Talk:Reconstruction era

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Reconstruction era was nominated as a History good article, but it did not meet the good article criteria at the time (June 19, 2017). There are suggestions on the review page for improving the article. If you can improve it, please do; it may then be renominated.

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Section sizes Section size for Reconstruction era (86 sections) Section name Byte count Prose size (words) Header Total Header Total (Top) 8,120 8,120 643 643 Dating 5,830 5,830 359 359 Background 1,463 12,752 141 1,144 Abolition of slavery and social reform 3,387 3,387 252 252 Economic devastation 5,036 5,036 446 446 Legal reconstruction 2,866 2,866 305 305 Timeline 4,094 4,094 15 15 Restoring the South to the Union 2,547 21,012 280 1,613 1865 2,742 2,742 285 285 1866 2,912 2,912 263 263 1867 1,599 1,599 197 197 Suffrage 8,940 8,940 418 418 Southern Treaty Commission 2,272 2,272 170 170 Lincoln's presidential Reconstruction 70 20,585 0 2,093 Preliminary events 3,693 3,693 308 308 Gradual emancipation and compensation 1,331 1,331 123 123 Colonization 1,952 1,952 231 231 Installation of military governors 2,120 2,120 194 194 Emancipation Proclamation 1,912 1,912 256 256 Lincoln's 10% plan 2,188 2,188 253 253 Legalization of slave marriages 1,564 1,564 133 133 Freedmen's Bureau 2,943 2,943 256 256 Bans color discrimination 482 482 37 37 February 1865 peace conference 1,390 1,390 179 179 Historical legacy debated 940 940 123 123 Johnson's presidential Reconstruction 6,530 22,233 589 1,985 Freedmen and the enactment of Black Codes 7,773 7,773 663 663 Moderate responses 4,356 4,356 301 301 Johnson's vetoes 3,574 3,574 432 432 Congressional Reconstruction 2,966 20,688 271 1,641 Constitutional amendments 1,985 1,985 277 277 Statutes 1,082 1,082 85 85 Military Reconstruction 4,913 4,913 225 225 State constitutional conventions: 1867–1869 4,800 4,800 389 389 Election of 1868 4,942 4,942 394 394 Grant's presidential Reconstruction 259 10,816 10 1,049 Effective civil rights executive 1,368 1,368 133 133 Final three Reconstruction states admitted 1,444 1,444 127 127 Department of Justice created 574 574 53 53 Enforcement Acts (1870–1871) 2,317 2,317 152 152 Prosecution of the Ku Klux Klan 1,837 1,837 213 213 Amnesty Act of 1872 554 554 64 64 Civil Rights Act of 1875 819 819 108 108 Countered election fraud 791 791 69 69 National support of Reconstruction declines 853 853 120 120 African American officeholders 9,233 9,233 389 389 Social and economic factors 33 30,974 0 2,798 Religion 7,901 7,901 507 507 Public schools 5,049 5,049 524 524 Railroad subsidies and payoffs 1,963 1,963 255 255 The Southern country store 5,690 5,690 594 594 Taxation during Reconstruction 5,044 5,044 443 443 National financial issues 4,595 4,595 419 419 Culture 699 699 56 56 Ending Reconstruction 26 42,286 0 4,906 Congressional investigation into Reconstruction states 1872 1,958 1,958 252 252 Southern Democrats 8,029 8,029 818 818 Redemption 1873–1877 460 7,628 59 728 Republicans split nationally: election of 1872 2,704 2,704 213 213 The Republican coalition splinters in the South 4,464 4,464 456 456 Democrats try a "New Departure" 3,109 3,109 419 419 Panic of 1873 1,877 1,877 244 244 Violence 13,064 13,064 1,675 1,675 Election of 1876 1,074 1,074 131 131 Hayes ends Reconstruction 5,521 5,521 639 639 Legacy and historiography 2,850 37,372 217 2,706 Dunning School, 1900s–1920s 998 998 82 82 Revisionists and Beardians, 1930s–1940s 7,208 7,208 540 540 Black historians 1,637 1,637 126 126 Neo-abolitionists 5,724 5,724 517 517 Dating the end of the Reconstruction era 2,524 2,524 101 101 Economic role of race 1,544 1,544 173 173 The "failure" issue 4,578 4,578 141 141 Historiographical Interpretations 1,609 1,609 155 155 In popular culture 4,457 4,457 331 331 In education 4,243 4,243 323 323 See also 233 233 0 0 References 15 99 0 0 Notes 48 48 0 0 Citations 36 36 0 0 Bibliography 80 26,710 0 0 Scholarly secondary sources 18,984 18,984 0 0 Historiography 2,964 2,964 0 0 Yearbooks 1,361 1,361 0 0 Primary sources 3,321 3,321 0 0 External links 40 40 0 0 Total 273,077 273,077 21,341 21,341

Wiki Education assignment: Shaping of the Modern World

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 27 January 2025 and 21 May 2025. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Brooklyn.history1101 (article contribs).

— Assignment last updated by DocBui (talk) 21:19, 24 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Reconstruction Overview

The Reconstruction era was a period in United States history and Southern United States history that followed the American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – April 9, 1865) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the abolition of slavery and the reintegration of the eleven former Confederate States into the United States. During this period, three amendments were added to the United States Constitution to grant citizenship and equal civil rights to the newly freed slaves. To circumvent these legal achievements, the former Confederate states imposed poll taxes and literacy tests and engaged in terrorism to intimidate and control African Americans and to discourage or prevent them from voting. 98.185.5.73 (talk) 12:47, 15 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Needs to be split into two articles: Overview & Timeline?

I know this is piling-on from other comments above ... but this article needs to include a good overview to readers who may know little or nothing about US history.

To give an example; I'm working on Atlanta Compromise article, and needed a couple of sentences (with sources) about how reconstruction benefited African Americans (right to vote, etc). I came here and gave up; I ended up going to Google and hunting down sources on my own. I'm not complaining, but ideally, this article would have contained a good overview that I could utilize.

Here is an online Encyclopedia Britannica article that illustrates a good "overview level" of detail ... the level that this article could use:

Foner, Eric (May 27, 2025). "Reconstruction". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved May 7, 2025. 

I understand Reconstruction era is not an easy article to write/edit. And it is probably not wise to delete any of the (accurate) material from the existing timeline sections. Maybe it should be split into two articles: an overview article, and a timeline article?

I appreciate all the hard work that has gone into this article, and I hope my suggesions are not taken negatively. Noleander (talk) 19:21, 8 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Short description

I feel the current short description [Military occupation of southern US states from 1865 to 1877] is too narrow to describe Reconstruction, for the article more than the military occupation. It also violates Wikipedia:SD40

I feel a description like "Era after American Civil War (1865–1877)" would be better at describing the article. Roasted (talk) 18:30, 28 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

That follows what the first line says. Go for it. 〜 Adflatuss • talk 23:35, 28 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

 Done Kaihsu (talk) 05:43, 17 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Kinda funny how Republicans are referred to as radical for wanting to end slavery but not democrats in this article. 2601:58B:1300:58F0:D006:C97F:5AD7:F9DB (talk) 12:49, 16 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

You are well aware that classical radicalism was the progressive liberal ideology inspired by the French Revolution. Radicalism sought political support for a radical reform of the electoral system to widen suffrage, with radicals demanding political rights for artisans and the "labouring classes". The Radical Republicans had similar ideas about major reforms. The Democratic Party under the principles of Jacksonian democracy had campaigned for universal white male suffrage, but it was hardly interested in offering suffrage to the rest of the American population. Dimadick (talk) 13:54, 16 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

for short description try "era 1863-1877 focused on rights of ex-Confederates and ex=slaves " note historians now start it at 1863 Rjensen (talk) 15:12, 16 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]