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Reconstruction As The Central 19th-Century Event
- Reconstruction should be seen as the central, formative event of 19th-century America rather than an afterthought to the Civil War.
- It reshaped the whole nation politically, legally, and socially, not just the southern states.
Andrew Johnson's Betrayal Of Opportunity
- Andrew Johnson surprised some contemporaries by seeming like an ally because of his background, but he proved to be fiercely racist and lenient to former Confederates.
- His policies restored land and rights to planters, undermining freedpeople's chances for autonomy.
Black Codes Recreated Coercive Labor
- Southern 'black codes' immediately recreated coerced labor and legal controls over freedpeople despite formal emancipation.
- Restoring land to planters meant economic relations often resembled slavery in all but name.