Reconstruction after the Civil War by John Hope Franklin

First published in 1961, Franklin's book was an early corrective of the Lost Cause version of Reconstruction as a 'tragic era' of corrupt misrule of prostrate Southern states by ignorant freedmen, vengeful scalawags and greedy carpetbaggers. Perhaps this is a parallel to contemporary governmental actions, wherein all decisions are made with business opportunities in mind (to the detriment of personal security, environmental protection, banking security, etc).Ī short and easy to read history of the complex but important era after the Civil War.

And it was this growth that became so paramount that further pursuit of 'doing the right thing' in the South was pushed aside in favor of continued economic opportunities. He does provide a lengthy bibliography, but these are not tied to the primary text.Īn interesting point: the Civil War triggered significant economic growth and expansion. The only issue I have with Franklin's approach is that he did not footnote his many statements of fact. Several other authors have since joined the message: the war was won, the peace was lost. This change presented a significant correction in the historical record. And it clearly explained the change in historical analysis that occurred in the 1960s. This provided a shorter synthesis of the major post-war reconstruction events. But, encouraged by Foner, I turned to Franklin's 'Reconstruction'.

This one was written for the professional historian, not the occasional student of history. Ouch! This was rich, dense, and, unfortunately, over my head (or beyond my endurance). The first was Foner's 'Reconstruction, America's Unfinished Revolution'. Somehow, I believed, this could not all be true. This magnificent 1930s novel portrayed reconstruction the 'old way', with carpetbaggers as evil, southern whites as good guys, the KKK as necessary to defend the old ways, and blacks (sorry, have to use the historically presented term) as lazy and incompetent. Interesting, eh? But this often happens when I read historical fiction. Some approaches we have had include The Lost Cause, it was not about slavery, the carpetbaggers were all evil, the post-war military occupation was oppressive, President Johnson was good, no bad, no evil, no overwhelmed, no.etc.Īnyway, I was compelled to research more on the post-war reconstruction after reading 'Gone with the Wind'.

When it comes to the Civil War, this rule seems to explode across so many interpretations, written by both the winners and losers. Recall the old rule: 'the victors write the history'.

Reconstruction after the Civil War by John Hope Franklin