ABSTRACT
The Reconstruction era, 1865-1877, has received extensive coverage from historians.The first concerted academic study of the period, in the 188()s and the 1890s, coincided with the professionalization of the study of history in the United States. Full-time salaried historians were employed in American universities and colleges to carry out teaching and research. The writing of history by gentleman amateurs became largely a thing of the past.
