What were the effects of Reconstruction on American life?

The Reconstruction period began during the Civil War and continued after the end of the war. The period also marked the first attempt by the United States to develop interracial democracy. The North went to war against the South with the main issue being slavery. The North was determined to institute reforms against slavery while the South was holding on to it because of the free labor that the practice provided.The South however lost the...

The Reconstruction period began during the Civil War and continued after the end of the war. The period also marked the first attempt by the United States to develop interracial democracy. The North went to war against the South with the main issue being slavery. The North was determined to institute reforms against slavery while the South was holding on to it because of the free labor that the practice provided.The South however lost the war, signifying an end to slavery and the beginning of the reconstruction process.

Reconstruction was seen as an opportunity to develop an all inclusive nation. Life in the South and North changed with African Americans asserting their rights as free men. This situation was catastrophic for the Southern Whites who relied heavily on farming using free labor provided by the slaves. African Americans took the Reconstruction period as an opportunity to find lost family members, acquire farming land and pursue formal education. Apart from that, Black men were allowed to vote and hold office. The White Southerners feeling threatened, formed “patriotic organizations" such as the Ku Klux Klan to destabilize the government and reverse the gains made in American civil rights protections.