A Short History of Reconstruction

Archival Summary & Scope

This updated, abridged edition of *Reconstruction*, the prize-winning classic by a "preeminent historian of Reconstruction" (New York Times Book Review), offers a comprehensive account of the pivotal post-Civil War era that shaped modern America. It chronicles how black and white Americans responded to the profound changes of war and emancipation, detailing the quest of emancipated slaves for economic autonomy and equal citizenship, the remodeling of Southern society, the evolution of racial attitudes, and the emergence of a national state, briefly committed to equal rights. Hailed as a "masterful treatment" (New Republic), this definitive work remains the standard study of an era whose legacy profoundly resonates in the United States today.