--- Robert Seeberger <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I agree with most of what you are saying, but to > cast the RR's as > "good guys" without qualification is a bit simple. > They should be > given great credit for the 14th and 15th amendments, > those were > necessary in light of Southern resistance. But one > must also consider > what they didn't do many things that they should > have.
I agree with this, but don't think it was for lack of intention. Fanaticism, definitely (which tends to lead to political incompetence, I think), but not because they didn't want to. > Was the post-war North economically strong enough to > revitalize the > Southern economy? Probably not. The South took something like a century to recover fully from defeat in the Civil War, I believe. OTOH, it's worth remembering that _before_ the war the average Southerner was much worse off than the average Northerner. Literacy rates were much lower, etc. Slavery, as Lincoln acutely commented, was degrading for the master, not only the slave. > > What do you think about reconstruction in regards to > Dunning Vs. Foner > schools of thought? > rob I'm ashamed to admit that I don't...it's been so long since I plunged into Civil War history (and my knowledge of Reconstruction has always been less than it should have been) that, other than a vague sense that Foner prioritizes the economic over the cultural too much (about which I could be entirely wrong) I don't know. I know I've read _something_ by Dunning, but for the life of me I can't think what it was. ===== Gautam Mukunda [EMAIL PROTECTED] "Freedom is not free" http://www.mukunda.blogspot.com __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Search - Find what you�re looking for faster http://search.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
