The Reconstruction

The Reconstruction

Reconstruction is defined as the period following the Civil War in

which the Republican-dominated Federal government sought to reunite

the Union; the measure included drastically remodeling Southern

society in order to secure equality and independence for blacks

through granting them various freedoms. Many historians believe that

in order to fully understand the modern United States, one must

understand Reconstruction. Studying it, therefore, has been a top

priority amongst historians. Over the years, three main schools of

thought have developed concerning Reconstruction. The Dunning School

viewed the Northern Republicans as tyrannical leaders who pushed aside

the governments in the South set up by Johnson, and viewed the

emancipated slaves as incompetent children incapable of handling their

newly accumulated freedoms. The Revisionist School, which followed the

Dunning School, argued that the Republicans were the liberating

heroes, leaving the Southern white supremacists as the villains. The

most recent of the three, the Post-Revisionist School, argued that the

Radical Republicans were not all that radical. Their policies were too

conservative and weak to make any drastic or lasting changes. Through

studying these three schools, it can be seen that, regarding any

positive short-term effects, Reconstruction can only be see as a

failure; however, during Reconstruction, the roots of a black

community were planted that would later flourish into the Civil Rights

movements of the 1960's and the modern black community. The following

paragraphs will discuss it ultimate failure but long-term effects

through the arguments...

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...construction would eventually build up to

become the black community of today. In fact, much of the legal

strategy of the Civil Rights Movement was based on Reconstruction laws

and Amendments, proof of its lasting influence.

Both Foner and Burns agreed that Reconstruction was, in general, a

failure. Reconstruction was ultimately too weak; in order to fully

succeed, it would have needed to revolutionize Southern society.

Foner, however, argues that the black community built during

Reconstruction helped build the modern black community. While land

redistribution, black education and black suffrage failed and thus

failed to help win black autonomy, the laws and Amendments of the

Reconstruction helped blacks win their autonomy and, in turn,

suffrage, education and economic stability, during the Civil Rights

Movement.