The Reconstruction Era

After the war was over the nation was totally wrecked. Farmlands, plantations, house, even entire towns had been destroyed, and the country was still divided. Abe Lincoln's plan was to have Southerners take an oath of allegiance to the Union, and once they had done this they would be pardoned. After 10% of voters took the oath, that state would be able to rejoin the Union and form a state government. Of course though, the states' constitution could NOT include slavery. Many Northerners thought that this plan wasn't nearly as harsh as it should be on the Southerners. They thought that at least half the voters should have to take the oath to return to the Union. Also, violent mob attacks would break out against freedmen and white sympathizers that supported Reconstruction. These mobs emerged into a secret organization that became the nation's first domestic terrorists. They called themselves the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).

The Reconstruction Era gave freed African Americans the right to vote.