Reconstruction

In the 19th century, civil wars tore apart the US, Mexico and Argentina. Then came democracy’s fight against reaction.

James Longstreet became an apostate for supporting black civil rights during Reconstruction.

The back-and-forth life of Confederate James Longstreet.

In 1901, a series of articles took a dim view of the era, and of the idea that all Americans ought to participate in the democratic process.

James Longstreet became a champion of Reconstruction. Why?

In 1866, the famous abolitionist laid out his vision for radically reshaping America in the pages of "The Atlantic."

First-person accounts of those scarred in many ways by the era’s violence suggest Reconstruction did not fail, it was overthrown by violence.

The enduring legacy and capacious vision of Black Reconstruction.

The erasure of Black leaders from the most misunderstood period in American history.

As the GOP undermines Black political rights in the present, some right-wing intellectuals are rationalizing Black disenfranchisement in the past.

Frederick Douglass and Republican legislators had high hopes for Andrew Johnson—but ended up impeaching him.

Leading conservative pundits today are pounding themes that were popular among opponents of Reconstruction.

The enduring lesson of American history is that the republic is always in danger when white supremacist sedition and violence escape justice.

The storming of the Capitol was an expression of the antidemocratic strands in American history.

Not since Reconstruction has there been such an opportunity for the advancement of racial justice.

A review of Eric Foner's The Second Founding.

Mass lynchings of Black people following the Civil War.

A public historian recommends tactics for explaining an oft-left out period.

A new three-part PBS documentary explores the failure of Reconstruction and the Redemption of the South.

A new history of Reconstruction traces the roots of American “respectability” politics through artwork.