HIS.2060 Reconstruction and the New South
The problem of how to reconstruct the United States of America after the Union's defeat of the Confederacy and the abolition of slavery was the most daunting task ever undertaken in the history of American government. This course examines the political, economic, and cultural ideas, events, and programs involved in Reconstruction. It traces the dramatic events of an era of great struggle and hope, crisis and tragedy. Special attention will be paid to the South, the former "rebel" states of the Confederacy, whose social, economic, and political systems lay in ruins in 1865. Competing visions for rebuilding Southern society and reuniting the nation will be explored. African-American freedom and its prospects will form a central focus of this course. The emergence of a "New South" by the turn of the century, its relation to the past and to the rest of the nation will be considered. The modern legends of the Old South, the Civil War, and Reconstruction will be explored in literature and film.
LA