Part 1 of Essay
After the end of the Civil War at Appomattox, our nation’s leaders attempted to reorganize state and local governments in the fallen Confederacy, reestablish normal relations between the North and South, and to instill a sense of national loyalty once again. What transpired was a unforgiving Congress whose policies failed ....

Part 2 of Essay
.... Thaddeus Stevens and other radicals. The plantations owned by 70,000 “chief rebels” were never seized and redistributed. Instead, sharecropping and tenant farming developed and, as a result, blacks were still tied to the land. In addition, the Southern economy had not escaped from control by Northern financiers, as evidenced by the high interest rates. Because of these rates, the small farmers became subject to the creditors and lacked economic freedom. Finally, many stubborn Southerners refused to accept tax pro ....