In US. history last class, we had read and discussed a packet. The packet contained a numerous amount of information all pertaining to the Civil War and Reconstruction. There were two main people that the packet focused on, William Archibald Dunning, and John Hope Franklin. These two men had different perspectives, or point of views, of the Reconstruction.

First off, William Archibald Dunning was born in Plainfield, Nj on May 12, 1857. William was a young boy, experiencing the horrible things, that went on during the Civil War. Dunning studied to be a teacher at Dartmouth College and the University of Berlin, although all his degrees were from Colombia University, including his doctorate degree. Dunning was selected to be the first Lieber professor of history and political science, in 1902. He was a very influential teacher, and talented man. Many people were impressed with his writings that he published. Two familiar books that he published during the Civil War and Reconstruction were called, The Constitution of the United States in Civil War and Reconstruction, 1860-1867 , and Reconstruction, Political and Economic, 1865-1877 .

John Hope Franklin was born on January 2, 1915. He was the professor of Legal History in the Law School at Duke University for seven years. Harvard University was where he recieved his A.M. and Ph.D. degrees. Franklin, like Dunning, also had many publications. Some of his numerous publications were, The Emancipation Proclamation, The Militant South, and Reconstruction After the Civil War.

William Archibald Dunning's theory of the failure of Reconstruction was blamed on northern Republicans who migrated to the South after the Civil War, a.k.a "carpetbaggers", and southern Republicans who had remained loyal to the Union, a.k.a "scalawags", and freed slaves. Also he believed that Reconstruction failed because of incompetency and corruption of the Radical Republican state governments. However, Franklin did not believe in the same theory. Franklin defended the actions of southern blacks and their white supporters. Not only that, but he blamed President Andrew Jackson on the failing eras, and conservative white southerners.
“It may be said that every generation since 1870 has written the history of the Reconstruction era. And what historians have written tells as much about their own generation as about the Reconstruction period itself.” John had declared in a speech American Historical Association in 1979.

Though Dunning's and Franklin's view of things were very different, much of it was due to the eras in which they had lived. Dunning lived and wrote during a time when corruption in Republican governments was a recurring problem. That is probably why Dunning had so much dislike to the Republican Party. In contrast, Franklin was around during the World War II civil rights movement. That made them look upon many things differently.