Was Reconstruction a "splendid failure"?

In The New View of Reconstruction, Eric Foner says that even though Reconstruction failed to meet the goals of Radical Republicans, painlessly rebuild the South, and give the freed blacks complete rights and opportunities, Reconstruction did give African Americans some new chances and a brief taste of a free society. Political, social, and economic progress was made by blacks through the 14th and 15th amendments. Good things came out of the chaotic period of Reconstruction. The South actually was made more democratic than ever before. Public schools for blacks were established, blacks were granted full citizenship, and a small fraction of political offices were also held by blacks. Many whites in the North and South supported civil rights amendments and wanted to help the blacks. Foner believes that Reconstruction was a "splendid failure".
LaWanda Cox, however, disagrees. In Reflections on the limits of the Possible, she states that even Lincoln might not have been able to make the period of Reconstruction successful. It was a time of economical hardships for both blacks and whites in the South. A combination of poor crops and not enough land for the African Americans made many go into subsistence farming, which was a vicious cycle of poverty. There was much distrust in Congress and many different opinions, so it would have taken a very talented person such as Lincoln to handle the situation.
I agree with LaWanda Cox that Reconstruction was not a "splendid failure". Although, some blacks were able to get involved in politics, many lived in poverty and didn't have the skills of a certain trade or education to get themselves out of the situation. It took more than 100 years after the end of the war for blacks to receive all of their rights. Some good things did come from the war, but the economical situation of the South and the painful way they were brought into the Union caused hostile feelings to go on for generations. There wasn't very much that was "splendid" about the Reconstruction period. Poor leadership from Andrew Johnson, distrust, bad feelings, racism, and the economical hardships all combined to make the Reconstruction period fail to reach the high goals of equality and forgiveness.