what was reconstruction?
Reconstruction was a period of time after the Civil War from 1865 to 1877 where the United States government attempted to restore balance and order to the Confederate states readmitted to the Union. Former Confederate soldiers were readmitted into the Union after taking an oath of allegiance. During Reconstruction, as a result of the Thirteenth Amendment, slavery became illegal. Millions of African Americans in the South who had grown up in bondage were suddenly free. In many states, African Americans could find jobs and were granted the right to vote. However, many freedmen were illiterate and uneducated, therefore unable to become employed despite their new found freedom. Many organizations such as the Freedmen's Bureau were established to provide support for African Americans who struggled to conform in a free society.
During Reconstruction, Congress was still predominantly controlled by Radical Republicans from the North who supported total racial equality. Despite the overwhelming support for racial equality in Congress, Andrew Johnson, the president at the time, was unwilling to antagonize Southerners who were still opposed to African Americans. While Congress attempted to pass multiple acts to provide rights to African Americans, most were vetoed by President Johnson in order to keep the peace. Congress grew increasingly ineffective, and impatient with the interference of the president and at first chance impeached President Johnson. In 1868, Ulysses S. Grant, a former Union general, was elected president by the Republican party. Although a brilliant military leader, Grant was proven an ineffective leader supported by many corrupt officials whom he refused to believe were guilty. While African Americans were able to gain certain rights such as the right to vote and the right to marry, deeply rooted opposition from the South prevented the federal government from making many significant changes. In 1872, the Freedmen's Bureau was disbanded under President Grant because it was believed that its purpose had been fulfilled. In 1877, Reconstruction ended.