Eric Foner Book Review

Dana Shorter

23 February 2010

History 200

In ‘Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877', Eric Foner's thesis is that while there were small changes brought about during the time period of Reconstruction, Reconstruction ultimately failed in the end because freedmen were not incorporated into society. Throughout the book, Foner gives much evidence to support this thesis. He shows how Americans responded to these changes brought about by Reconstruction and how the changes affected the people living during this historic time period.

By the end of the book, Foner shows that Reconstruction was in many ways a failure because it did not allow freedmen to enter society as equals. Ultimately, Reconstruction failed because the rights of the freedmen were not protected, even though there were many programs created to do just that. Another reason Reconstruction failed according to Foner is because the programs did not get the American people to support the rights of the freedmen because they could not get past their racism. "It is a measure of how far change had progressed that the reaction against Reconstruction proved so extreme." (425) Foner suggests that because change had been coming so quickly, that Southerners could not handle it, and made their racism and obstacle they could not overcome easily. Lastly, Foner argues that Reconstruction was a failure and was not even completed during this time period, leaving it an "unfinished revolution". This is because the freedmen were not given the protected rights they should have gotten during Reconstruction until the Civil Rights Movement, almost 100 years later. Instead, Redemption and the return to the old order took over the South, and instituted Jim Crow laws to segregate the freedmen.

Foner seems to have a bias against the South in this book. This bias may have developed from Foner being a Northerner himself. For example, Foner takes the side that the South is to blame for not accepting the freedmen's civil rights. Another viewpoint to this bias is that slavery had been an institution in the North, also, and as Southern oppositions grew stronger in the South, it began to dwindle in the North. Another bias Foner takes it that Reconstruction failed. Foner's evidence for his thesis says that Reconstruction failed because whites could not get past their racism in the South. Another viewpoint might be that Reconstruction was a success because some programs actually did produce results. For example, Foner talks about education and how it was somewhat of a success. "The desire for learning led parents to migrate to towns and cities in search of education for their children, and plantation workers to make the establishments of a schoolhouse