johnw613's review against another edition
challenging
informative
fast-paced
5.0
An incisive brief survey of the tumultuous dozen years following the Civil War. The era of Reconstruction was long misunderstood and mis-characterized and this study, along with Foner’s previously published definitive history of the era, Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution, go a long way toward righting a host of historiographical wrongs.
In many ways Reconstruction can be considered a failed attempt at reinventing not just the South but the entire American way of life. The groundwork laid by the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution saw a further flowering a century later with the Brown decision in 1954 undoing Plessy v. Ferguson, and the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. While much still remains to be done, the twentieth century’s advancements would not have been possible without the successes of the nineteenth.
Interspersed among Foner’s eloquently argued narrative are six Visual Essay sections curated and discussed by Joshua Brown. These correlating essays show how various important themes from the era were reflected in contemporary artworks as a demonstration of how the issues of the time deeply interacted with popular culture.
For the fullest understanding of the period, read Foner’s magisterial earlier volume. This study has much value as well by including Brown’s visual essays as well as tying the successes and failures of Reconstruction to our own time.
In many ways Reconstruction can be considered a failed attempt at reinventing not just the South but the entire American way of life. The groundwork laid by the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution saw a further flowering a century later with the Brown decision in 1954 undoing Plessy v. Ferguson, and the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. While much still remains to be done, the twentieth century’s advancements would not have been possible without the successes of the nineteenth.
Interspersed among Foner’s eloquently argued narrative are six Visual Essay sections curated and discussed by Joshua Brown. These correlating essays show how various important themes from the era were reflected in contemporary artworks as a demonstration of how the issues of the time deeply interacted with popular culture.
For the fullest understanding of the period, read Foner’s magisterial earlier volume. This study has much value as well by including Brown’s visual essays as well as tying the successes and failures of Reconstruction to our own time.
readingthethings's review against another edition
3.0
❀ In which I completed a book full of extremely interesting facts about life for black Americans before, during & after the American Civil War which I read as context alongside [b:Black Reconstruction in America 1860-1880|184612|Black Reconstruction in America 1860-1880|W.E.B. Du Bois|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389457839l/184612._SY75_.jpg|178433] by W.E.B. Du Bois.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
࿐ྂ ˳✧༚˚ I decided to read this one to get a better sense of Reconstruction America while I’m reading [b:Gone with the Wind|819699|Gone with the Wind|Margaret Mitchell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347389987l/819699._SY75_.jpg|3358283]. I'm just reading the Reconstruction passages in that novel & I find myself frustrated I don’t know the history. Eric Foner is supposed to be an expert on the topic so I thought I’d try him.
From the start the Introduction references [b:Black Reconstruction in America 1860-1880|184612|Black Reconstruction in America 1860-1880|W.E.B. Du Bois|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389457839l/184612._SY75_.jpg|178433] by W.E.B. Du Bois (which I’m reading) & [b:Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory|87019|Race and Reunion The Civil War in American Memory|David W. Blight|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348806887l/87019._SY75_.jpg|83992] by David W. Blight, & makes the case that most of America doesn’t actually know much about the history of Reconstruction, even though it was a moment of enormous revolution & that is what America is founded upon. The Introduction implies this is due to purposeful erasure of history from the general knowledge bank. The Introduction also implies that the complexities of the American Civil War itself have been altered in aftermath to make the war look far more noble than it actually was. If we continue to manipulate & ignore history this way, we risk repeating history by not understanding it. The Introduction suggests that we not condescend to the past by assuming they weren’t constantly questioning and attempting to transform their world.
The book goes on to discuss some of the facts: African Americans served in the war but there is little living memory of their efforts. Their participation in democracy has been twisted by a legacy of historians who had an agenda: make the black contribution look weak, childlike, & savage, so whites can maintain home (white) rule in the South after the war. As whites squabbled over who should have control (North or South), African-Americans’ hopes for equality & citizenship were lost in an effort to make peace between whites. The Dunning School of thought was embraced by Americans for decades. The 1915 film The Birth of a Nation (which I watched this year) glorifies the KKK as the savior of whites & was highly popular in America for decades. Nearly all white Americans embraced both the film & the accuracy of the Dunning School of Reconstruction for years. He argues that literature bears a responsibility in the rewriting of history. (As, I would add, do the viewers & readers of such literature.)
Foner makes a compelling argument for learning Reconstruction history & applying it to today. He also makes a compelling argument about the fact that the history of black agency during the war & Reconstruction has been erased, & we as Americans have a faulty view of our own American history — & it’s weird because we are so about revolution & Reconstruction was a revolution & we literally don’t know about it, which is appalling.
I listened to this book on audio, so I have no idea if there are good footnotes & resources in the book. I assume there were, as Foner is considered a professional historian & an expert on this topic. LITERALLY I just wanted to get some historical context when I read it. To me it reads like a thorough survey course in Reconstruction America, which doesn’t go terribly deeply into any one of these topics, but which offers me exactly what I wanted from the book — some context.
I didn’t know much of the history in this book. I remember learning about some of the corruption during Georgia Reconstruction involving the railroad & Governor Bulloch in college, but I didn’t realize that corruption was blamed on black Americans, nor did I have a true picture (at all) of the way propaganda worked to diminish the humanity of black Americans during Reconstruction — & throughout American history after that. I didn’t have a clue that the black southerners who participated in government in the South during that time period were considered leaders in their communities, fully interested in social welfare & reconstruction.
I’m really glad I read this book so I can better understand the context of the period as I read Black Reconstruction in America. ࿐ྂ ˳✧༚˚
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
࿐ྂ ˳✧༚˚ I decided to read this one to get a better sense of Reconstruction America while I’m reading [b:Gone with the Wind|819699|Gone with the Wind|Margaret Mitchell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347389987l/819699._SY75_.jpg|3358283]. I'm just reading the Reconstruction passages in that novel & I find myself frustrated I don’t know the history. Eric Foner is supposed to be an expert on the topic so I thought I’d try him.
From the start the Introduction references [b:Black Reconstruction in America 1860-1880|184612|Black Reconstruction in America 1860-1880|W.E.B. Du Bois|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389457839l/184612._SY75_.jpg|178433] by W.E.B. Du Bois (which I’m reading) & [b:Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory|87019|Race and Reunion The Civil War in American Memory|David W. Blight|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348806887l/87019._SY75_.jpg|83992] by David W. Blight, & makes the case that most of America doesn’t actually know much about the history of Reconstruction, even though it was a moment of enormous revolution & that is what America is founded upon. The Introduction implies this is due to purposeful erasure of history from the general knowledge bank. The Introduction also implies that the complexities of the American Civil War itself have been altered in aftermath to make the war look far more noble than it actually was. If we continue to manipulate & ignore history this way, we risk repeating history by not understanding it. The Introduction suggests that we not condescend to the past by assuming they weren’t constantly questioning and attempting to transform their world.
The book goes on to discuss some of the facts: African Americans served in the war but there is little living memory of their efforts. Their participation in democracy has been twisted by a legacy of historians who had an agenda: make the black contribution look weak, childlike, & savage, so whites can maintain home (white) rule in the South after the war. As whites squabbled over who should have control (North or South), African-Americans’ hopes for equality & citizenship were lost in an effort to make peace between whites. The Dunning School of thought was embraced by Americans for decades. The 1915 film The Birth of a Nation (which I watched this year) glorifies the KKK as the savior of whites & was highly popular in America for decades. Nearly all white Americans embraced both the film & the accuracy of the Dunning School of Reconstruction for years. He argues that literature bears a responsibility in the rewriting of history. (As, I would add, do the viewers & readers of such literature.)
Foner makes a compelling argument for learning Reconstruction history & applying it to today. He also makes a compelling argument about the fact that the history of black agency during the war & Reconstruction has been erased, & we as Americans have a faulty view of our own American history — & it’s weird because we are so about revolution & Reconstruction was a revolution & we literally don’t know about it, which is appalling.
I listened to this book on audio, so I have no idea if there are good footnotes & resources in the book. I assume there were, as Foner is considered a professional historian & an expert on this topic. LITERALLY I just wanted to get some historical context when I read it. To me it reads like a thorough survey course in Reconstruction America, which doesn’t go terribly deeply into any one of these topics, but which offers me exactly what I wanted from the book — some context.
I didn’t know much of the history in this book. I remember learning about some of the corruption during Georgia Reconstruction involving the railroad & Governor Bulloch in college, but I didn’t realize that corruption was blamed on black Americans, nor did I have a true picture (at all) of the way propaganda worked to diminish the humanity of black Americans during Reconstruction — & throughout American history after that. I didn’t have a clue that the black southerners who participated in government in the South during that time period were considered leaders in their communities, fully interested in social welfare & reconstruction.
I’m really glad I read this book so I can better understand the context of the period as I read Black Reconstruction in America. ࿐ྂ ˳✧༚˚
princessleia4life's review
5.0
Foner is a great writer and presents subjects thought as "boring" in a thought-provoking way. I heavily recommend him.
ckadams5's review
5.0
Eric Foner is one of America's pre-eminent historians of the Civil War and the era thereabout. I first read him when my Legal History professor in law school couldn't help mentioning Foner's name at least once per lecture all semester. This book, focused on reconstruction and the false narrative on reconstruction so many of us were fed in school, was not only well-researched and written, but included significant sections on the visual culture of the era which added a great deal to the material.
socraticgadfly's review against another edition
5.0
Civil War buffs know that Foner is the go-to person for Reconstruction history, so this book is worth it for that reason alone.
But, this is a two-author work. And, Joshua Brown's essays on visual depictions of black Americans during Reconstruction are worth reading all by themselves.
But, this is a two-author work. And, Joshua Brown's essays on visual depictions of black Americans during Reconstruction are worth reading all by themselves.
jmkmirkes's review against another edition
5.0
If you read any history book on Reconstruction, read Eric Foner. This book's focus on African Americans though proves that the North won the war but the South won the peace. It details the beautiful promises Reconstruction held for African Americans and the possibility of some sort of racial equality following the war but how it ended so badly and instead created the most brutal era for African Americans. Easy, quick but informative read.
thecolourblue's review against another edition
informative
sad
slow-paced
3.25
The Reconstruction is a fascinating and important brief period in American history, and Foner certainly comes across as an expert in this text. Despite the shortness of the time period, this book is covering a lot of ground - political struggles, domestic terrorism, individual stories, media reactions... and for me it ended up being both pretty dense to read but simultaneously not digging in as deep as I would have liked in some areas. I do think this is a good jumping off point for researching or reading more on the Reconstruction (I definitely want to read DuBois even more now), maybe best followed up by some reading that focuses in on specific elements or people from the time.
Also, in the edition I read the reproductions of many of the images were pretty low-quality and hard to see, which made the visual essays lose some of their impact.
Also, in the edition I read the reproductions of many of the images were pretty low-quality and hard to see, which made the visual essays lose some of their impact.
crankylibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
Taught me more about the Civil War, Reconstruction, an the significance of the 14th and 15th amendments than I learned in years of school. If you think you know what Reconstruction was about, you are probably wrong.
lily2655's review against another edition
5.0
"But for history to have any value, it must be remembered accurately."
luke1carman's review against another edition
4.0
This book....took awhile to finish for me! Foner's prose is really lucid and easy to read, and I appreciated many of the visual essays between chapters. I think we all need to learn more about Reconstruction, and this felt like a really good entry point to some deeper learning (looking at you, DuBois' Black Reconstruction, and Grant's memoirs). It's dense, though!
Learned a lot.
Learned a lot.