Reconstruction was the period from 1865-1877 when the federal government controlled the southern states that had seceded and reintegrated them into the Union. President Lincoln wanted quick reunification after the Civil War but was assassinated, and under President Johnson the South passed "black codes" controlling freed slaves, angering the North. Congress then took control of Reconstruction, passing amendments protecting rights and dividing the South into military districts, though the South was eventually "redeemed" by conservative Democrats rolling back reforms.

2. Reconstruction:
The period (1865-
1877) during which
the states that had
seceded to the
Confederacy were
controlled by the
federal
government before
being readmitted
to the Union.

3. Abraham Lincoln wanted the nation to to reunite quickly
during Reconstruction and to move past the wounds of the
Civil War. Sadly, Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865 and
Andrew Johnson became President.

4. Under President Andrew Johnson in 1865 and 1866, new
southern state legislatures passed "black codes" to control the
labor and behavior of former slaves and other African Americans.
The North became angry over these codes and they began to lack
support for the President. Congress took over and tried to
impeach Andrew Johnson.

5. When Congress took over the
Reconstruction process they made three
new amendments (13th, 14th, 15th) to the
Constitution to give the national
government more power over the states.

6. The Reconstruction Act of 1867 divided the ten southern states
(Tennessee had already been readmitted to the Union) into five
military districts. During this period, southern state governments
were first controlled by white ex- Confederates, then by white
opponents of the Confederacy and African Americans, and
finally "redeemed" by conservative Democrats.