The Reconstruction Era, the period in American history that lasted from 1865 to 1877 following the American Civil War (1861–65), marked a significant chapter in the history of civil rights in the United States. Reconstruction ended the remnants of Confederate secession and abolished slavery, making the newly freed slaves citizens with civil rights ostensibly guaranteed by three new constitutional amendments. Reconstruction also refers to the attempt to transform the 11 Southern former Confederate states, as directed by Congress, and the role of the united states in that transformation.
Three visions of Civil War memory appeared during Reconstruction:
the reconciliation vision, rooted in coping with the death and devastation the war had brought
the White supremacist vision, which included racial segregation and the preservation of White political and cultural domination in the South
the emancipationist vision, which sought full freedom, citizenship, male suffrage, and constitutional equality for African Americans[2]
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Exhibit Activity:
Who is Corrie Drake Stimpson?
Are the Stimpson and Stimson families the same?
What do the logs from the books represent? What do these census records show about life during this Reconstruction era?
What did you learn from the Marriage Records? What pattern do you see?
What do you notice bout the records of death for people categorized as Blacks & Mullatos?
Sources:
Plano Public Library
Collin County Census