Reconstruction and Its Impact on Human Rights

A resource developed in partnership with the Library of Congress asks, “was Reconstruction a success?” The Reconstruction Era lasted from the end of the Civil War in 1865 to 1877. Its main focus was on bringing the southern states back into full political participation in the Union, guaranteeing rights to former slaves and defining new relationships between African Americans and whites. While very little fighting occurred on Iowa soil and Iowa had never legalized slavery, black migration of former slaves into the region and the national focus on civil rights forced Iowa to reconsider its own racial relations.

Students will reflect on the following questions:
How did the presidential election of 1876 end Reconstruction?
How did the U.S. Supreme Court originally interpret the Constitution’s Reconstruction amendments?
How did the South restore white supremacy after the fall of Reconstruction?