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19 Best Book About Reconstruction (2023 Update)
Are you looking for the Best Book About Reconstruction? If so, you’ve come to the right place.
Choosing the Best Book About Reconstruction can be difficult as there are so many considerations, such as Asmodee, Funko, Games Workshop, Nintendo, Penguin Random House, Steps to Literacy, WHSmith, Amazon.com. We have done a lot of research to find the Top 19 Best Book About Reconstruction available.
The average cost is $27.11. Sold comparable range in price from a low of $4.50 to a high of $90.05.
Based on the research we did, we think A Short History of Reconstruction, Updated Edition [Book] is the best overall. Read on for the rest of the great options and our buying guide, where you can find all the information you need to know before making an informed purchase.
19 Best Book About Reconstruction (19 Sellers)
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Features:
- Washington post book world "foner's book brings to distinguished fruition one great cycle of reconstruction historiography."
- New york review of books "a remarkable clarity is one of the many beauties of this book that dwells on so many conflicts and ambiguities."
- Boston globe
Features:
- Binding type: paperback
- Year published: 2015-01-01
- Number of pages: 752
$4.50
4.0
Features:
- Binding type: paperback
- Publisher: harpercollins publishers inc
- Year published: 19900110
Features:
- The book may have some cosmetic wear i.e. creased spine/cover scratches curled corners folded pages minor sunburn.
- The book has very few or no highlight/notes/underlined pages.
- Safe and secure mailer.
$10.64
5.0
Features:
- What should have been a simple pick-up turns into a day-long nightmare for bad sam chapman.
- About the author.
- Mick herron was born in newcastle upon tyne, and now lives in oxford.
Features:
- From the pulitzer prize-winning historian, an authoritative story of the constitutional changes that built equality into america's foundation.
- Binding type: hardback.
- Year published: 20191015.
Features:
- The terror phase, 1865-1867 : the massacres begin.
- The guerilla phase, 1868-1872, part 1 : the kkk resisted.
- The guerilla phase, 1868-1872, part 2 : the kkk triumphant.
$15.05
5.0
Features:
- Binding type: paperback
- Publisher: random house usa inc
- Year published: 2006-11-14
Features:
- The dust jacket if present may be marked and have considerable heavy wear or might be missing.
- The book might be ex-library copy and may have the markings and stickers associated from the library.
- The book may have some highlights/notes/underlined pages.
$10.95
Features:
- The era known as reconstruction is one of the unhappiest times in american history.
- It succeeded in reuniting the nation politically after the civil war but in little else.
- Conflict shifted from the battlefield to the capitol as congress warred with president andrew johnson over just what to do with the south.
Features:
- Publisher: oxford university press
- Publisher date: 09/01/2017
- Dimensions: 6.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 2.40(d)
Features:
- New york times book review a disturbing, beautifully told story
- New york review of books a marvelous book
- New yorker a triumph of historical analysis [and] a detailed recreation of some of the civil war's noblest hopes and greatest tragedies
Features:
- Series: american history: reconstruction to the present
- Binding type: hardback
- Year published: 20170101
Features:
- About the book.
- Focuses on labor and politics to help develop broader interpretive trends in the post-emancipation us south.
- Book synopsis.
Features:
- African american studies.
- General (soc001000) civil rights (pol004000) political process.
- Campaigns & elections (pol008000) united states reconstruction (u.
Features:
- Binding type: hardback
- Publisher: the library of america
- Year published: 2021-12-14
Features:
- 19th century (his036040) united states
- Civil war (his036050) reconstruction (u.s. history, 1865-1877) united states
- Politics and government
Features:
- The new york times book review joy hakim didn't rewrite history. but she did make it a whole lot more fun to read
- Washington post book world the liveliest, most realistic, most well-received american history series ever written for children
- Los angeles times a thorough and accurate narrative of our nation's history
Features:
- Binding type: hardback
- Year published: 2022-07-08
- Number of pages: 344
1. A Short History Of Reconstruction, Updated Edition [Book]
Product Details:
From the “preeminent historian of reconstruction” (new york times book review), a newly updated abridged edition of the prize-winning classic work on the post-civil war period which shaped modern america.in this updated edition of the abridged reconstruction, eric foner redefines how the post-civil war period was viewed.reconstruction chronicles the way in which americans—black and white—responded to the unprecedented changes unleashed by the war and the end of slavery. it addresses the quest of emancipated slaves’ searching for economic autonomy and equal citizenship, and describes the remodeling of southern society; the evolution of racial attitudes and patterns of race relations; and the emergence of a national state possessing vastly expanded authority and one committed, for a time, to the principle of equal rights for all americans.this “masterful treatment of one of the most complex periods of american history” (new republic) remains the standard work on the wrenching post-civil war period—an era whose legacy still reverberates in the united states today.
Reviews:
Easy to read thought provoking study of Reconstruction. Should be required reading in any American History class.orflaw
2. Reconstruction Updated Edition: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877 [Book]
Product Details:
From the "preeminent historian of reconstruction" (new york times book review), the prize-winning classic work on the post-civil war period which shaped modern america.eric foner's "masterful treatment of one of the most complex periods of american history" (new republic) redefined how the post-civil war period was viewed. reconstruction chronicles the way in which americans—black and white—responded to the unprecedented changes unleashed by the war and the end of slavery. it addresses the ways in which the emancipated slaves' quest for economic autonomy and equal citizenship shaped the political agenda of reconstruction; the remodeling of southern society and the place of planters, merchants, and small farmers within it; the evolution of racial attitudes and patterns of race relations; and the emergence of a national state possessing vastly expanded authority and committed, for a time, to the principle of equal rights for all americans. this "smart book of enormous strengths" (boston globe) remains the standard work on the wrenching post-civil war period—an era whose legacy still reverberates in the united states today.
3. A Short History Of Reconstruction [Book]
Product Details:
Specifications:
| Language | English |
| Release Date | January 2012 |
| Length | 448 Pages |
| Dimensions | 1.0" x 8.5" x 10.7" |
| Grade Range | Grade 8 |
Reviews:
I purchased this book for a history book club I attend. It is an abridged edition and I believe it to be well done in that regard. The content is specific to reconstruction after the Civil War, and eye-opening to the Andrew Johnson presidency as well as that period in history. I recommend the book to everyone interested in American history.viewindigo512
Good book and great quality.lemfizz
4. The Death Of Reconstruction: Race, Labor, And Politics In The Post-Civil War North, 1865-1901 [Book]
Product Details:
Historians overwhelmingly have blamed the demise of reconstruction on southerners' persistent racism. heather cox richardson argues instead that class, along with race, was critical to reconstruction's end. northern support for freed blacks and reconstruction weakened in the wake of growing critiques of the economy and calls for a redistribution of wealth.using newspapers, public speeches, popular tracts, congressional reports, and private correspondence, richardson traces the changing northern attitudes toward african-americans from the republicans' idealized image of black workers in 1861 through the 1901 publication of booker t. washington's up from slavery. she examines such issues as black suffrage, disenfranchisement, taxation, westward migration, lynching, and civil rights to detect the trajectory of northern disenchantment with reconstruction. she reveals a growing backlash from northerners against those who believed that inequalities should be addressed through working-class action, and the emergence of an american middle class that championed individual productivity and saw african-americans as a threat to their prosperity.the death of reconstruction offers a new perspective on american race and labor and demonstrates the importance of class in the post-civil war struggle to integrate african-americans into a progressive and prospering nation.
5. Reconstruction [Book]
Product Details:
'masterful . . . superior entertainment that makes most other novels of suspense appear dull and slow-witted by comparison' publishers weekly what should have been a simple pick-up turns into a day-long nightmare for bad sam chapman. when an operational catastrophe puts a gun in the hands of a young man, who then breaks into south oxford nursery school and takes a group of hostages, teacher louise kennedy fears the worst. but jaime segura isn't there on a homicidal mission, and he's just as scared as those whose lives he holds as collateral. as an armed police presence builds outside the school's gates, bad sam chapman – head of the intelligence service's internal security force, the dogs – battles the clock to find out what jaime is after. but the only person jaime will talk to is ben whistler, an mi6 accountant who worked with jaime's lover, miro. miro's gone missing, along with a quarter of a billion pounds allotted for reconstruction work in iraq. jaime refuses to believe that miro is a thief – though he's always had his secrets. but then, so does louise, so do the other hostages – and so do some people on the outside, who'd much rather jaime was silenced.
Specifications:
| Imprint | Baskerville |
| Pub date | 05 Sep 2019 |
| DEWEY edition | 23 |
| Language | English |
| Spine width | 24mm |
Reviews:
Fine. Prequel to slough horses ?nigels8000
Could not put this book down. Plot and characters intriguing.Susan
6. The Second Founding: How The Civil War And Reconstruction Remade The Constitution [Book]
Product Details:
From the pulitzer prize–winning scholar, a timely history of the constitutional changes that built equality into the nation’s foundation and how those guarantees have been shaken over time.the declaration of independence announced equality as an american ideal, but it took the civil war and the subsequent adoption of three constitutional amendments to establish that ideal as american law. the reconstruction amendments abolished slavery, guaranteed all persons due process and equal protection of the law, and equipped black men with the right to vote. they established the principle of birthright citizenship and guaranteed the privileges and immunities of all citizens. the federal government, not the states, was charged with enforcement, reversing the priority of the original constitution and the bill of rights. in grafting the principle of equality onto the constitution, these revolutionary changes marked the second founding of the united states. eric foner’s compact, insightful history traces the arc of these pivotal amendments from their dramatic origins in pre–civil war mass meetings of african-american “colored citizens” and in republican party politics to their virtual nullification in the late nineteenth century. a series of momentous decisions by the supreme court narrowed the rights guaranteed in the amendments, while the states actively undermined them. the jim crow system was the result. again today there are serious political challenges to birthright citizenship, voting rights, due process, and equal protection of the law. like all great works of history, this one informs our understanding of the present as well as the past: knowledge and vigilance are always necessary to secure our basic rights.
Specifications:
| Imprint | W.W. Norton and Company |
| Pub date | 17 Sep 2019 |
| DEWEY edition | 23 |
| Language | English |
| Spine width | 24mm |
Reviews:
very readible. exciting reradtennesseemartin10
The Second Founding is excellent. What Foner did for Reconstruction he has done again for the Reconstruction Amendments. Detailed accounts of the arguments surrounding the proposal, passage, and utilization (in some cases purposeful ignorance) of the amendments are found throughout the book. This book deserves to be on the shelf of anyone interested in American history and in particular the transition from a country with slavery to a nation struggling to understand what "equality" means.LINDA
7. The War After The War: A New History Of Reconstruction [Book]
Product Details:
The war after the war is a lively military history and overview of reconstruction that illuminates the new war fought immediately after the american civil war. this southern civil war was distinct from the american civil war and fought between southerners for control of state governments. in the south, african american and white unionists formed a successful biracial coalition that elected state and local officials. white supremacist insurrectionaries battled with these coalitions and won the southern civil war, successfully overthrowing democratically elected governments. the repercussions of these political setbacks would be felt for decades to come. with this book john patrick daly examines the political and racial battles for power after the civil war, as white supremacist terror, guerrilla, and paramilitary groups attacked biracial coalitions in their local areas. the ku klux klan was the most infamous of these groups, but ex-confederate extremists fought democratic change in the region under many guises. the biracial coalition put up a brave fight against these insurrectionary forces, but the federal government offered the biracial forces little help. after dozens of battles and tens of thousands of casualties between 1865 and 1877, the southern civil war ended in the complete triumph of extremist insurrection and white supremacy. as the united states marks the 150th anniversary of the southern civil war, its lessons are more vital than ever.
Specifications:
| Released | USA, June 1, 2022 |
| Publishers | University of Georgia Press |
| Dimensions | 227 × 151 × 19 mm · 228 g |
8. Forever Free: The Story Of Emancipation And Reconstruction [Book]
Product Details:
From one of our most distinguished historians, a new examination of the vitally important years of emancipation and reconstruction during and immediately following the civil war-a necessary reconsideration that emphasizes the era's political and cultural meaning for today's america. in forever free, eric foner overturns numerous assumptions growing out of the traditional understanding of the period, which is based almost exclusively on white sources and shaped by (often unconscious) racism. he presents the period as a time of determination, especially on the part of recently emancipated black americans, to put into effect the principles of equal rights and citizenship for all. drawing on a wide range of long-neglected documents, he places a new emphasis on the centrality of the black experience to an understanding of the era. foner makes clear how, by war's end, freed slaves in the south built on networks of church and family in order to exercise their right of suffrage as well as gain access to education, land, and employment. he shows us that the birth of the ku klux klan and renewed acts of racial violence were retaliation for the progress made by blacks soon after the war. he refutes lingering misconceptions about reconstruction, including the attribution of its ills to corrupt african american politicians and "carpetbaggers," and connects it to the movements for civil rights and racial justice. joshua brown's illustrated commentary on the era's graphic art and photographs complements the narrative. he offers a unique portrait of how americans envisioned their world and time. forever free is an essential contribution to our understanding of the events that fundamentally reshaped american life after the civil war-a persuasive reading of history that transforms our sense of the era from a time of failure and despair to a threshold of hope and achievement.
Reviews:
After doing a little research, I saw that Eric Forner was a well respected author on the Civil War era, and Reconstruction in particular. The book did not disappoint. Well written – a deep dive into the history of slavery leading up to the Civil War, but not cumbersome. Book is very readable and it is hard to put it down! I am new to the South and the history of this era has proven very helpful for me to understand how it shaped the South, and continues to affect the thinking of many people here today. Very helpful !glw91
I bought this for a History class. It is a great book. Finally the truth in history class. This book makes me mad, it makes me cry, and it makes me happy. Our country is a piece of work and Foner accurately deciphers the factors that went into Reconstruction, why it fell apart, and the far reaching implications this period in history has on our country today.msjsmcat
This book addresses the post-Civil War Reconstruction period, detailing the post war efforts to create a more perfect union. In the end, the effort failed, leaving the US to combat systemic economic, legal and social racism to this day. Everyone should read this book and understand this important chapter in US history and racism.wsnyder065
9. The Civil War And Reconstruction: A Documentary Collection [Book]
Product Details:
Specifications:
| Weight | 1.55 lb |
10. Reconstruction: A Concise History [Book]
Product Details:
The era known as reconstruction is one of the unhappiest times in american history. it succeeded in reuniting the nation politically after the civil war but in little else. conflict shifted from the battlefield to the capitol as congress warred with president andrew johnson over just what to do with the south. johnson's plan of presidential reconstruction, which was sympathetic to the former confederacy, would ultimately lead to his impeachment and the institution of radical reconstruction. while reconstruction saw the ratification of the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments, expanding the rights and suffrage of african americans, it largely failed to chart a progressive course for race relations after the abolition of slavery and the rise of jim crow. it also struggled to manage the southern resistance towards a northern free-labor economy. however, these failures cannot obscure a number of accomplishments with long-term consequences for american life, among them the civil rights act, the election of the first african american representatives to congress, and the avoidance of renewed civil war. reconstruction suffered from poor leadership and uncertainty of direction, but it also laid the groundwork for renewed struggles for racial equality during the civil rights movement.
Specifications:
| Narrator | Bob Souer |
| Length | 4 hours 20 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Published on | November 6, 2018 |
11. The Republic For Which It Stands: The United States During Reconstruction And The Gilded Age, 1865-1896 [Book]
Product Details:
In the newest volume in the series, the republic for which it stands, acclaimed historian richard white offers a fresh and integrated interpretation of reconstruction and the gilded age as the seedbed of modern america. at the end of the civil war the leaders and citizens of the victorious north envisioned the country's future as a free-labor republic, with a homogenous citizenry, both black and white. the south and west were to be reconstructed in the image of the north. thirty years later americans occupied an unimagined world. the unity that the civil war supposedly secured had proved ephemeral. the country was larger, richer, and more extensive, but also more diverse. life spans were shorter, and physical well-being had diminished, due to disease and hazardous working conditions. independent producers had become wage earners. the country was catholic and jewish as well as protestant, and increasingly urban and industrial. the "dangerous" classes of the very rich and poor expanded, and deep differences — ethnic, racial, religious, economic, and political — divided society. the corruption that gave the gilded age its name was pervasive. these challenges also brought vigorous efforts to secure economic, moral, and cultural reforms. real change — technological, cultural, and political — proliferated from below more than emerging from political leadership. americans, mining their own traditions and borrowing ideas, produced creative possibilities for overcoming the crises that threatened their country. in a work as dramatic and colorful as the era it covers, white narrates the conflicts and paradoxes of these decades of disorienting change and mounting unrest, out of which emerged a modern nation whose characteristics resonate with the present day.
Specifications:
| Language | English |
| Release Date | January 1 |
| Length | 126 Pages |
| Dimensions | 9.0" x 0.3" x 6.0" |
12. Rehearsal For Reconstruction: The Port Royal Experiment [Book]
Product Details:
Just seven months into the civil war, a union fleet sailed into south carolina's port royal sound, landed a ground force, and then made its way upriver to beaufort. planters and farmers fled before their attackers, allowing virtually all their major possessions, including ten thousand slaves, to fall into union hands. rehearsal for reconstruction, winner of the allan nevins prize, the francis parkman prize, and the charles s. sydnor prize, is historian willie lee rose's chronicle of change in this sea island region from its capture in 1861 through reconstruction. with epic sweep, rose demonstrates how port royal constituted a stage upon which a dress rehearsal for the south's postwar era was acted out.
Specifications:
| Language | English |
| Release Date | March 1999 |
| Length | 464 Pages |
| Dimensions | 1.2" x 5.5" x 8.2" |
13. American History: Reconstruction To The Present: Student Edition 201 [Book]
Product Details:
Specifications:
14. After Slavery: Race, Labor, And Citizenship In The Reconstruction South [Book]
Product Details:
"is there really anything new to say about reconstruction? the excellent contributions to this volume make it clear that the answer is a resounding yes. collectively these essays allow us to rethink the meanings of state and citizenship in the reconstruction south, a deeply necessary task and a laudable advance on the existing historiography."–alex lichtenstein, indiana university freedom for african americans is often assumed to have been granted and fully realized when abraham lincoln issued the emancipation proclamation. in reality, the meaning of freedom was vigorously, often lethally, contested in the aftermath of the civil war. after slavery moves beyond broad generalizations concerning black life during reconstruction in order to offer a well-rounded portrait of the era. topics include urban unrest in new orleans and wilmington, north carolina, loyalty among former slave owners and slaves in mississippi, armed insurrection along the georgia coast, and racial violence throughout the region.
15. The Two Reconstructions: The Struggle For Black Enfranchisement [Book]
Product Details:
Winner of the 2005 j. david greenstone book award from the politics and history section of the american political science association. winner of the 2005 ralph j. bunche award of the american political science association winner of the 2005 v.o. key, jr. award of the southern political science association the reconstruction era marked a huge political leap for african americans, who rapidly went from the status of slaves to voters and officeholders. yet this hard-won progress lasted only a few decades. ultimately a "second reconstruction"—associated with the civil rights movement and the voting rights act—became necessary. how did the first reconstruction fail so utterly, setting the stage for the complete disenfranchisement of southern black voters, and why did the second succeed? these are among the questions richard m. valelly answers in this fascinating history. the fate of black enfranchisement, he argues, has been closely intertwined with the strengths and constraints of our political institutions. valelly shows how effective biracial coalitions have been the key to success and incisively traces how and why political parties and the national courts either rewarded or discouraged the formation of coalitions. revamping our understanding of american race relations, the two reconstructions brilliantly explains a puzzle that lies at the heart of america’s development as a political democracy.
16. W.e.b. Du Bois: Black Reconstruction (Loa #350): An Essay Toward A History Of The Part Whichblack Folk Played In The Attempt To Reconstructdemocracy In America, 1860–1880 [Book]
Product Details:
A definitive edition of the landmark book that forever changed our understanding of the civil war’s aftermath and the legacy of racism in america upon publication in 1935, w.e.b. du bois’s now classic black reconstruction offered a revelatory new assessment of reconstruction—and of american democracy itself. one of the towering african american thinkers and activists of the twentieth century, du bois brought all his intellectual powers to bear on the nation’s post-civil war era of political reorganization, a time when african american progress was met with a white supremacist backlash and ultimately yielded to the consolidation of the unjust social order of jim crow. black reconstruction is a pioneering work of revisionist scholarship that, in the wake of the censorship of du bois’s characterization of reconstruction by the encyclopedia britannica, was written to debunk influential historians whose racist ideas and emphases had disfigured the historical record. “the chief witness in reconstruction, the emancipated slave himself,” du bois argued, “has been almost barred from court. his written reconstruction record has been largely destroyed and nearly always neglected.” in setting the record straight du bois produced what co-editor eric foner has called an “indispensable book,” a magisterial work of detached scholarship that is also imbued with passionate outrage. presented in a handsome and authoritative hardcover edition prepared by foner and co-editor henry louis gates, jr., black reconstruction is joined here for the first time with important writings that trace du bois’s thinking throughout his career about reconstruction and its centrality in understanding the tortured course of democracy in america.
17. Reunion And Reaction: The Compromise Of 1877 And The End Of Reconstruction [Book]
Product Details:
Between the era of america's landmark antebellum compromises and that of the compromise of 1877, a war had intervened, destroying the integrity of the southern system but failing to determine the new south's relation to the union. while it did not restore the old order in the south, or restore the south to parity with the union, it did lay down the political foundations for reunion, bring reconstruction to an end, and shape the future of four million freedmen. originally published in 1951, this classic work by one of america's foremost experts on southern history presents an important new interpretation of the compromise, forcing historians to revise previous attitudes towards the reconstruction period, the history of the republican party, and the realignment of forces that fought the civil war. because much of the negotiating occurred in secrecy, historians have known less about this compromise than others before it. now reissued with a new introduction by woodward, reunion and reaction gives us the other half of the story.
18. Reconstructing America [Book]
Product Details:
Recommended by the common core state standards for english language arts and literacy as an exemplary informational text. covering a time of great hope and incredible change, reconstruction and reform is a dramatic look at life after the civil war in the newly re united states. railroad tycoons were roaring across the country. new cities sprang up across the plains, and a new and different american west came into being: a land of farmers, ranchers, miners, and city dwellers. back east, large scale immigration was also going on, but not all americans wanted newcomers in the country. technology moved forward: thomas edison lit up the world with his electric light. and social justice was on everyone's mind with carry nation wielding a hatchet in her battle against drunkenness and booker t. washington and w. e. b. dubois counseling newly freed african americans to behave in very different ways. through it all, the reunited nation struggles to keep the promises of freedom in this exciting chapter in the a history of us. about the series: master storyteller joy hakim has excited millions of young minds with the great drama of american history in her award-winning series a history of us. recommended by the common core state standards for english language arts and literacy as an exemplary informational text, a history of us weaves together exciting stories that bring american history to life. hailed by reviewers, historians, educators, and parents for its exciting, thought-provoking narrative, the books have been recognized as a break-through tool in teaching history and critical reading skills to young people. in ten books that span from prehistory to the 21st century, young people will never think of american history as boring again.
19. A Long Reconstruction: Racial Caste And Reconciliation In The Methodist Episcopal Church [Book]
Product Details:
After slavery was abolished, how far would white america go toward including african americans as full participants in the country's institutions? conventional historical timelines mark the end of reconstruction in the year 1877, but the methodist episcopal church continued to wrestle withissues of racial inclusion for decades after political support for racial reform had receded. an 1844 schism over slavery split methodism into northern and southern branches, but union victory in the civil war provided the northern methodists with the opportunity to send missionaries and teachersinto the territory that had been occupied by the methodist episcopal church, south. to a remarkable degree, the m.e. church succeeded in appealing to freed slaves and white unionists and thereby built up a biracial membership far surpassing that of any other protestant denomination. a long reconstruction details the denomination's journey with unification and justice. african americans who joined did so in a spirit of hope that through religious fellowship and cooperation they could gain respect and acceptance and ultimately assume a position of equality and brotherhood withwhites. however, as segregation gradually took hold in the south, many northern methodists evinced the same skepticism as white southerners about the fitness of african americans for positions of authority and responsibility in an interracial setting. the african american membership was neverwithout strong white allies who helped to sustain the church's official stance against racial caste but, like the nation as a whole, the m.e. church placed a growing priority on putting their broken union back together.
