Read about the black codes in various states enacted as a result of Johnson's lenient Reconstruction plans. From "Trial by Fire, A People's History of the Civil War and Reconstruction" by Paige Smith.

A great chart comparing Lincoln's and Johnson's reconstruction plans with the plans offered by the Radical Republicans.

A very good overview of Reconstruction in the South after the Civil War. Find the questions that needed to be answered about how to reincorporate the Confederate states, what rights freed blacks would have, and how terms of...

Before his assassination, Abraham Lincoln was already making plans for Reconstruction in the South. Read about his plan and the plan of the Radical Republicans. See the reasoning behind each plan.

After the death of Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson was responsible for implementing Reconstruction in the South after the Civil War. Read about his views on African-Americans, and the leniency he offered Confederate leaders and soldiers....

From the Encyclopedia of American Social History. Read about the black migration to the West, primarily Kansas and Oklahoma after the end of Reconstruction and the institution of black codes in the South.

How does a country put itself back together after a civil war? Read about the problems with the destruction of the Southern economy and land, the recognition of former slaves as freedmen, and the ways to bring the Southern states back...

Overview of life after slavery for African Americans.

Read about the background of the passage of the 14th Amendment which resulted in the famous case before the Supreme Court, Plessy v Ferguson, almost thirty years later. Suggested student exercises ask students to assess the issue of...