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What Happened To The Rebel States After The Civil War?
Reunification wasn’t easy
The Reconstruction Era (1865–1877) is one of the least studied and understood in American history. Following the end of the Civil War, the nation embarked on a convoluted and bitter reunion that saw the rebellious southern states readmitted into the Union. While everyone knows that reconciliation happened (South Carolina is a regular state in the Union today, for example), few people know how it happened. What happened to the rebel states after the Civil War?
The misconception is that after the peace treaty was signed between the Union and the Confederacy, the former Confederate states were simply readmitted to the Union. But that is not the case. The process took years and was rife with corruption and violence. Before the South was allowed back into the Union, it went through a period of military occupation and demilitarization.
A Period of Calm
Interestingly enough, the South was not put under full military occupation for a year after the Civil War concluded. At first, the North took a wait-and-see approach to the South. With many former Confederate…
