reconstruction
Reconstruction is the name of the historical period following the American Civil War during which the U.S. government attempted to resolve the divisions of the war, rebuild the southern economy, and integrate former slaves into the political and social life of the country. [1]
The Reconstruction Era is the common name for the period in United States history which covers the post-Civil War era in the entire United States between 1865 and 1877. [2]
Louisiana was the only region deep within the Confederacy where Union authorities implemented experimental Reconstruction policies during the Civil War. [3]
In response, the Union implemented a controversial reconstruction plan to regain order in the Confederate states. [4]
“Reconstruction” is a term that refers to the policies implemented between 1863 and 1877 when the nation was focused on winning the Civil War, abolishing slavery, defeating the Confederacy, reconstructing the nation and amending the US Constitution. [2]
The Radicals: The radical Republicans, the liberal wing of the Republican Party, were idealists, many of then driven by an almost religious fervor. [5]
This period began with the onset of an intense national struggle over the shape of society and government in the postwar South; it ended with the collapse of the last Southern state governments under Republican control and the tacit acknowledgment that the federal attempt to remake the South was over. [6]
During the Civil War, reconstruction had begun haltingly in 1862 in those parts of Louisiana, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Virginia under Union military control. [7]
Depending upon the state, these laws generally restricted the right to own property, controlled where blacks were allowed to live, established a curfew, and forced blacks to work as agricultural laborers or as domestics. [4]
One significant aspect of the war on the North was the fighting experience of the thousands of soldiers who became laborers in the growing industries and often used the same tactics against their bosses. [5]
Following the surrender of Confederate forces at Appomattox, Virginia, in April 1865, Republican leaders agreed that slavery and the slave power had to be permanently destroyed, and that all forms of Confederate nationalism had to be suppressed. [1]
During the Civil War, the Radical Republican leaders argued that slavery and the Slave Power had to be permanently destroyed, and that all forms of Confederate nationalism had to be suppressed. [2]
When the Confederate forces surrendered in April 1865, the U.S. Army embarked on a mission unparalleled in its history: the postwar occupation of a rebellious section of its own country as the enforcer of a politically determined process of reconstruction. [7]
During this time, the South was in political, social and economic turmoil, and eleven Confederate states had seceded from the Union during the wartime unrest. [4]
The period of federal control ended at different times in different states, with the Compromise of 1877 seeing the collapse of the last three Republican state governments in the South. [2]
Sources:
[1] Reconstruction - New World Encyclopedia
[2] Reconstruction era of the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[3] Reconstruction: A State Divided
[4] Reconstruction - The Reconstruction Era
[5] Reconstruction Summary
[6] Reconstruction (U.S. history) - MSN Encarta
[7] reconstruction: Definition from Answers.com