When the Civil War ended, "Reconstruction" or what became

known as "Radical Reconstruction" efforts began. The plans called

for the reconstruction and expansion of towns and cities. After the
war, the South was financially and politically devastated and the
Union assumed responsibility of rebuilding the war-torn territory.

The Union also assumed responsibility to newly freed slaves. In

1965 the Congress established the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen,
and Abandoned Lands, which became known as the Freedmen’s
Bureau.
The Freedmen’s Bureau helped provide dental and medical care,
food, housing, and establish schools. The Freedmen’s Bureau helped
to train teachers and assisted in the building of more than 1000
schools and colleges.

The bureau continued to assist freed slaves for 7 years from it's
conception until it was discontinued in 1872, citing a lack of proper
funding.
Despite the end of the war, the North and South continued to
disagree about the rights of Blacks Americans in individual states. A
few southern states passed legislation in 1865 to restrict the rights
of Black Americans to purchase property and segregated areas in
which they could live. Some southern states established curfews.
These restrictions were abolished the next year, when a group of
Northern congressmen led the way for the passage of the Civil
Rights Act of 1866. This law officially declared that blacks and
whites would share equal rights as citizens. The Civil Rights Act
acted as the basis of the Modern Civil Rights movement in America.
The 14th Amendment to the Constitution was passed later that
same year, in June of 1866. This law guaranteed that federal and
state laws would apply equally and unequivocally to both blacks and
whites.
Congress also insisted that Southern states could not be readmitted
to the Union unless they ratified the Amendment. Originally each
state refused to do so, with Tennessee being the exception. Finally
in 1868 the remaining 10 states also ratified the 14th Amendment
to the Constitution, accepting that blacks and whites would share
equal rights as citizens of the country.

Blacks helped in many ways during Reconstruction efforts. By 1867,

blacks were helping to create new laws and abolish old ones. Many
were elected into highly regarded political positions including spots
in the U.S. Senate.
Politcal disagreements between the North and South in regard to
race continued through 1870, when Congress passed the 15th
Amendment to the Constitution. The 15th Amendment guaranteed
blacks the right to vote.
Several Southern states tried to circumvent the new Amendment by
adding grandfather clauses to the Constitutions of ther individual
states in an attempt to stop blacks from voting. In 1915 and again
in 1939 these grandfather clauses were declared unconstitutional by
the Supreme Court of the United States.

Many great things happened for Black Americans in the South

during the Reconstruction efforts, but this success was short lived.
By 1877 Northern Troops had left the South and returned to their

homeland. Southern whites quickly regrouped and re-established

themselves politically and socially, replacing Blacks and Republicans

in influential political positions.

Areas became segregated and the rights of blacks were frequently

restricted, in blatent disregard for the Civil Rights Act of 1866.

The racial and political discord would continue into the 1960's and

Lead to the Civil Rights Movement led by Martin Luther King, Jr.