This is a selected bibliography of the main scholarly books and articles of Reconstruction, the period after the American Civil War, 1863–1877 (or 1865 to 1877).
Secondary sources
Surveys and reference Provoked answer by Du Bois Brands, H. W. (2010). American Colossus: The Triumph of Capitalism, 1865–1900. Doubleday. Brown, Thomas J., ed. Reconstructions: New Perspectives on Postbellum America (2006) essays by 8 scholars excerpt and text search Du Bois, W.E.B. Black Reconstruction in America 1860–1880 (1935), 1998 edition reissued with introduction by David Levering Lewis .) Explores the economics and politics of the era from a labor perspective; an early rejection of the Dunning School viewpoint. Du Bois, W.E.B. "Reconstruction and its Benefits," American Historical Review, 15 (July, 1910), 781–799 JSTOR Dunning, William Archibald. Reconstruction: Political & Economic, 1865–1877 (1905). Blames Carpetbaggers for what it deems to have been a failed Reconstruction. online edition Fitzgerald, Michael W. Splendid Failure: Postwar Reconstruction in the American South (2007), 224 pp; excerpt and text search Fleming, Walter L. The Sequel of Appomattox, A Chronicle of the Reunion of the States (1918). Written with viewpoint of Dunning School. Foner, Eric and Mahoney, Olivia. America's Reconstruction: People and Politics After the Civil War. , short well-illustrated survey Foner, Eric. Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863–1877 (1988) . Award-winning history and most detailed synthesis of original and previous scholarship. Foner, Eric. "Reconstruction Revisited" in Reviews in American History, Vol. 10, No. 4, The Promise of American History: Progress and Prospects (Dec., 1982), pp. 82–100, review of the historiography, online in Project MUSE Foner, Eric. Forever Free: The Story of Emancipation and Reconstruction. 2005. 268 pp. Ford, Lacy K., ed. A Companion to the Civil War and Reconstruction. Blackwell, 2005. 518 pp. Franklin, John Hope. Reconstruction after the Civil War (1961), University of Chicago Press, 280 pp. . Explores the brevity of the North's military occupation of the South, limited power of former slaves, influence of moderate southerners, flaws in constitutions drawn by Radical state governments, and reasons for downfall of Reconstruction. Gates Jr., Henry Louis. Stony the Road: Reconstruction, White Supremacy, and the Rise of Jim Crow. 2019. 320 pp. Guelzo, Allen C. Reconstruction: A Concise History (2018), 180 pp by a leading scholar Henry, Robert Selph. The Story of Reconstruction (1938). Jenkins, Wilbert L. Climbing up to Glory: A Short History of African Americans during the Civil War and Reconstruction. SR Books, 2002. 285 pp. Litwack, Leon. Been in the Storm So Long (1979). Pulitzer Prize Milton, George Fort. The Age of Hate: Andrew Johnson and the Radicals. (1930). Oberholtzer, Ellis Paxson. A History of the United States since the Civil War. Vol 1 and vol 2 (1917). Based on Dunning School Perman, Michael. Emancipation and Reconstruction (2003). 144 pp. Randall, J. G. The Civil War and Reconstruction (1953). Long the standard survey, with elaborate bibliography Rhodes, James G. History of the United States from the Compromise of 1850 to the McKinley-Bryan Campaign of 1896. Volume: 6. (1920). 1865–72; Volume: 7. (1920). 1872–77; Highly detailed narrative by Pulitzer prize winner; argues was a political disaster because it violated the rights of white Southerners. vol 6 online at Google.books vol 7 in Google.books Richardson, Heather Cox. West from Appomattox: The Reconstruction of America after the Civil War (2007) Richter, William L. The A to Z of the Civil War and Reconstruction (2009) excerpt and text search; earlier version was Historical Dictionary of the Civil War and Reconstruction (2004) Schouler, James. History of the United States of America: Under the Constitution vol. 7. 1865–1877. The Reconstruction Period (1917) online Stalcup, Brenda. ed. Reconstruction: Opposing Viewpoints (Greenhaven Press: 1995); uses primary documents to present opposing viewpoints. Stampp, Kenneth M. The Era of Reconstruction, 1865–1877 (1967); short survey Stampp, Kenneth M. and Leon M. Litwack, eds. Reconstruction: An Anthology of Revisionist Writings, (1969), essays by scholars Trefousse, Hans L. Historical Dictionary of Reconstruction Greenwood (1991), 250 entries excerpt and text search White, Richard The Republic for Which It Stands, Oxford University Press, 2017. Williams, T. Harry. "An Analysis of Some Reconstruction Attitudes" The Journal of Southern History, Vol. 12, No. 4. (Nov., 1946), pp. 469–486. JSTOR Wilson, Woodrow. The Reconstruction of the Southern States (1901); interpretive essay by Wilson, written before his election as president in 1912. Zuczek, Richard. Encyclopedia of the Reconstruction Era (2 vol. 2006)
National politics Beale, Howard K. The Critical Year: A Study of Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction (New York: Harcourt Brace, 1930; reprint 1958); influential "revisionist" thesis argument that Reconstruction was controlled by Northern industrialists Beale, Howard K. "The Tariff and Reconstruction," American Historical Review (1930) 35#2 pp. 276–294 in JSTOR; concise statement of Beale-Beard interpretation Belz, Herman. A New Birth of Freedom: The Republican Party and Freedman's Rights, 1861–1866 (2000) pro-moderate. Benedict, Michael Les. The Impeachment and Trial of Andrew Johnson (1999), pro-Radical. Benedict, Michael Les. A Compromise of Principle: Congressional Republicans and Reconstruction (1974) pro-Radical Benedict, Michael Les. "Preserving the Constitution: The Conservative Bases of Radical Reconstruction," Journal of American History vol 61 #1 (1974) pp. 65–90, online in JSTOR Benedict, Michael Les. "Constitutional History and Constitutional Theory: Reflections on Ackerman, Reconstruction, and the Transformation of the American Constitution." Yale Law Journal Vol: 108. Issue: 8. 1999. pp 2011–2038. Blaine, James. Twenty Years of Congress: From Lincoln to Garfield. With a review of the events which led to the political revolution of 1860 (1886). By Republican Congressional leader Blight, David. Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory (2001). Examines national memory of Civil War, Reconstruction, and Redemption, north–south reunion, and the retreat from equality for African Americans. Blum, Edward J. "Reforging the White Republic: Race, Religion, and American Nationalism, 1865–1898" (2005). Brandwein, Pamela; "Slavery as an Interpretive Issue in the Reconstruction Congresses" Law & Society Review. Volume: 34. Issue: 2. 2000. pp 315+ shows Democratic party history, grounded on white supremacy was crucial in legitimating the Court's narrow doctrinal interpretations of the Fourteenth Amendment. Burg, Robert W. "Amnesty, Civil Rights, And The Meaning Of Liberal Republicanism, 1862–1872". American Nineteenth Century History 2003 4(3): 29–60. Dunning, William A. "The Constitution of the United States in Reconstruction" in Political Science Quarterly Vol. 2, No. 4 (Dec., 1887), pp. 558–602 JSTOR Dunning, William A. "Military Government in the South During Reconstruction" Political Science Quarterly Vol. 12, No. 3 (Sep., 1897), pp. 381–406 JSTOR Gambill, Edward. Conservative Ordeal: Northern Democrats and Reconstruction, 1865–1868. (1981). Political history of Democratic Party unable to shed its Civil War label of treason and defeatism, even as it successfully blocked a few elements of Radical Reconstruction. Gillette, William. Retreat from Reconstruction, 1869–1879. Louisiana State University Press: 1979. Traces failure of Reconstruction to the power of Democrats, administrative inefficiencies, racism, and lack of commitment by northern Republicans. Harris, William C. With Charity for All: Lincoln and the Restoration of the Union (1997) portrays Lincoln as opponent of Radicals. McAfee, Ward. Religion, Race, and Reconstruction: The Public School in the Politics of the 1870s SUNY Press, 1998. McKitrick, Eric L. Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction (1961) portrays Johnson as weak politician unable to forge coalitions. McPherson, James M. The Abolitionist Legacy: From Reconstruction to the NAACP (1975) () Mantell, Martin E. Johnson, Grant and the Politics of Reconstruction. Columbia University Press. 1973. Nicolay, John and John Hay, "First Plans for Emancipation," Century (Dec 1888): pp 276–294; Online Authors were Lincoln's top aides in the White House Nicolay, John and John Hay, "The Wade-Davis Manifesto" Century (July 1889): pp 414–421 online version Summers, Mark Wahlgren.The Press Gang: Newspapers and Politics, 1865–1878 (1994)
Constitutional issues Belz, Herman. Emancipation and Equal Rights: Politics and Constitutionalism in the Civil War Era (1978) pro-moderate. Belz, Herman. Abraham Lincoln, Constitutionalism, and Equal Rights in the Civil War Era, (1998) 268 pp. Pdf. Foner, Eric. The Second Founding: How the Civil War and Reconstruction Remade the Constitution (2019) Guelzo, Allen C. "'The most awful problem that any nation ever undertook to solve': Reconstruction as a Crisis in Citizenship." Chapman Law Review 12.3 (Spring 2009) 705–720. Hyman, Harold M. A More Perfect Union (1975), constitutional history of Civil War & Reconstruction. Kaczorowski, Robert, The Politics of Judicial Interpretations: The Federal Courts, Department of Justice and Civil Rights, 1866–1876. Justice Department fight against KKK McLaughlin, Andrew. A Constitutional History of the United States (1935) Pulitzer Prize; ch 45–47 are on Reconstruction Pildes, Richard H., "Democracy, Anti-Democracy, and the Canon", Constitutional Commentary, 17, (2000). Pdf. Pdf.
National politics: biographies Donald, David Herbert. Charles Sumner and the Rights of Man (1970), Pulitzer prize winning biography Frantz, Edward O. ed. A Companion to the Reconstruction Presidents 1865–1881 (2014) 30 essays by scholars excerpt and text search; emphasis on historiography Gienapp, William. Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America Oxford U. Press, (2002), short biography Hesseltine, William. Ulysses S. Grant: Politician. (1935). Hyman, Harold M. and Benjamin P. Thomas. Stanton: The Life and Times of Lincoln's Secretary of War. 1962. McFeely, William S. Grant: A Biography (1981); Pulitzer Prize. Simpson, Brooks D. The Reconstruction Presidents (2009), on Lincoln, Johnson and Grant Simpson, Brooks D. Let Us Have Peace: Ulysses S. Grant and the Politics of War and Reconstruction, 1861–1868 (1991). Stryker, Lloyd Paul; Andrew Johnson: A Study in Courage 1929. pro-Johnson Praeger, 2002. 444 pp. Olsen, Otto H. ed., Reconstruction and Redemption in the South (1980), state by state, neoabolitionist Perman, Michael. The Road to Redemption: Southern Politics, 1869–1879 University of North Carolina Press. 1984. detailed state-by-state narrative of Conservatives Rabinowitz, Howard N. editor. Southern Black Leaders of the Reconstruction Era (University of Illinois Press: 1982) .
Russ Jr., William A. "The Negro and White Disfranchisement During Radical Reconstruction" The Journal of Negro History Vol. 19, No. 2 (Apr., 1934), pp. 171–192 JSTOR Russ Jr., William A. "Registration and Disfranchisement Under Radical Reconstruction," The Mississippi Valley Historical Review Vol. 21, No. 2 (Sep., 1934), pp. 163–180 JSTOR Trelease, Allen W. White Terror: The Ku Klux Klan Conspiracy and Southern Reconstruction, (Louisiana State University Press: 1971, 1995). detailed treatment of the Klan, and similar groups. Wharton, V. L. "The Race Issue in the Overthrow of Reconstruction in Mississippi," Phylon (1940–1956) Vol. 2, No. 4 (4th Qtr., 1941), pp. 362–370 in JSTOR
Southern politics: biographies and leadership Bellani, Luna, Anselm Hager and Stephan Maurer. "The Long Shadow of Slavery: The Persistence of Slave Owners in Southern Lawmaking". Journal of Economic History, 82.1 (2022), pp. 250–283