Sherman's March to the Sea (also known as the Savannah Campaign) and other Civil War battles destroyed Southern industry, infrastructure, civilian property, and transportation networks. The South, now once again part of the Union of the United States of America, would need to be physically rebuilt and socially redesigned.
President Lincoln had unveiled early plans for Reconstruction that included giving free blacks who had enlisted in the Union army the right to vote. However, he was assassinated shortly after the war ended, and it would fall to his successor to help the former Confederate states rebuild and regroup.
President Johnson's Presidential Reconstruction policy provided amnesty to former Confederates, rapid restoration of seceded states, and approval of new local Southern governments.
Black Codes
New Southern governments were able to legislate Black Codes that preserved much of the system of slavery in the South under a new name. The North was outraged over the Black Codes and other aspects of leniency regarding the Presidential Reconstruction program.
Republicans passed the Reconstruction Act of 1867 over Johnson's veto, which required Southern states to ratify the 14th Amendment, granting "equal protection" under the law to former slaves. Congress approved the 15th Amendment in 1870, which specifically guaranteed a citizen's right to vote that could not be denied based on race, color or previous condition of servitude. During this time, the South established its first state-funded public school systems and more equitable taxation laws. However, racism remained, and was promoted by white supremacist organizations and the Democratic Party of the South.
Carpetbaggers and Scalawags
Many Northerners saw Southern real estate, devastated businesses, and the need to rebuild as prime opportunities to make money. These opportunists were often called carpetbaggers because they were characterized as journeying South so quickly that they bundled up their belongings in make-shift luggage made from carpets.
White Southerners who joined the Republican Party and helped with the Reconstruction were called scalawags. This derogatory term was often used by Southern Democrats to characterize Southern Republicans as traitors interested in personal gain and willing to forsake the Southern codes of society.
The Reconstruction Era Ends
In 1877, President Rutherford B. Hayes removed federal troops from the South and transferred power to local and state governments. Unfortunately, many of the advancements for equality for African Americans were reversed when the troops left. The Reconstruction Era ended, but the need for reform continued.