Reconstruction Era Reshaped U.S. Society and Politics Amidst Violence and Economic Shifts
The Reconstruction era, following the American Civil War, was a pivotal period aimed at reuniting Southern states with the Union and redefining the status of African Americans. This effort began in late 1863 under President Abraham Lincoln, who proposed a lenient plan for states to rejoin the Union after 10% of their voting population took an oath of allegiance. The Emancipation Proclamation, initially a war aim, freed enslaved people in rebellious areas, leading to the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment in January 1865, which legally abolished slavery nationwide. Following Lincoln's assassination, President Andrew Johnson's more lenient Reconstruction policies allowed Southern states to enact 'Black Codes,' which restricted African American rights and re-established antebellum power dynamics. In response, Congressional Republicans passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the Fourteenth Amendment, granting citizenship and equal protection under the law to all American-born residents (excluding Native peopl... 
