The Reconstruction of the North Summary and Analysis

Like the South, the North also experienced a transformation during Reconstruction, Foner explains in Chapter 10. The industrial economy had received a great boost from wartime demand in the North. While this book slackened somewhat at the end of the war, it soon picked up again as railroads brought a new boom. Tracks had been laid through the North and West during under generous subsidies during the war. Afterwards, they became crucial links carrying products and commodities and supported American expansion westward of the Mississippi. In 1869, at Promontory Point, Utah, eastern and western railroads were connected for the first time to create a transcontinental network of railroads.

The rise of the railroads and other industries contributed to a transformation in northern politics. Corruption became common as wealthy industrialists influenced public officials with bribes and...