Emancipation and Reconstruction

Emancipation and Reconstruction "1862-1879" Perman, Michael.(Illinois: Harlan Davidson, INC., 1987. 150pp.). Author and Historian, Michael Perman, wrote this short but very factual book dealing with the Emancipation and the Reconstruction era including the Emancipation Proclamation ranging from 1862 throughout 1879. Perman gave a broad picture giving a great number of details and government views in the 19th Century. The particular interpretation of the emancipation brought to me, a very up-front explanation that was full of facts but the same time was very interesting. Emancipation and Reconstruction examines the ways in which historians have interpreted the major events and issues of the era. The book also introduces previously neglected areas of interest that have assumed new significance, such as the nature of the southern labor system after slavery and the role of blacks in Reconstruction politics. The coverage of the book itself was separated into three different sub-topics titled: I. The Emancipation, II. The Reconstruction, III. The Redemption. The change in transitions of the chapters was so smooth that I did not realize the next section had approached. The delivery of the information presented gave me the illusion that Michael Permian was alive during the times of these crises. Almost as if he was a news reporter covering the current events. A positive impression for me was the topic about segregation. Many people in the late 19th Century talked about the negative effects of the segregation laws. Perman says on page 81, how Blacks were given adequate office jobs and that Blacks did not push the emancipation by accepting both freedom and segregation is some public schools. "...insistence on mixing might have jeopardized the entire system," says Perman. The result is a lucid and fresh portrait of the post-Civil War years. To this, the author has added his own perspective. Perman believes that Reconstruction may be better understood if historians devote less attention to assigning blame for its failure and more attention to the complex problems of rebuilding the nation, which he contends may have been virtually insurmountable.