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Reconstruction after the Civil War (The Chicago History of American Civilization)
written by John Hope Franklin
Studio : University Of Chicago Press
by University Of Chicago Press
Publisher : University Of Chicago Press
Released : 1995-03-01
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9780226260792
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 4 reviews)
List Price : $18.00
Our Price : $9.85
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Product Description |
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Ever since its original publication in 1961, Reconstruction after the Civil War has been praised for cutting through the controversial scholarship and popular myths of the time to provide an accurate account of the role of former slaves during this period in American history.
Now Franklin has updated his work to acknowledge the enormous body of research and scholarship that followed in the wake of the first edition. New are Franklin’s references to important, later texts that enrich the original narrative. In addition, the extensive bibliography has been thoroughly revised.
What has not changed, however, is the foundation Franklin has laid. Still compelling are his arguments concerning the brevity of the North’s military occupation of the South, the limited amount of power wielded by former slaves, the influence of moderate southerners, the flaws of the constitutions drawn up by the Radical state governments, and the reasons for the downfall of Reconstruction. |
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Is it really a great book? |
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The fact that Dr. Franklin is a very accomplished African American does not automatically ordain him a great writer who is above criticism. The sources in this text are substantial; however, it is still poorly written. I still plan on attending a conference next Thursday at U of South Carolina in order to hear him speak. |
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A Classic Work |
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It's appalling that previous reviewers have denigrated this classic work by one of our counry's most distinguished historians. Born in 1915, Franklin was subject to the ugly aftermath of Reconstruction and wrote many definitive works on African-American history and the history of race relations. He has won innumerable honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and has chaired the American Historical Society, Phi Beta Kappa, the American Studies Association, the Southern Historical Association, and the President's Commission on Race (1997). Reviews that accuse him of being a poor writer or offering nothing beyond a high school history text (which would not have been written without his pioneering scholarship) only display the ignorance of the reviewers. Read this book, and Franklin's others! |
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Very Confusing!!!!!!!! |
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This book is very confusing, perhaps Franklin should stop writing books and attend a few writting classes. Franklin repeats facts 2 or 3 times in different chapters and often sets off on wild tangents the can leave the reader utterly befuddled. The only reason I gave this book 1 star is due to Franklins fair treatment of the reconstruction period. Franklin places the blame for the mistakes and horrors of the post civil war era on both Northern and Southern forces; however, due to the utterly incompetent writing of franklin, I can not recomend this book. |
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A somewhat confused account of the Reconstruction era |
This short book focuses on what is an oft ignored segment of American History--the Reconstruction effort after the Civil War. Usually, Reconstruction is treated as a final chapter or sort of epilogue to many works on the war, but here Franklin attempts to devote an entire book to the various challenges presented to the North in the matter of reconstructing the shattered Union.
I'm not quite sure Franklin achieves his purpose here. The greater part of this book is confusing and difficult to follow, and in fact seems to state the same facts and cite the same incidents three or four different times. The picture Franklin paints of the post-war South is one of violence and depredations committed by such organizations as the Ku Klux Klan against a poor and defenseless African American class. He also portrays the Radical Republicans as trying to restore order and reconstruct the states, but also as just giving up ten years after the war and the election of Hayes. In between, there is a jumble of facts and incidents which show the inability of both parties (which I agree with) to successfully reconstruct the South. If this was an attempt to expose the injustices done to the Negroes by the ex-Confederate ruling class, I think the book achieved its purpose. If, however, it truly was meant to be a book on Reconstruction as a whole, it falls short. In fact, there is little of historical value that one could not gain by the final chapters in a good Civil War text. If you are interested in black studies, this book will prove to be very useful. But, if you are seeking a thorough and well-written account of the post Civil War era, I recommend you keep looking. |
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