Reconstruction Era

The Reconstruction era was a period in American history, which lasted from late in the American Civil War (1861–1865) until the Compromise of 1877. Its main goals were to rebuild the nation after the war, reintegrate the former Confederate states, and address the social, political, and economic impacts of slavery. During this period, slavery was abolished, Confederate secession was annulled, and the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments (the Reconstruction Amendments) were added to the Constitution to grant equal civil rights to the newly freed slaves. In 1866, Congress federalized the protection of civil rights in response to violent attacks against Black people in the South, and ex-Confederate states were required to guarantee freedmen's civil rights before rejoining the Union. Republican coalitions aimed to transform Southern society. The Freedmen's Bureau and the U.S. Army played vital roles in establishing a free labor economy, protecting freedmen's legal rights, and creating educational and religious institutions. "Carpetbaggers" from the North and supportive white Southerners ("Scalawags") were involved in Reconstruction efforts. Opposing suffrage and rights for freedmen were the "Redeemers"; Southern Bourbon Democrats; President Andrew Johnson (1865–1869), and the Ku Klux Klan, which terrorized and murdered freedmen and Republicans throughout the former Confederacy.