After a war that cost more lives than all other wars combined, much of the country was left in ruins , literally and figuratively. Dozens of towns in the South were burned to the ground. Meanwhile, relations between North and South had collapsed. Something had to be done to turn the country back into the United States of America, not the Divided States of America. The years 1865 to 1877 were a time of rebuilding – of broken communities and shattered relationships. This period was known as Reconstruction. Reconstruction was a failure based on the fact that the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments that were passed should have given protection and freedom to the African American people. Instead, it hurt them because the laws were not enforced and ultimately led to the organization. white supremacist terrorist groups. The 13th Amendment to the Constitution legally ended slavery, however, one could argue that this was not the case socially and economically. Once free, African Americans had nothing and received very little. Due to the racist attitudes that plagued the South, it was almost impossible to find anything other than low-paying, unskilled jobs. Because blacks needed work and plantation owners had vacant land, they reached a compromise: sharecropping. Sharecropping was an agreement where, in exchange for land, a cabin and tools, at a very high interest rate, the landowner would receive a portion of the harvest. While this may seem like a good deal, high interest rates made the debt almost impossible to repay, so once again African Americans were under the control of the white race. The contracts also included clauses that were so simple...... middle of paper...... construction, the majority of black people continued to be oppressed on all fronts. Not only were they oppressed, but they were also continually terrorized. Perhaps if the government had stepped in and done its job, the outcome would have been different. Reconstruction brought the states of the country together, but at the same time it pitted the people of the country against each other. Works Cited Clark-Pujara, Christy. “Reconstruction, Part One.” November 11, 2013. Conference. Clark-Pujara, Christy. “Reconstruction, Part II.” November 18, 2013. Conference. Clark-Pujara, Christy. “The Rise of Jim Crow.” November 20, 2013. Conference. Franklin, John Hope and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham. From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans. 9th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print. “Senate Apology Resolution on Lynching Victims.” » GovTrack.us. US Senate, June 13, 2005. Web. November 24. 2013.