The Changing Interpretations of Reconstruction
This paper will discuss the period of Reconstruction in the United States, 1866-77, focusing upon the changing historical interpretations of that period. The specific interpretations which will be discussed are those which were prominent during the following periods: from the end of Reconstruction itself through the beginning of the Twentieth Century, from 1900 through the 1930s (including the interpretations of the Black historians), from the 1940s through the 1950s, the revisionist interpretations of the 1960s, and the post-revisionist interpretations of the 1970s and 1980s.
Although most historians discuss the Reconstruction period in the post-Confederate South as beginning with the end of the Civil War in 1865, Reconstruction did not officially begin until the passage of the first Reconstruction Act in 1867. The Reconstruction Acts were part of the official process by which the Southern states were reformed prior to their reintegration into the Union. Although officially abolished in the South by the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, slavery continued to influence the relationships between Blacks and Southern Whites after the war ended. Emancipation could not mean instant equality between the two races, given the 200-year tradition of the master-subject relationship. Consequently, Northern Republicans began the process of re-ordering the racial relationship in the South as the war ended victoriously for the North. Legislation was pushed through Congress which gave the ex-slaves the rights to vote for and hold public office, rights which were made permanent through Constitutional amendments. The Fourteenth amendment was passed, forcing states to protect civil rights found in the first ten amendments to the Constitution. Former slaves were given property confiscated from white plantation owners, certain whites were prohibited from voting or holding office until they sign...