on it as the template for my lesson plans. That would fit very well into a flipped classroom design. While the book can be dry at times, breaking the reading down into segments built around lesson plans works well in helping readers absorb the information. There is a lot here in the book and it seriously conflicts with long held beliefs on Reconstruction.

Foner also notes how events in the rest of the US shaped Reconstruction and its end. This is important because the events that took place in this period were not confined to one area. Yet, Reconstruction or more importantly its end would shape the South for a century in ways that did not overly impact the rest of the nation. The economic disaster that was the South was created by the elites in the South who preferred political power and its trappings for themselves rather than posterity for the people of the South. To achieve this, they used racism to construct their political empires.

Foner also goes into the larger reasons as to why Reconstruction failed. Economics played a major role in this as well as racism in the entire country. Class interests in other sections precluded a shared national goal for all minorities as elites brought in cheap immigrant labor to the North instead of moving black laborers to the factories or factories to the South. I think Foner needed to explore this more because the elites in the South did not want those factories nor did they want their cheap black labor to move away from the agrarian system in place. He alludes to this system, but does not explore it in depth. I think there is a lot more to this, but much of it took place after 1877 and the end of Reconstruction.

All in all, this is a good book and one which I am glad I read. I definitely am happy that I did so in conjunction with the Reconstruction course through EdX. It definitely helped out. I will be referencing the book in my Fall 2015 American History from 1865 course as I show how Reconstruction and its aftermath led directly to events in the Civil Rights era and even today. I give it four stars which is a good solid rating for a good solid book.

21 people found this helpful

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Paul J. Papanek

Painful but essential reading for Americans interested in our history

Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2016

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This is essential history; there's nothing quite like it in print, and we now know that Professor set the tone for a modern retelling of Reconstruction.

These stories are often very painful to read. It's was hard for me to see how disgraceful this chapter in our history was. But I also think it is profoundly important for all Americans to know what happened in the aftermath of the Civil War. The closing chapter on Civil War historiography is particularly important, I think, because it suggests that generations of Americans have been systematically misled about reconstruction and the utterly immoral, racist, and treasonous legacy of the Confederacy--a legacy which we still struggle with today.

14 people found this helpful

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John Hamer, Jr.

State of the Art Reconstruction interpretation

Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2014

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With the June, 2014 issue of The Atlantic reopening a worthwhile discussion of reparations for African-Americans, there should be a corresponding revival of interest in what happened to the enslaved people after the Civil War. No better place to go for a clear, accurate, complete discussion of Reconstruction than Eric Foner's important book.

While the impact on the emancipated and their children is central, this is a comprehensive treatment of a complex subject. A more accurate title might be The Reconstruction Era in the United States, for Foner covers not only the usual ground of Presidential and Radical Reconstruction but also discusses the impact on the north of the end of slavery, broad economic developments, and the twists and turns of the Republican and Democratic parties through the election of 1876 and the surrender of black freedoms in exchange for a Hayes presidency.

This broad scope is important because the Civil War may have been primarily about slavery, its shadow fell across virtually every aspect of American society, economics, and politics. Much of what textbooks generally discuss as "The Gilded Age:" robber barons, railroad expansion, growing inequality, corruption in all regions and at all levels of government and business, etc. are more properly understood in the context of the country's response and recovery to changes wrought by the Civil War.

Read this book if you have a serious interest in the U.S. in the post-Civil War era or to see some of the bizarre origins of current social problems.

7 people found this helpful

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Steven Farron

A Masterpiece

Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2008

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This book, along with Foner's Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men, provides extremely valuable insights into a crucial turning point in American history, which still resonates today. Both are masterpieces of synthesis and interpretation. Both are scholarly and detailed, yet convey a feeling of excitement at the events described. Both enable the reader to relive the tensions, aspirations, thoughts, and struggles of the times they describe.
Foner was a Marxist-Leninist when he wrote both books. But he never allowed his Marxism to vitiate his historical analysis. On the contrary, he constantly emphasized that the motives that propelled the participants were ideas and ideals, not economic interest or social class (e.g., pages 233-4, 468-70, 486-7). Moreover, he pointed out (page xxv) that during Reconstruction "Americans made their first attempt to live up to the noble professions of their political creed - something few societies have ever done:" and (page 279) "Alone among the nations that abolished slavery in the nineteenth century, the United States, within a few years of emancipation, clothed its former slaves with citizen rights equal to those of whites."
I am not competent to comment on Foner's historical accuracy. But most professional historians regard this book as a milestone in Reconstruction analysis. I could find only one inaccuracy. Foner says (pages 18-20) that the Civil War caused unprecedented economic growth in the North. Walter McDougal in The Throes of Democracy (pages 494-5) adduces evidence and cites distinguished historians that the Civil War retarded economic progress in the North. However, this is peripheral to Foner's book.

3 people found this helpful

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S Wood

Masterly History of Reconstruction

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 3, 2009

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Foners excellent book is a masterfull historical synthesis of the period known as Reconstruction after the American Civil War (1861-65).

The book is extremely readable, comprehensive and full of intelligent analysis of the social, cultural, racial and economic forces of the era amply illustrated with pertinent quotes from all those involved. The situation after the end of the civil war when the defeated south was occupied by the Union Army is one that I knew little about before reading this book, but that proved to be no obstacle to engaging with Foners well written book.

He pictures the position of the freed Slaves, the Confederate south and the Union North with great skill; not simplifying or glossing over nuances but presenting a full picture of all the forces, pressures and ideologies that clashed within that era. The plight of the freed blacks, and their frustrations in attempting to claim a full political, social and economic role within the post civil war United States is particularly harrowing and frustrating for anyone with a sense of fairness. The level of white violence which goes beyond the Ku Klux Klan to a fair proportion of the southern Democratic party is sickening, I had no idea at how pervasive and murderous it was.

It is definitely worth getting holding of, and if you can't stomach the 600 pages of the unabridged edition (or have a weak wrist) then there is a shorter version available too - A Short History of Reconstruction . I look forward to getting my hands on other works by Eric Foner.

10 people found this helpful

Zenouf the Birdcatcher

An exceptional overview.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 14, 2014

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The Reconstruction era is one of the most contentious periods in American history. This book examines the issues clearly with a fine academic rigour. The issues surrounding the reintegration of the devastated South live on in contemporary American politics. This book is an important contribution to the understanding of it.

Cowley

Comprehensive but difficult

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 19, 2014

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I found this book difficult to read because it is overly wordy and far too long. It would have benefited from a good editor, been far shorter with briefer chapters with a clearer, more precise and a sharper description of events. The subject is both important and fascinating but, in the authors hands, it is dull.

G. B

An excellent detailed account of Reconstruction.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 23, 2010

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This book was practically my bible for American Reconstruction when I was an undergraduate. It assesses the era from 1863-77 in great detail, rejecting the early prejudiced Dunning School interpretation, and the post-revisionist studies of the 70s and 80s, which viewed the Republicans as inherently conservative in their approach to Reconstruction.

Foner's own view is something closer to a revisionist. He views the freed slaves as active, central participants in the story of Reconstruction, and emphasises the dramatic social change that occurred in both the North and the South at this time.

He does seem to favour social history, but because the study is so extensive there is plenty of political narrative for the political historian (such as myself) as well.

3 people found this helpful

meredydd78

Worthy but not gripping.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 20, 2014

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A very comprehensive examination of all the problems and issues associated with Reconstruction. An excellent text book and reference source, however, as I had come to "Reconstruction" on the back of the superb "Battle Cry Freedom" I was disappointed. It lacks the creative and literary spark of a top class read. So worthy but not gripping.

One person found this helpful

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Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877 Paperback – Illustrated, February 5, 2002

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