Table of ContentsIntroductionFoner's Analysis of ReconstructionEconomic and Slavery Considerations During ReconstructionThe Complexities of the Post-Civil WarConclusionWorks CitedIntroductionI Found This abridged version of Foner's "Reconstruction, America's Unfinished Revolution" is an incredibly well-written and critically analyzed account of the factors that led to Reconstruction's demise, shedding light on the question of "who killed the reconstruction.” Foner's expertise as a historian is evident in his thorough documentation of social, economic, and political trends during this captivating period in American history. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Foner's Analysis of Reconstruction Foner's clear analysis attempts to lead us to empathize with President Andrew Johnson during the presidential Reconstruction period and to also sympathize with the Radical Republicans who took their turn with Radical Reconstruction. Both phases of Reconstruction faced a similar situation, namely that the infrastructure and social network of the postwar Southern states still retained Confederates with considerable education and influence and that the Unionists or Southern Republicans simply weren't strong enough or supported enough to remake the country. the South after the war. The Southern States are devastated. There was a lot of hunger and homelessness. The banking and commodities infrastructure was demolished and Confederate bondholders were now bankrupt. There were Southern Unionists and Republicans who risked their lives to remain in the Southern states during the war, but by the end of the war the tasks of rebuilding the Southern states were beyond the capabilities or resources of those states. Unionists and the old power structure came forward and gained public office and positions of influence. This trend was very visible during Andrew Johnson's Presidential Reconstruction period, but was also present in the Radical or Congressional Reconstruction period. Economic and slavery-related considerations during Reconstruction. Foner makes it very clear that the plight of freed slaves was a major social upheaval and consideration during this period. The complexity of the situation was astonishing, as a million people were now free, without jobs, without land, without opportunity, without education or power. Foner's analysis is primarily an economic analysis around the struggle between capital and labor and the fact that when slaves were freed, capital found it in its interest to bring these freed slaves back to economic conditions close to those of slavery as farmers without the right to negotiate conditions. of their rental. The presidency and impeachment of President Andrew Johnson is well presented and reveals that Johnson simply was not capable of enforcing Reconstruction and so the planter power structure of the Old South returned to power during the two final years of his presidency. However, once responsibility for Reconstruction was transferred from the president to Congress, some progress was made, but old relationships emerged in the South that escaped intervention by a distant Republican Congress in Washington. The Complexity of the Post-Civil War EraFoner avoids grand summary statements. that sums it all up for the reader., 2014.