Reconstruction

A Concise History

By: Allen C. Guelzo

Narrated by: Bob Souer

The era known as Reconstruction is one of the unhappiest times in American history. It succeeded in reuniting the nation politically after the Civil War but in little else. Conflict shifted from the battlefield to the Capitol as Congress warred with President Andrew Johnson over just what to do with the South. Johnson's plan of Presidential Reconstruction, which was sympathetic to the former Confederacy, would ultimately lead to his impeachment and the institution of Radical Reconstruction.

While Reconstruction saw the ratification of the 14th and 15th Amendments, expanding the rights and suffrage of African Americans, it largely failed to chart a progressive course for race relations after the abolition of slavery and the rise of Jim Crow. It also struggled to manage the Southern resistance towards a Northern free-labor economy. However, these failures cannot obscure a number of accomplishments with long-term consequences for American life, among them the Civil Rights Act, the election of the first African American representatives to Congress, and the avoidance of renewed civil war. Reconstruction suffered from poor leadership and uncertainty of direction, but it also laid the groundwork for renewed struggles for racial equality during the civil rights movement.

©2018 Oxford University Press (P)2018 Tantor

A Hard Listen

It’s not the writing or the reading that make this slender volume a hard listen – both are superb. It’s the story they tell. As Professor Guelzo says, Reconstruction is our nation’s great lost opportunity.

In a brisk, well-organized narrative he outlines the factors that precipitated that loss: from racism (north and south) to intransigent rebels to vengeful northern politicians to the massive physical and economic devastation visited by the war to unprecedented political and Constitutional questions that defied even the most sincere efforts at resolution. This is a great place to start to understand our post-Civil War story.

Succinct

Well written. Well narrated. I continue to be struck by the story of reconstruction. The obvious solution would have been the creation of a “sanctuary state” where the land, police power, and government was in the hands of the freedmen.

Excellent learning

I graduated high school 50 years ago. I wish this book had been available back then. I am a more educated person from having “read” it.

And now, the rest of the story

Having just finished "Team of Rivals," I was left wondering WELL WHAT IN THE WORLD HAPPENED NEXT?! This concise overview by Allen Guelzo filled in the blanks, and gave me a good launching point to explore it's details further.

I enjoyed the narrator also. He sounded something like a radio newsman from 1950

Very Well Done

I really enjoyed this book. It was quick and easy to read/listen to. I hope that everyone interested in the era reads it. I really like the thesis of describing Reconstruction as a conflict between middle class northern culture and a white southern aristocratic backlash to that bourgeois revolution. I am interested in the free labor ideology in the north and Guelzo showed how that impacted Reconstruction. Guelzo artfully presents a balanced view about the successes and failures of the era as well. Great work Dr. Guelzo.

Great concise history of Reconstruction

Great concise history of Reconstruction from Guelzo.

Souer is a great reader, but the audio editors didn't cut the breaths, etc. It's noticeable throughout, but not too distracting.

Highly recommend.

Concise overview

This is obviously a concise overview of Reconstruction—it’s conception, fight for survival, and ultimate demise. It covers many of the key facts about this confounding effort, eg, the attempt to oversee the resumption of statehood by rebellious southern states and to ensure the safety and well being of freed Blacks.

Concise but Thorough

This title is true to its name, and is a concise but thorough and balanced overview of Reconstruction. I listened in one afternoon. It was helpful in providing enough highlights so I could identify people or topics I'd like to learn more about in depth.

good historical and time line organization

Very good but I got a sense that the writer is undecided on the primary cause of the Civil War, which was slavery. The War did "save the union" but the death of Lincoln damned the Reconstruction and led to a hundred years delay in safety and freedom of my ancestors.

short but excellent

Guelzo is an excellent historian who relates history with humor. This is a good overview for people with little familiarity with this era. I love Guelzo's Union and civil rights perspectives and try to download as much of his work as possible. The narration was satisfactory, but Guelzo's own narration is even better.