The media may portray polarization as though we are experiencing a Civil War. While this is not true, there are evident similarities between the political climate Americans face today and during the Reconstruction Era.
Eric Foner, the leading historian on Reconstruction, the period following the Civil War, visited Wofford for the second time to address the effects of Reconstruction. Foner’s research and writings regarding the Reconstruction Era have earned him a Pulitzer Prize, the Lincoln Prize, and the Bancroft Prize.
“Reconstruction addresses the destruction of slavery as an institution and the preservation of American democracy,” Foner said.
According to Foner, the Reconstruction Era answered questions of who is a citizen, and who can vote, while being faced with homegrown terrorism and political violence. The expansion of civil liberties through the 13th Amendment, 14th Amendment, and 15th Amendment was a momentous sign of progress for the United States, as the nation strives for a more equitable future.
However, among President Donald Trump’s sweeping number of executive orders issued in the first days of his second term was a redefining of birthright citizenship. The official executive order titled “Protecting the Meaning & Value of American Citizenship” outlined the need to redefine the parameters of citizenship dependent on if an individual’s mother or father are undocumented immigrants.
“The president does not have the power to aggregate a part of the constitution,” Foner said. “If you allowed that, where would you stop?”
Not only does this proposal limit freedoms to certain children naturalized in the United States, it directly challenges the Constitution’s 14th Amendment and the protections it provides.
During Reconstruction, Southerners were concerned with the infringement of their rights by the federal government, specifically regarding the protection of black Americans. This opposing perspective yielded the larger argument of state versus federal power.
The current Trump administration is seemingly challenging federal regulations to champion state freedoms. For example, there have been various executive orders to rescind federal regulations, particularly those related to environmental protections, labor policies, immigration policies and financial protections.
“American history is of progress and of retrogression for freedom,” Foner said.
For example, the rolling back of protections for Black Americans during Reconstruction allowed for the reversal of progress through Jim Crow and the Black Codes. However, from this oppression came the Civil Rights movement.
“Efforts to address inequality yield more freedom,” Foner said.
Furthermore, President Trump issued an executive order, “Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing” eliminating all DEI programs. The Biden administration championed DEI, which has existed since 1965 under President Lyndon B. Johnson because it addresses the opportunity discrepancy for marginalized communities.
Foner placed a large emphasis on understanding the nation’s history of slavery and racial inequality before addressing the inequalities of today.
Following the 13th Amendment’s abolition of slavery formerly enslaved Americans were promised 40 acres of land and a mule. This promise went unfulfilled, perpetuating racial inequalities, and is still visible today through the discrepancy of family assets between Black and white Americans. In a time of income inequality and proposed cuts to social security, it is consequential to see the importance of economic justice for all citizens throughout history.
The polarizing views of reconstruction led to extremism and political violence. In a 2013 lecture on “The Significance of Reconstruction in American History,” Foner notes the first terrorism experienced in America was not 9/11, but the Klu Klux Klan in opposition to the expansion of Civil Rights for black Americans.
Referencing the storming of the capital, Foner believes there is a current assault on democratic elections.
We are ourselves experiencing history and an age of political violence and extreme polarization. Although we are not in an era following the Civil War, our nation is politically divided and in the midst of a fundamental shift.
