The Significance of Reconstruction

      Eric Foner, a Columbia University professor, makes a strong argument in his podcast that reconstruction was one of the most significant periods in American history. He explains that the period in time was part of the many vicissitudes that America has experienced. Foner summarizes that essentially the laws for equality in America were present in the Old Constitution and its amendments; however, the civil rights act of 1866 and 14^th amendment were ignored and lacked the enforcement that was key to their effectiveness. In his detailed description, he concludes that despite failure, reconstruction was a noble effort to establish a racial democracy and cemented the foundation for future civil rights movements.

At the beginning of his speech, Professor Foner encourages the idea that reconstruction is a part of every-day Americans’ lives. Moreover, that the events and questions that face society today were the very same that faced the 19^th century American population. His statement is true in many aspects including that citizenship and terrorism are issues faced in both reconstruction and the present. On the other hand, each issue takes on a much different meaning in current society than it took in the 19^th century. For example, the KKK was American-born terrorism that was widely accepted by the South in the 19^th century. Even though their actions were clear terrorism, America was not united in shutting down the KKK until the mid-1900s. Alternatively, the U.S. as a whole has joined in an effort to combat modern-day terrorism. Modern-day terrorism involves foreign rebels committing acts of treachery against America. These attacks differ from the KKK in that they commit acts of violence against all Americans not just a specific race. In addition, the American citizenship debate has changed drastically in that it now involves illegal immigrants attempting to enter America rather than African –Americans already living in America. During reconstruction, the government was trying to build up black rights and citizenship whereas now the government is making qualifications for what it takes to become an American. One engrosses a specific race receiving equality, and the other is immigrants entering the country receiving equality. Foner was correct in that terrorism and citizenship were two problems that American society was engaged with during reconstruction and is now. Yet, the details of each issue vary greatly between times.

Another area Professor Foner covers with particular detail is the politics of history. He uses the negative views of Reconstruction during 50-60 years in the 20^th century to stress the realistic significance that the period holds. Ultimately, state-ways and the several laws passed were not able to change the prejudice and discriminative feelings towards blacks in the South. From the Southern point of view, they believed that it was a mistake to give blacks rights, that they needed to prevent the Republican North from taking control, and that the Northern outsiders misguided them with a poor understanding of southern life. Moreover, the KKK advocated for white supremacy and an end to reconstruction in the south. By providing the common beliefs of these early 20^th century historians, Foner is able to provide accurate reasoning of why reconstruction failed. For instance, it failed for the same reasons that these historians believed that the reconstruction period was a low-point in American democracy because it searched for black equality.

            An interesting statement that Foner makes in his podcast is that the Civil Rights Act of 1866 was “one of the most important laws ever enacted in American history.” The Civil Rights Act of 1866 was essential in that it made all blacks U.S. citizens with equal rights as whites and paved the way for the 14^th Amendment. This bold assertion, however, is true only in that the concept of the law rather than the law itself is what was essential to U.S. history. The notion that an act of the government could be passed creating equal citizenship for all races was larger than the actual act itself. For example, the Civil Rights Act would be nullified less than 25 years later by the Slaughter House, Civil Rights, and Plessy v. Ferguson cases. Nevertheless, the concept of blacks gaining citizenship in America sparked the passing of the 14^th Amendment and led the way for future civil rights activists. Thus, Foner’s proclamation that the act was essential in U.S. history is not far off in that the act was a turning point for laws and rights in America.

            A final significant issue that Eric mentions is how the 14^th Amendment marks a change in the federal system and with the states in the U.S. He makes the excellent point that up until that point, the Bill of Rights and Constitution simply stated what Congress and the federal government could not do. The focus was to regulate the power of the federal government and quell people’s fears that it might become overly-powerful. Moreover, the major concern involved the ability of states to violate the regulations set forth in the Constitution such as establishing religion and disobeying free speech. Foner explains that the 14^th Amendment put the power of defense in the hands of the federal government, and it made them the protectors of equality and justice. This step was essential in American history because it identified the states as the violators. Unfortunately, after reconstruction the federal government would not be able to gain full control over state laws to administer equality and end segregation until a hundred years later.

To add a final point, Foner fails to mention that the reason few people know about reconstruction is because all of the black rights and equality progress made in this time were negated during the Jim Crowe era. Then again, he would probably argue with that statement, saying that reconstruction made governmental strides towards equality, passing the laws that would eventually destroy segregation and discrimination. This may be true, but Foner still doesn’t explain why so few Americans are educated on the reconstruction age.