Reconstruction

This entry in the Perspectives in Social History series examines the course and consequences of Reconstruction on the former Confederate states by focusing on the everyday people who lived through it.

Reconstruction: People and Perspectives is a fascinating collection of essays and documents that illuminates the experiences of ordinary Americans across all levels of society in the southern United States during Reconstruction.

Reconstruction: People and Perspectives describes in vivid detail the experiences of a diverse group of people caught up in the Civil War’s aftermath in the South. Chapters focus on Civil War veterans, former slaveholders, farmers and city residents, Northerners in the South, and African American men and women (both those who stayed in the South and those who migrated). It also reports on groups similar studies often overlook, such as Native Americans and white women. Looking at Reconstruction from a social historian’s point of view, this revealing work adds a much needed new voice to studies of the era.

• Primary documents provide first-hand insight into the lives and times of diverse individuals during one of the most tumultuous periods in U.S. history
• Includes a bibliography of key works on the Reconstruction era as well as a reference chapter of terms, people, and events, including "carpetbaggers," "Gideon's band," and "the Colfax massacre"

James M. Campbell, Ph.D., is lecturer in American history at the University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.

Rebecca J. Fraser, Ph.D., is lecturer of history in the School of American Studies at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.