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Reconstruction Era

Historical And Literary Periods
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

The 1865-1877 period following the American Civil War involving political and social reconstruction of the South and African American citizenship and rights. A traumatic and transformative period.

Detailed Definition
The Reconstruction Era inspired poetry documenting the South's transformation and African American emancipation and struggle. Poets engaged with unprecedented social change. This period appears in poetry through expressions of hope and possibility, documentation of racial violence and oppression, celebrations of freedom and citizenship, expressions of loss and trauma, political engagement, and establishment of Reconstruction poetry as crucial to understanding African American literature and American identity formation.
Example
Example in poetry:
Poetry of the Reconstruction Era (post-Civil War) often grappled with themes of freedom, betrayal of promises, racial violence, and the fraught integration of formerly enslaved people into society; Paul Laurence Dunbar's poems, such as those written in dialect, reflect the complex emotional and social landscape of the Reconstruction Era, though his use of dialect is viewed today with a critical lens; A poem could use the metaphor of a 'broken foundation' or a 'house divided' to describe the turbulent political and social rebuilding efforts of the Reconstruction Era South; Lucy Parsons' later radical poetry and speeches, though extending beyond the immediate period, were shaped by the profound political disappointments of the Reconstruction Era and its aftermath; A narrative poem might detail the hopes and subsequent disillusionment of a newly freed man attempting to vote or secure land during the backlash of the Reconstruction Era; Frances Ellen Watkins Harper’s poetry speaks directly to the struggles for civil rights and education during and following the Reconstruction Era.
Additional Notes
The Reconstruction Era (1865–1877) followed the American Civil War and dealt with themes of national healing, racial justice, and social upheaval. Poets of this era, such as Walt Whitman and Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, grappled with emancipation, democracy, and moral reconstruction. Poetry from this period often carried a political or moral tone, mirroring the tension between hope for renewal and the persistent scars of slavery and war.
Also Known As
Reconstruction Period Post-Civil War Reconstruction Reconstruction
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