Reconstruction

Reconstruction refers to the time period, (1860's to 1870's) that the south was "redesigned" in.

The idea behind reconstructing the south was a great idea because the government was actually trying to help former slaves by creating laws that gave

them equal, (or what was considered to be equal) rights as everybody else. Several laws were made protecting former slaves and their families, which was a wonderful thing. Plus, it was during the reconstruction that it was officially made illegal to own slaves.

The problem was that after Lincoln, this vision for a pro-active, colorblind America disappeared. President Johnson was racially insensitive for the most part and often okayed laws going against former slaves and their families. President Grant on the other hand wanted to help the slaves, he just didn't feel like putting in the effort to help them himself. He sat back and watched southern democrats take over the south and destroy all of the reforms they had been trying to make, sending the south right back to square one.

It is incredibly relevant today because even though racial tension is still a very real part of certain societies, if reconstruction had never happened,

slavery in America might still exist to this day. If the government had just said "slavery is over" after the Civil War and nothing else was said or done, then it's very likely that things in the south would have completely reverted back to the way they were and

there wouldn't be any "official" law saying that people couldn't still own slaves.

Unfortunately though, reconstruction created something horrible that still exists to this day, the Ku Klux Klan. The Ku Klux Klan, (or the KKK for short)

was created by angry confederate soldiers just after the civil war ended. The KKK's mission was to "take care of" anybody of a different ethnicity/race from themselves, along with anybody who supported the fight against slavery and the fight for equal rights etc. The KKK is still an active group to this day and is constantly growing in numbers (citation 1). Horrible things are still being done to people who are different than them, (though not as often luckily). Hopefully one day, not too long from now, people will be able to see each other for what they really are, people.

Citation

1) Horwitz, Tony. Confederates in the Attic. New York City: Pantheon Books, 1998.