The Failure of Reconstruction – How the Union Betrayed its Promised Freedoms
Channel: Historical Hindsight
Date: 2023-04-09

Reconstruction, the Union’s attempt to rebuild and reintegrate the defeated Southern rebel states a century and a half ago, was a time when protections and freedoms were promised to millions of newly freed former slaves. While initially there showed promising signs of progress, the endeavor ultimately failed and the millions of African-Americans still living in the region were forced to deal with the aftermath. In this video, I go into why Reconstruction failed and what would have needed to change for it to succeed.

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Sources:
Byman, Daniel. “White Supremacy, Terrorism, and the Failure of Reconstruction in the United States.” International Security 46 no. 1 (2021): 53–103. Accessed February 27, 2023. https://direct.mit.edu/isec/article/46/1/53/102853/White-Supremacy-Terrorism-and-the-Failure-of.

Foner, Eric “America: ‘Forever Free,’ but Not Yet Whole.” By Terry Gross. Fresh Air with Terry Gross, January 9, 2006. https://www.npr.org/2020/06/05/870459750/historian-eric-foner-on-the-unresolved-legacy-of-reconstruction.

Music: "Trio for Piano Violin and Viola" by Kevin MacLeod