Reconstruction

(proper noun)

A period in U.S. history from 1865 to 1877, during which the nation tried to resolve the status of the ex-Confederate states, the ex-Confederate leaders, and the Freedmen (ex-slaves) after the American Civil War.

Related Terms

Examples of Reconstruction in the following topics:

  • The 14th Amendment

    • The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments.

  • The 15th Amendment

    • There was an impressive surge in political participation after the Civil War, due largely to the Reconstruction acts.

  • Afghanistan

    • The United States has taken a leading role in the overall reconstruction of Afghanistan by investing billions of dollars in national roads, government and educational institutions, and the Afghan military and national police force.

  • Separate But Equal

    • While the Emancipation Proclamation and the Civil War amendments ended slavery and attempted to legislate equality, the violation of civil rights continued after the reconstruction era.

  • Separate But Equal

    • After the end of Reconstruction in 1877, former slave-holding states enacted various laws to undermine the equal treatment of African Americans, although the 14th Amendment, as well as federal Civil Rights laws enacted after the Civil War, were meant to guarantee such treatment.

  • Jim Crow and the Civil Rights Movement

    • After the period of Reconstruction, the American South maintained an entrenched system of overt, state-sanctioned racial discrimination and oppression.

  • The Modern Era of Political Parties

    • The party presided over the American Civil War and Reconstruction but was harried by internal factions and scandals toward the end of the 19th century.

  • The Diversity Debate

    • Reconstruct frequently-made arguments for and against affirmative action in higher education

  • Regulating Executive Branch Lobbyists

    • At the same time in the Reconstruction South, lobbying was intense near the state legislatures, especially regarding railroad subsidies, but it also happened in other areas, such as gambling.

  • Types of Ballots

    • Perspective view of the infamous Florida butterfly ballot, reconstructed in 3-D from a reproduction in a Florida newspaper, to show how hard it is to identify which hole links to which name in "real life", rather than the flat way it is usually displayed.