the best general accounts of the reconstruction period are found in james ford rhodes's "history of the united states from the compromise of 1850 to the restoration of home rule at the south in 1877", volumes v, vi, vii (1906); in william a.dunning's "reconstruction, political and economic", 1865-1877, in the "american nation" series, volume xxii (1907); and in peter joseph hamilton's "the reconstruction period" (1905), which is volume xvi of "the history of north america", edited by f.n.thorpe.the work of rhodes is spacious and fair-minded but there are serious gaps in his narrative;dunning's briefer account covers the entire field with masterly handling;hamilton's history throws new light on all subjects and is particularly useful for an understanding of the southern point of view.a valuable discussion of constitutional problems is contained in william a.dunning's "essay on the civil war and reconstruction and related topics" (1904); and a criticism of the reconstruction policies from the point of view of political science and constitutional law is to be found in j.w.burgess's "reconstruction and the constitution, 1866-1876" (1902).e.b.andrews's "the united states in our own time" (1903) gives a popular treatment of the later period.a collection of brief monographs entitled "why the solid south?" by hilary a.herbert and others (1890) was written as a campaign document to offset the drive made by the republicans in 1889 for new enforcement laws.
there are many scholarly monographs on reconstruction in the several states.
the best of these are: j.w.garner's "reconstruction in mississippi" (1901), w.l.fleming's "civil war and reconstruction in alabama" (1905), j.g.der.
hamilton's "reconstruction in north carolina" (1914), w.w.davis's "the civil war and reconstruction in florida" (1913), j.s.reynolds's "reconstruction in south carolina", 1865-1877 (1905); c.w.ramsdell's "reconstruction in texas"(1910), and c.m.thompson's "reconstruction in georgia" (1915).