After the Civil War, Reconstruction began the process of reintegrating the Confederate states back into the Union. However, there were disagreements between President Johnson and Congress over how to approach Reconstruction. Congress passed laws dividing the South into military districts overseen by Union generals to enforce requirements that states ratify amendments protecting the rights of freed slaves before rejoining the Union. These included the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery, the 14th Amendment granting citizenship and equal protection under the law, and the 15th Amendment granting black males the right to vote. However, the removal of federal troops from the South as part of the Compromise of 1877 allowed Southern states to enact Jim Crow laws that suppressed black civil rights.

1. Reconstruction After the Civil War, the nation faced a new problem -- what happens next?