The Two Reconstructions

A groundbreaking history of the Reconstruction and the Civil Rights Eras that reveals the importance of biracial coalitions The Reconstruction era marked a huge political leap for African Americans, who rapidly went from the status of slaves to voters and officeholders. Yet this hard-won progress lasted only a few decades. Ultimately a "second reconstruction"—associated with the civil rights movement and the Voting Rights Act—became necessary. How did the first reconstruction fail so utterly, se