American Experience: Reconstruction: The Second Civil War DVD

Comments about PBS American Experience: Reconstruction: The Second Civil War DVD:

An excellent presentation! It brings to life most all textbook accounts following the seeming silencing of the "great guns" and continuing conflict of the "Reconstruction Era" that has lasted into this century in several areas of our nation especially as concerns the 14th Amendment.

Comments about PBS American Experience: Reconstruction: The Second Civil War DVD:

I used the DVD for instructional purposes, as part of a two-week lesson unit for a middle school Social Studies class. Based on the positive reaction of the students, I would say that the first half, in particular, did a stunningly effective job of posing, through concise narration, evocative images and expert commentary, the key issues of the tumultuous era and how they played out in individual lives and specific situations. As an example, the section on Sherman's March to the Sea not only captured the strategic importance of this brilliant military feat, but also depicted in compelling detail the unprecedented (but little-heralded) Savannah meeting that took place between the triumphant Sherman and President Lincoln's handpicked envoy, Secretary of War Stanton, and a score of respected representatives of the newly freed slave population. Rarely can a textbook recreate such a momentous event, convey its historic significance and evoke the human emotion in such stark, gripping terms as this dramatic and cogent "American Experience" version.