• Reconstruction after the Civil War lasted from 1865 to 1877
• The purpose of Reconstruction was for the U.S. Government to spend money on programs that would reunite and rebuild the nation after the war
• Reconstruction attempted to give the 4 million freed slaves opportunities through programs such as the government had funded Freedmen's Bureau
• Most freed slaves lacked education and job opportunities. Many chose to stay on the plantation to become sharecroppers which likely would trap them in poverty
• One success of Reconstruction is the passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution
• Reconstruction is largely considered a failure. During this time, southern states passed laws that limited rights for African Americans, known as Jim Crow Laws.
• Abraham Lincoln (R) was elected president in November 1860. Southern states began to secede from the union after his election
• The Civil War lasted from 1861 to 1865 and was between the North and the South (United States or Union vs Confederacy)
• The North had an industrial economy and the South's economy was based on agriculture (cotton)
• The North wanted to stop the expansion of slavery into new territories and the South wanted to keep and expand the institution of slavery
• The Battle of Gettysburg was a turning point in the war
• The North won the Civil War because they had several advantages over the South
• Slavery was abolished in 1865 with the 13th amendment to the U.S. Constitution