Question 21 is based on the following excerpts.
“In the end, then, neither the abolition of slavery nor Reconstruction succeeded in resolving the debate over the meaning of freedom in American life….
Alone among the societies that abolished slavery in the nineteenth century, the United States, for a moment, offered the freedmen a measure of political control over their own destinies. However brief its sway, Reconstruction allowed scope for a remarkable political and social mobilization of the black community. It opened doors of opportunity that could never be completely closed. Reconstruction transformed the lives of Southern blacks in ways unmeasurable by statistics and unreachable by law. It raised their expectations and aspirations, redefined their status in relation to the larger society, and allowed space for the creation of institutions that enabled them to survive the repression that followed. And it established constitutional principles of civil and political equality that, while flagrantly violated after Reconstruction, planted the seeds of future struggle.”
Eric Foner, “The New View of Reconstruction,” American Heritage, 1983
“Reconstruction, which was far from radical, constituted the most democratic decades of the nineteenth century, South or North, so much so that it amounted to the first progressive era in the nation’s history. Just ten years after Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger B. Taney endorsed the expansion of slavery into the western territories and announced that black Americans, even if born free, could not be citizens of the republic, blacks were fighting for the franchise in northern states; battling to integrate the streetcars in Charleston, New Orleans, and San Francisco; funding integrated public schools; and voting and standing for office in the erstwhile…. Black veterans, activists, ministers, assemblymen, registrars, poll workers, editors, and a handful of dedicated white allies risked their lives in this cause, nearly brought down a racist president, but ultimately lost their fight because of white violence.”
Douglas R. Egerton. The Wars of Reconstruction, 2014
Using the excerpts, answer A, B, and C.
Briefly explain ONE major difference between Foner’s and Egerton’s historical interpretations of the success or failure of Reconstruction.
Briefly explain how ONE historical event or development in the period 1863 to 1877 that is not explicitly mentioned in the excerpts could be used to support Foner’s interpretation.
Briefly explain how ONE historical event or development in the period 1863 to 1877 that is not explicitly mentioned in the excerpts could be used to support Egerton’s interpretation.
