THE RECONSTRUCTION ERA AND THE BLACKS The twelve-year era after the Civil War was called the Reconstruction Period. Reconstruction was a federal policy established immediately after the South surrendered; it was an attempt to create a new Southern society and heal the terrible wounds between the North and South. The three main goals of the Reconstruction were to "protect the rights of the freed slaves..., rebuild the South's devastated economy, and enforce the loyalty of …showed first 75 words of 2415 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2415 total…Klan. New York: Franklin Watts, 1982. "Reconstruction's Last Gasp," Scholastic Update. 22 Sept. 1997, v130, 14-16. Todd, Lewis Paul and Merle Curti. Rise of the American Nation. New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc., 1996. Unger, Irwin. These United States. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1989. Williams, T. Harry, Richard N. Current, and Frank Freidel. A History of the United States Since 1865. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1965.W Williams, T. Harry. "Reconstruction," World Book Encyclopedia. Volume 15. Chicago: Field Enterprises Educational Corporation., 1960.