Books
Eric Foner, Reconstruction
A magisterial overview and interpretation of Reconstruction
that emphasizes the centrality of race and the role of
African Americans in shaping events between 1865 and 1877.
Films
The Birth of a Nation
The most popular silent film ever made, it demonstrates the
power of film as propaganda. It provided millions of viewers
with a grossly misleading portrait of Reconstruction as
a period when the natural order of the South was overturned.
The film provided historical legitimization for segregation,
disfranchisement, and racial violence in early twentieth
century America.
Gone With the Wind
One of the most popular films ever made, Gone With the
Wind helped shape the way that generations of Americans
viewed the Civil War and Reconstruction. It encouraged
viewers to romanticize the Old South as a land of "moonlight
and magnolias" and reinforced the image of the war
and Reconstruction as periods when the prostrate South
was exploited and region's natural leaders were thrust
into poverty.
Learn More:
See Leon Litwack, "The Birth of a Nation" in
Mark C. Carnes, ed., Past Imperfect: History
According to the Movies
See Catherine Clinton, "Gone With the Wind"
in Mark C. Carnes, ed., Past Imperfect: History
According to the Movies
Web Sites
Recommended Web Sites:
Civil War and Reconstruction
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/features/timeline/
civilwar/civilwar.html
The Library of Congress Learning Page
Freedman's Bureau Online
http://www.freedmensbureau.com/
Records of the Freedman's Bureau, including extensive
information about violence directed against African Americans.
Related Web Sites:
African American Migrations After the Civil War
http://lcweb.loc.gov/exhibits/african/afam008.html
This Library of Congress exhibit describes African American
migrations out of the South, focusing on the Kansas Exodusters,
western homesteading, and migration to Chicago.
African-American Perspectives
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aap/aaphome.html
A searchable collection of 300 pamphlets by African Americans
mainly focusing on the period 1875 to 1900.
The Emma Spaulding Bryant Letters
http://odyssey.lib.duke.edu/bryant/
This collection of letters from Emma Bryant to her husband
John, who worked for the Freedmen's Bureau during the
summer of 1873, shed light on marital relationships during
the mid-19th century and on the problems of Reconstruction.
Finding Precedent: The Impeachment of Andrew
Johnson
http://www.impeach-andrewjohnson.com/
This site features more than 200 excerpts from Harper's
Weekly's coverage of Andrew Johnson's impeachment trial,
supplemented by political cartoons and biographies and
portraits of 28 major figures from the trial. The site
also contains explanatory material on: Reconstruction
Policy: Radicalism versus Conservatism, Future
Control of Congress, The
Tenure of Office Act, Personal
Considerations Affecting the Vote to Impeach, and
the legal,
political and Constitutional arguments, used in the
impeachment trial.
"Toward Racial Equality: Harper's Weekly Reports
on Black America, 1857-1874."
http://blackhistory.harpweek.com/
Articles, illustrations, and cartoons from Harper's Weekly
dealing with slavery and emancipation from the late 1850s
into Reconstruction.
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