Fables of the Reconstruction

"A hard paradox lies at the heart of all reconstructions: the reconstructor must transform a society in its own image without appearing selfish or self-righteous. An effort at reconstruction, our nation's history shows us, must be implemented not only with determination and might, but also with humility and self-knowledge -- and with an understanding of the experience of defeat that attention to Southern history can give us. Otherwise, America risks appearing as the thing it least wants to be, a carpetbagger nation."

In The New York Times, Edward L. Ayers of the University of Virginia depicts lessons of post-war reconstructions, whether in the 1860s or the 2000s.