Reconstruction after the Civil War Book

This book was one of the early studies of reconstruction that argued against the "Lost Cause" myth. It is well done and balanced. The arguments are supported and you see how the "former states in rebellion" were not the persecuted group they professed to be. Instead, most of their problems were generated by themselves in how they acted immediately after the war with their black codes which were put in place to keep the freed slaves as free in name only. It was a flagrant attempt to keep things in the same social order as before the war. Only reluctantly did the southern states give in to the new amendments and even then, worked hard to not implement them. As the northern states lost interest in forcing the south to move forward in race relations, Jim Crow took over and it was another 100 years before major steps were taken to implement the freedoms that were promised after the Civil War.