The Reconstruction Era

by Robert K. Sutton, John Latschar

Genres: History

Published January 1, 2016

About the author

Robert K. Sutton retired as Chief Historian of the National Park Service in 2016, after having served in the position for nearly nine years. He came to this position following his tenure as the Superintendent of Manassas National Battlefield Park for the previous 12 ½ years. From 1986 to 1990, he directed the Historic Preservation and Historical Administration public history programs at Arizona State University. He has published a number of books, articles and reviews on various public history topics. One of his primary interests as Chief Historian and as Superintendent at Manassas Battlefield was leading the emphasis on expanding the interpretation of the Civil War for the Sesquicentennial. As part of that effort, he encouraged Civil War battlefields to expand their interpretive programs to focus more attention to the social, economic, and political issues during the Civil War Era.

Dr. Sutton is currently serving as a consultant to the American Battle Monuments Commission, assisting commission staff in developing interpretive programs to commemorate the Centennial of World War I. In that program, he is editing a collection of essays by leading World War I historians that will be available in April 2017.

Dr. Sutton also has written a book on the Civil War Era in Kansas, that will be published by Skyhorse Publishing in August 2017. The book will explore the efforts of abolitionists to ensure that the Territory of Kansas would become a free state, focusing on the support of Amos Lawrence, a wealthy businessman in Boston, to the town that bore his name in Lawrence, Kansas. Dr. Sutton tells the story from the perspective of the major players. The book is titled: Stark Mad Abolitionists: Lawrence, Kansas and the Battle Over Slavery in the Civil War Era.

A blurb for the book is attached here: http://skyhorsepublishing.com/titles/....

Reviews

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this collection, published by the National Park Service, at the Abraham Lincoln Home site in Springfield, Illinois, on a field trip with my daughter's class. With fourteen essays by preeminent historians (Thavolia Glymph, David Blight, Eric Foner, etc.), this slim volume offers a concise, authoritative, and readable primer on a fascinating period in American history that continues to echo today.

[Will · Rating 5 out of 5]

This easy to digest series of essays brings the immensely complex history of Reconstruction to readers regardless of their background. Whether brand new to Reconstruction or seeking to refresh your understanding, this is a great place to start.

[George Kasnic · Rating 3 out of 5]

I vacillated between 3 and 4 stars. Not because the book is poorly written, it is well written. Not beccause of some deficiency in the reasoning, it is well-reasoned. What it lacks is depth and focus. The book is a series of curated essays by academicians which review the origin of the Reconstruction Era, list the enabling legislation, briefly - oh too briefly - cover the actual accomplishments of the era, and then go in depth on the historiography of the reasons it was overwhelmed by the forces of repression. Then many of the authors spall into their own favorite areas, be it fragmentation with th women's suffrage movment, economics, politics, American Imperialism, you name it. I understand that the writers being doctors of history will have expertise in their areas, but they all lose focus as they veer into those areas off the purpose of the volume - the editor deserves blame here to.

What I was looking for, in a book titled "The Reconstruction Era," was a deep dive into Reconstruction itself. What the politics looked like, how the legislation was created, crafted, massaged, and passed in the state legislatures. The what it looked like on the ground in these placed, how it was implemented, who it empowered, what flaws occured, how they were corrected. Then how these institutions - economic equality, freedman suffrage, public schools - all weathered the attacks from outside agencies leading to their erosion. And then what vestiges remained, and still influence us today. I did not get this, and I should have based on the title of the book.

What it is is a good, solid, if repetitive history of reconstruction without details of the actuality of it written by college professors for readers able to process that level of information.

What it is not is a look into how Reconstruction was implemented and what effect it had on those - freed peoples - it was specifically intended to empower.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderfully informative read about the often misunderstood and misinformed Reconstruction era of United States. While the individuals essays repeat details in each piece, as a collection, they offer such an in-depth study of the time, the people and the politics, it’s hard to believe it was created by the National Parks Service.