1. Historiography Refresher : Reconstruction
Name: ____________________
Historiography Refresher : Reconstruction
Traditional
The first historians to write about the event(s)
Progressive (and/or Marxist)
Early 20th century
Impacted by the Progressive movement of the early 1900s.
Often looked at the economic causes of events or the economic disparities at play during a particular era
Consensus
Post WW s-50s
Aimed to look at areas of unity and strength in American history as opposed to highlighting our differences
New Left (and/or Social historians)
Began in 1960s amid Social unrest (Civil Rights Mvmt, Vietnam)
Much like the Progressives rejected the Traditional interpretations, the New Left rejected the Consensus interpretations.
Often looked at groups that were often ignored: women, African Americans, American Indians, gays,
Seen as more political active

2. The Causes of the Civil War
How would a ______ historian interpret each of these events?
The Causes of the Civil War
The Civil War: Repressible or Irrepressible?
Reconstruction
How radical was Reconstruction?
Traditional or
Nationalist
James Ford Rhodes
Slavery was the cause of the war (inevitable)
the war ended slavery and preserved the union
Progressive and/or Marxist
(Beard)
Charles and Mary Beard
War was a deeply rooted economic struggle btw industrial North and agrarian South
“2nd American Rev”
Vast implications in class relations – solidifies power of industrialists
Consensus
or Neonationalist
(Wood)
Nevins and Potter
Unavoidable conflict between 2 societies: slave and free
Moral, social, political, cultural & economic ties eroded btw sections of the country
New Left and/or Social Historian
(Zinn, Foner)
Eric Foner
North and South BOTH had a paranoid fear of disrupting their “way of life”
North - Free labor movmt (Disliked slavery bc it could replace free labor – NOT bc slavery was “wrong”))
South - Viewed nature of factory system as inhuman
Holt (Ethnocultual)
- Erosion of 2 party system meant consensus existed over EVERYTHING else – BUT SLAVERY

3. The Causes of the Civil War
How would a ______ historian interpret each of these events?
The Causes of the Civil War
Reconstruction
Traditional or
Nationalist
James Ford Rhodes
Slavery was the cause of the war (inevitable)
the war ended slavery and preserved the union
Progressive and/or Marxist
(Beard)
Charles and Mary Beard
War was a deeply rooted economic struggle btw industrial North and agrarian South
“2nd American Rev”
Vast implications in class relations – solidifies power of industrialists
Consensus
or Neonationalist
(Wood)
Nevins and Potter
Unavoidable conflict between 2 societies: slave and free
Moral, social, political, cultural & economic ties eroded btw sections of the country
New Left and/or Social Historian
(Zinn, Foner)
Eric Foner
North and South BOTH had a paranoid fear of disrupting their “way of life”
North - Free labor movmt (Disliked slavery bc it could replace free labor – NOT bc slavery was “wrong”))
South - Viewed nature of factory system as inhuman
Holt (Ethnocultual)
- Erosion of 2 party system meant consensus existed over EVERYTHING else – BUT SLAVERY
Dunning/Burgess
Sectional conciliation, influenced by theories of black racial inferiority (These guys were racists…don’t use them in your writing!!!)
Reconstruction was forced by self-interested Northern Radical Republicans, Carpet baggers and scalawags
Reconstruction failed bc inept people were in charge
Beale
Radicals exploited Southern labor resources, and their “concern” for freedman was really just in their own interest
Radicals profited politically by forcing black suffrage in the South
DW Griffith – Birth of a Nation
REVISIONIST
Stampp
Noble attempt to extend American principles of equity,
Rad Reps and carpetbaggers are heroes – Johnson a racist who resisted progress
New Left:
Benedict and Letwik
- Rad Reps were not that radical, and that orgs like Freedman’s bureau merely allowed white planters to maintain dominance over politics and the economy (sharecropping, Jim Crow)
Social
Foner
Reconstruction was radical, and radically different from other former slave societies – but still limited
Blacks did form political orgs, churches and vote
Full application of Constitutional principles- did not happen until the “2nd Reconstruction” in the Civil Rights era

4. Another way to talk about historiography can be more broad… without using the schools of history, but still recognizing the varying interpretations of events
What were the consequences of the Civil War?
Some historians have argued…
While others have argued…
Still others have concluded…

5. What were the consequences of the Civil War?
Another way to talk about historiography can be more broad… without using the schools of history, but still recognizing the varying interpretations of events
What were the consequences of the Civil War?
Some historians have argued…
(James McPherson)
Civil War expanded the role of the Federal govt:
13th, 14th amendments
Federal taxation
Printing $
Nat’l bank
Army
Freedman’s Bureau = first social welfare program
While others have argued…
The Civil War was not a “watershed”
Racial inequality
Industrialization started in the Jackson era – not Post-war era
Regional difference persisted, even til today!
Still others have concluded…
Cochran: Civil War actually slowed down industrialization