The Civil War destroyed the Southern economy and way of life. Reconstruction dealt with readmitting the former Confederate states to the Union and establishing rights for the freed black population. There were competing plans for Reconstruction between Lincoln, Johnson, and the Radical Republicans in Congress. Congressional Reconstruction established new civil rights and voting laws over President Johnson's opposition, leading to the first biracial governments in the country. However, Reconstruction was resisted in the South through violence and intimidation, and Northern support waned over time, allowing Southern whites to reassert control in a process known as "Redemption."