Examining Reconstruction: Why It Matters & Recommended Books
An Unfinished Revolution or A Tragic Era?
August is upon us, dear reader. And with it, comes the winding down of the Summer for many as school or college approaches. The days now get shorter and reach an equilibrium with the night on September 22nd to mark the beginning of Autumn. As I plan to also take a break from essay writing next month for a vacation, I decided to approach a topic that I have seen been requested to look into: A inquisitorial reading list for those wanting to understand the period of the United States’ history during the years of 1865-1877 known as “Reconstruction”. A time period that has been repeatedly revised several times depending on the context of who is writing it. I have done this before last year if thou recalledst mine essay covering books to understand the 1960’s. This time we will go almost 100 years further back.
The end of the War of Secession (commonly known as the American Civil War or War Between the States) came with the dissolution of the Confederate States, the Union preserved but not the same as it was before, almost 700,000 soldiers dead from both sides according to recent estimates, the slavery system becoming moribund politically and economically with total devastation to many parts of the South. Even the jubilee of celebrating the end of slavery with the 13th amendment is brought down by quite a staggering number of deaths amongst the slaves caused by an emancipation that was a byproduct of war. The next twelve years were a time of military occupation, corruption at every level of government, sham elections, racial tensions with violence, paramilitary wings of each side going at it, the collapse of law and order that officially all came to an end with the heavily disputed 1876 election. The military occupation ended as troops were withdrawn from the Southern States, now no longer under “Carpetbaggers” but under “Redeemer” governments and fully back into the Union.
The knowledge of Reconstruction and its historiography is only a little bit smaller compared to the continuous output of books on the war that occurred prior to it. Until the mid-20th century, the classic viewpoint of the era was to see it as a failure that even Northerners were disgusted with as the newly formed Republican Party enjoyed near uncontested political power using the freedmen as a new voting block to keep the South down with any concerns about racial equality being secondary or inconsequential. This changed as the centennial of the war was about to be commemorated in the 1950s and 60s. With the Civil Rights Revolution in full swing, it was revisited and written in a more modern context as the first step in the eventual goal of full integration and rights for black Americans. Eric Foner’s book Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution 1863-1877 is one of the most prominent examples of such books representing this school of thought.
This “Neo-Abolitionist” kind of historiography not only dominated our discourse and led the charge for today’s left wing social causes, it also gave rise to the 1619 Project’s revisionist agenda and the Project 1776 in response. There are errors with both approaches to history but this battle will not be resolved in the near future. Pushback against biased historical positions has come in the forms of Mary Grabar’s criticism and repudiation of Howard Zinn’s writing or Helen Andrew critiquing W.E.B Du Bois’ work on Reconstruction. While I am glad to see such opposition, it will not mean much as long as the people in charge of cultural narratives that were used to justify riots, violence against monuments and attacking people are left unchallenged. It is probably why the Smithsonian is also coming under review regarding such presentations.
Although, hearing new perspectives like the thesis that my friend Christopher Sandbatch of Ecologica Americana articulated in an interview with Dimes of the Blood Satellite program about how Andrew Jackson’s war on the Second Bank of the United States1 was a long term cause of hostiles in 1861 is the kind of compelling argument that promotes critical thinking.
Another reason for myself to write this essay were recent developments in both the political and social realms. Coming off an analysis of the first half year of Trump’s second term are the announcements that the Arlington Confederate Memorial, which was removed from the cemetery in late 2023 will be restored as well as the statue of Albert Pike which was torn down during the 2020 riots. A surprise considering the previous “restoration” of the 10 Confederate namesakes of the military bases was not really a true one. The “restored” names were from random US army soldiers because of the NDAA 2021 naming commission with a provision disallowing any honoring of Confederates. Trump vetoed the bill because of that which was overridden by both parties late into his first term. While I viewed that as a fake victory that reeked of “critique the excess, reify the premise”, the other restorations are a welcomed addition. Local action to restoring monuments or other memorials might be tricker to restore considering the more hostile demographics and spineless politicians in even some of the more “red” state governments. But restorative moves at the top will help momentum.
News like this brings about all the usual jeering and seething from people that take delight in trashing historical figures. Thou couldest start a drinking game off of counting social media posts wish that the Union should have engaged in mass executions of Southerners following the surrender, take delight in the unrestricted warfare on the Confederacy’s civilian population, wishing that Reconstruction never ended or some variety in sadistic desires to murder people that would be called out if it were more obvious. These two posts come to my mind the most regarding this phenomenon:
For all of these kinds of people who lack direct connections to the United States joining in on the sadism, thou also seest unlikely defenders of Southeners who are well meaning even if they need some assistance to better articulate their points. It is better to get past the thought terminating cliches of terms like “racism” and other loaded words which are designed to excuse extermination like behavior that comes from supposed “anti-racist” groups.
I can also appreciate others who have done the due diligence of republishing older works that are very crucial for figuring out this time period like the man behind the George Bagby account who runneth a publishing house Tall Men Books. Whither it houses many valuable books which were out of print or expensive to get in other places. The internet archive is also another resource but it will not always be around if the state of cyberspace continues to deteriorate. Especially in light of how recent events regarding the UK Online Safety Act (2025) causing censorship, payment processing services forcing companies to comply with regulations and other kinds of acts were not unprecedented in this regard. Several other similar legislation in other countries have been introduced with the state goal of “protecting children”. But these are a cover to further make criticism of their governments in anonymous fashion much harder. In the specific context of the UK, it comes as rising tensions from anti-mass immigration sentiment and a government more interested in punishing those who notice how much lower quality of life is in the “Yoo-Kay”.
The Reconstruction Era’s Long Term Effects
Thou probably knowest that we are 8 years past the infamous “Unite the Right” Rally in Charlottesville around the now melted Robert E Lee statue. The ensuing violence when protesters and counter protesters clashed with many injuries and a death which led the start of aggressive prosecution against many of the organizers, attendees or those who did not come thither but still got his by way of debanking, doxxing and social stigmatization for even the loosest of association with the march. It accelerated much of the cultural vandalism and monument destruction that predictably would not stop with the Confederates. It also set several precedents to go after people like Douglass Mackey who just had his conviction thrown out on appeal. In addition to being aware of an executive order that requires banks to stop the practice of “debanking” on reputation risk, thou shouldest read both an independent report on how badly the authorities managed the events of that as well as the Charlottesville Untold book for eyewitness accounts of what truly happened. Especially as the last decade or so has shown that biased reporting regarding such controversial events is easier to dispel than it was in the past given the technology that we have today.
If thou wantedst to understand how life under a carpetbagger regime during Reconstruction was like, there are reminders since the origins for such “anarchotyranny” visible here and elsewhere. Thou ever noticest how badly governed many cities are with budget issues, high crime, open ethnic mafias with a disregard for civility, nepotistic city governance and general low quality of life? It appears less like the country thou once knewest (or never knewest) and more like a foreign occupation while feeling like a stranger in thine own home. Anytime we get public officials being unable to recall basic protocols or how to run their offices, the question “Is this what life under Reconstruction was like?” and the answer would be “yes and so much worse.”
There are other example of how the experiences during Reconstruction also shaped US policy in the decades after. Like the post war occupation of Germany, the defacto vassalage of Europe via NATO after 1945 to the project of “nation building” in Iraq and Afghanistan. Even domestically, there are shadows of Reconstruction era laws that had lasting effects. The 14th amendment is one most poignant. Originally, it was added to overturn the 1857 Dredd Scott vs Stanford decision by giving basic protections to freed slaves regarding citizenship, freedom of movement and contract rights. But according to the late Forrest McDonald, it was not legally ratified because of many irregularities and manipulation of procedure on how an amendment is normally included to the constitution.
It was interpreted pretty conservatively until the mid 20th century with the idea of the “Incorporation Doctrine” as it served as the basis for many civil rights legal cases that grew the scope of the federal government’s involvement in state and local matters. The recent examples were if the concept of “birthright citizenship” was covered under it, the attempts to remove Trump from the ballot in the 2024 election or if the legal reasoning behind the of “substantive due process” interpretation of the amendment was wrong in cases like Obergefell vs Hodges.
All of these previous examples regarding the long term consequences of Reconstruction will stand out more to thee, curious reader. To really understand whence I am drawing my comparisons, I have compiled a list of books that will come with brief descriptions and what makes them valuable in thy journey down one of the most controversial chapters of American history.
Think of the way I present the books in a similar way to how the video essay with the popular format of “The Iceberg” is utilized.
I will begin with a starter book that would be considered the “tip of the iceberg” before we start descending into the layers beneath the surface as we get into the more obscure or suspiciously omitted literature from the public’s consciousness. They will cover different angles and topic of the time period that are also neglected.
With all of that explained, here are the books I present to thee for what I would recommend reading on how to get a better understanding of Reconstruction different from today’s interpretations and a brief description of each book.
Southern Reconstruction (Phil Leigh)
Released in 2017 by Phil Leigh, this book is one of the best jumping on points for someone unfamiliar with how to figure out which historiography is the best to go with when studying the time period. Leigh hath written over a dozen books and was one of the writers on the New York Times blog called “Disunion” that contributed articles during the 150th Anniversary of the war from 2011 to 2015. I would also encourage people to check out his follow up on the corruption and scandals during Ulysses S Grant’s time as president that increased the discontent with Reconstruction and the lectures, interviews and presentations he hath done about the book and topic.
He writeth from a perspective that while the racial tensions, violence and readjustments were a key aspect of Reconstruction, writers like Eric Foner overemphasize them while distorting other factors going on at the same time. He bringeth back clarity to the economic system created by certain laws that kept the South economically backward while the rest of the country thrived well past the end of 19th century. He also zeroeth in on the corruption brought on by the conduct of the carpetbagger governments and how it led to the infamous violence and impoverishment of the people both white and black. He also maketh a strong case that Southerners had already paid reparations via their taxes going to playing for Union veteran’s pensions which encompassed a large part of the federal budget from 1880 to 1920. The region lagged behind as poverty was endemic until the mid 20th century from being disfavored by economic policies like high tariffs, discriminatory freight rates, unfavorable trade practices, intrusive banking regulations and the restrictions on state budgets passed after the collapse of the carpetbagger governments.
While somewhat still in the morality of the more colorblind ideas that the boomer generation was taught compared to the more recent racially conscious kind of works, it is still a valuable historical study in which the economic, state, cultural and political factors which led to the events of Reconstruction unfolding the way they did. It’s a very good starter for the rest of the books which go into more depth on certain topics.
The Strange Career of Jim Crow (C. Vann WoodWorth)
Diving below the surface, we now encounter another book that examines what is often seen as the second worst “Mark of Cain” in the history United States besides slavery. The “Jim Crow” laws were written in the 1890s to 1900s in the Southern States to legally separate the races and led to the disenfranchisement of most blacks and even some poorer whites. When these laws began to either be repealed by judicial rulings or federal legislation, a history whence they came about was needed since they did not immediately appear when the last of the federal troops left the South in the late 1870s.
Van WoodWard’s book explores the history of how these laws came to be; originating in Northern states which had enforced them to remove much of the black population as possible when slavery came to an end in those areas. Such racial segregation did not exist in the Antebellum South and when slavery was abolished, it was not destined to be inevitable. The books expands upon a point made by Leigh and other books in this list was how the energy of the populist movements was co-opted by demagogues into pitting the races against each other and economic hardships like the Panic of 1893 further drove support for why the races needed to be separated. Especially as lynchings and violence were rising before declining past 1900.
It is also filled with many lost alternatives to this system and paradoxical examples of historical ironies like how some former slave owners were less likely to support these laws compared to the yeoman white farmers. Even some notable high ranking former Confederate officials and generals like Wade Hampton courting the freedman vote in his campaign as a “redeemer governor” for South Carolina or how P.T.G Beauregard advocated for civil rights for blacks in contrast to figures like Ben “Pitchfork” Tillman, James K Vadarman or Charles Brantley Aycock who openly advocated for total white domination of politics.
This book was written as the Civil Rights Revolution was starting to come together as the third revision pictured above had epilogues concerting events like the Watts Riots of 1965, MLK JR’s assassination and how such radical movements like the Black Panthers led to backlash in the form of Nixon’s election as president in 1968. In probably the greatest irony of a strange career, Woodward started out as someone who would be considered left of center politically at the time when writing his books and gradually become more rightist as the historical profession became politicized in the 1970’s. Passing away a couple weeks before the year 2000, I cannot imagine how much worse things have gotten and what he would have to say about today’s crop of “official” historians.
The Tragic Era: The Revolution After Lincoln (Claude G Bowers)
Now we are getting into the deeper waters and layers of this iceberg. What we have here is probably the definitive book on the pre-mid 20th century view of Reconstruction that heavily criticizes much of the unconstitutional actions and precedence set by the Radical Republican Congress following Lincoln’s death.
This book not only examines Southern politics and corruption like Leigh’s book did but also how the North was also heavily affected by Reconstruction as even their state powers were reduced in favor of national legislation that gave favors and graft to industries like trans-continental railroads and corrupt credit lenders. It also serves as an examination of Andrew Johnson’s time as president more closely as author Howard K Beale did two years later In his book on the pivotal year of 1866. Johnson was hardly a friend of the South as he appointed military governor of Tennessee for the Union as he did not leave his seat when that state seceded. He was also harsher than Lincoln when it came to requirements for readmission of the former Confederate States but clash with Congress over trying to maintain the balance of federal versus state power that got him impeached and almost removed.
While the contemporary narrative and historians who subscribe to it reject Bowers’ work and deride it as a “Neo-Confederate” apologist work, their overlooking of the scandals and radicalism embedded of the time is an indictment of how partisan they are and how today’s neurosis on race has warped the ability to study history objectively. Thou wilt gain a better understanding of why this and the war were considered the national tragedies of American history back in the day when the reconciliation of both North and South was seen as necessary. The sections came to form a national unity which would make America one of the only two superpowers which was being thrown out in favor of a more petty and vindictive approach.
Reconstruction, Political and Economic 1865-1877 (William A Dunning)
We now arrive at the bottom of the iceberg with what I consider to be the probably one of the most comprehensive studies on Reconstruction and the bane of the modern historical profession when it comes to the assumptions and flat out false statements regarding it. These writing were also collected by Walter L Fleming in two volumes.
Hast thou ever wanted to see what a true “banned” book is in practice? It is this collection of essays. Out of print, mostly inaccessible outside of the internet archive, constantly reviled by “academics” who take out of context passages in order to try and discredit them and other subtle soft banning techniques that indirectly impact them.
These essays were compared by professor William Archibald Dunning and founded what is called “The Dunning School” of Reconstruction. Historians who studied with his methods of collecting primary sources examined all of the former Confederate and border states individually and took cues from recent German methods like a more “scientific” approach to history at the time. Everything was covered in their studies from the books above and they even covered lesser known topics like the changes to religious practices, views of money, investments, property, banking, the corruption, disenfranchisement of ex-Confederates, the conflicts between different paramilitary groups like the Klan and Union Leauges, the Republican factions within these militarily enforced regimes clashing with each other, the rigged elections, how the Freedman’s Bureau really operated and even more.
The key insight for why these historians are slandered are best summed up by the previously mentioned “George Bagby” (who’s website has republished Fleming’s own work The Civil War and Reconstruction in Alabama) in a post talking about the historiography of Reconstruction with this particular passage standing out:
These scholars successfully reproduced the beliefs, feelings, and experiences of various Southern and Northern states during this important period. While Foner and Stampp can communicate well how a modern leftist or Marxist feels about Reconstruction, the Dunning historians give the perspective of the Americans of the era: especially the white Southerners so recently defeated, wounded, and fleeced in the War. The Establishment can tell us what we are supposed to say about the period to earn the proper brownie points, and woe betide anyone who strays from the script. The Dunning School historians offer the experiences of normal people for normal people today, and there is no catechism of leftist doctrines to memorize. Not surprisingly, these histories have been removed from libraries and kept out of print, but that has not proved to be enough. They are ritually denounced by the encyclopedias and reference books, warning the curious away from the contagion of “wrongthink.” The time has come to make these histories accessible again.
The Dunning School men present the story of Southerners from the extant sources. They do not psychoanalyze their sources, accuse them of false consciousness, or condemn them as enemies of the people as the Marxist is obliged to do. Instead, they present their beliefs, choices, and reactions in the realistic context of the place and time. The particular strengths of these writers is in the astonishing quantity of sources they summarized, analyzed, and quoted. Their works remain the first depositories for any scholar looking for the primary sources. In addition, each historian focused on particular states and focused their efforts on the peculiarities of a place. Each history is a valuable contribution to a historiography of regionalism.
As a matter of fact, their writings were so good that according to a discussion between Ryan Turnipseed and Christopher Sandbatch on the “Lost Cause”, some Southerners who had that perspective had to downplay the Dunning School’s findings as they were fearful that they could undermine the reconciliation process with their Northerner counterparts. This was because they had made a case that Reconstruction continued onward past the “compromise” of 1877 as the Gilded Age prosperity left even many Northerners out of it. If these books and essays were to ever come back into mainstream publication, they would also impose quite a damming indictment on the political establishment from both parties that routinely continue to covertly or overtly trash Southern historical figures. These essays continue to provide the most comprehensive study of Reconstruction despite falling out of favor from a decidedly more utopian perspective currently in vogue.
Additional Readings & Conclusion
While the guns have long fallen silent and the participants of the conflict and political battles have long since passed on, descendants and non-descendants of them continue to fight it out online. As much as we probably would prefer otherwise, these spats are unlikely to resolve given the lack of a cohesive narrative, culture and people in today’s United States. We will still see such surrogate patriotism for the Union Army from people who hate this country while some who are feed up with the ethno-narcissism and dysfunctional behavior of certain minority groups might continuously adopt symbols like the numerous Confederate or other controversial icons in reaction to modern day US policy that was largely anti-European domestically and internationally. Or thou mayest even see the symbol used in completely divorced contexts as a more palatable Americana cultural expression worldwide given current frustrations with the United States. The worst case scenario is what is happening in Canada as the country is on track to demographically and legally abolishing itself as continuously written about by Peter Nemetz following historical attacks on its churches, monuments and people.
Reconstruction will continue to be a heavy topic that requires multiple readings and scouring through obscure texts to find what thou art looking for. The four books I provided start from the most recent and go back in time as the first hand memories of those who can recall what their parents or grandparents experienced are known more accurately. I hope with what I provide will be able to get the full picture of this time period with the distortions that modern racial politics have brought to all aspects of our society.
For further secondary readings here is a list of books that can be helpful additions to the four entries above:
The Story of Reconstruction by Robert Selph Henry
The South Under Reconstruction 1865-1877; Eight Volume of a History of the South by E Michael Coulter
Origins of the New South 1877-1913 by C Vann Woodward
The Republic for Which It Stands; The United States During Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, 1865-1896 by Richard White
Invisible Empire: The Story of the Ku Klux Klan 1866-1871 by Stanley F Horn
Washington’s KKK: The Union League During Reconstruction by John Chodes
Reconstruction and the New South, 1865-1913 by Clyde Wilson
With that comes the conclusion of mine essay writing for the time being. With a trip coming up and other projects in the works, I will pause writings on this newsletter while still being active elsewhere for an extended hiatus. Maybe when thou reachest the end of the reading list, thou mayest become “unreconstructed” so to speak. Perhaps this lays the groundwork both better understanding of our sense of what an America is in addition to the work to either restore memorials or revise existing records. And speaking of seeing a Confederate Flag in Japan, we will let the AI anime girls who sang “Dixie” that I showcased two years ago take out to the finish with “I’m A Good Ol’ Rebel”. Deo Vindice!
The simplified thesis he layeth out was that Andrew Jackson’s “paying off the debt” by sending gold reserves to the British and his destruction of the bank by funneling the money into politically aligned state banks caused a liquidity crises when the Panic of 1837 happened. The huge asset bubble popping was devastating to the Southern economy and aggravated a divide between the bigger planter cartels compared to the modest plantation owners or poorer white yeoman farmers. The economic downturn forced planters to collateralize their slaves in order to pay off the loans that banks in Britain and the Netherlands lent them. A predatory banking circuit with loans on the slave collateral formed in addition to the rising tariffs, alienating presidencies of the Democratic Pierce and Buchanan to the North and the rise of the Republican Party with an economic nationalist platform were some of the other reasons that led to the war.