Introduction

US History – Reconstruction, 1865-77

In this course, Professor Susan-Mary Grant (Newcastle University) explores the period in American history known as the Reconstruction Era, 1865-77. In the first module, we provide a brief introduction to what the Reconstruction Era was, when it started and ended, and whether or not it was a success. In the second module, we think about the roots of Reconstruction in Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, before turning in the third module to consider the support offered by the federal government to African-Americans in the years following the end of the Civil War. After that, in the fourth and fifth modules, we think about the resistance to the use efforts in the southern states, including the use of racial violence, before turning in the sixth and final module to think about the end of Reconstruction following the contested election of 1876 and the long-term legacy of its failure in the United States.

Introduction

In this module, we provide a brief introduction to the Reconstruction Era, the period in American history that lasted from 1865-77 following the American Civil War. In particular, we think about: (i) the question of when Reconstruction starts and ends – if it ends at all; (ii) the importance of the Reconstruction Amendments; (iii) the distinction between Radical Reconstruction and Presidential Reconstruction; (iv) the extent to which the federal government's attempts to integrate newly-freed slaves into American society was a success; and (v) the importance of seeing Reconstruction in the context of other major changes in America at this time, e.g. mass immigration from Europe, the westward expansion, etc.