From the "preeminent historian of Reconstruction" (New York Times Book Review), the prize-winning classic work on the post-Civil War period that shaped modern America.

Eric Foner's "masterful treatment of one of the most complex periods of American history" (New Republic) redefined how the post-Civil War period was viewed.

Reconstruction chronicles the way in which Americans—black and white—responded to the unprecedented changes unleashed by the American Civil War and the end of slavery. This comprehensive book addresses the ways in which the emancipated slaves' quest for economic autonomy and equal citizenship shaped the political agenda of Reconstruction; the remodeling of Southern society and the place of planters, merchants, and small farmers within it; the evolution of racial attitudes and patterns of race relations; and the emergence of a national state possessing vastly expanded authority and committed, for a time, to the principle of equal rights for all Americans.

This "smart book of enormous strengths" (Boston Globe) remains the standard work on this wrenching period of American history—an era whose legacy still reverberates in the United States today.

This definitive account of the Reconstruction era explores the pivotal questions and conflicts that redefined the nation:

• The Black Experience: Delve into the ways emancipated slaves' quest for economic autonomy and equal citizenship actively shaped the political agenda of the post-war South.


• A Remodeled Southern Society: Understand the complex remodeling of the South, including the changing roles of planters, merchants, and small farmers after the end of slavery.


• Race Relations and Attitudes: Examine the evolution of racial attitudes and the new patterns of race relations that emerged from the conflict, changing the social fabric of the country.


• The Rise of the National State: Learn about the emergence of a national state possessing vastly expanded authority and its temporary commitment to the principle of equal rights for all Americans.


• Definitive Historical Scholarship: Discover why this "masterful treatment of one of the most complex periods of American history" remains the standard, prize-winning work on the subject.