The white south’s war against Reconstruction has left the north with a choice: double-down on protecting the rights of formerly enslaved people or abandon the project.
With the future of Reconstruction in the balance, the country spends four months awaiting the results of a bitterly contested election. Militia form, Governors discuss using national guard troops to overpower the army, and Congressmen begin carrying pistols for protection.
A makeshift bipartisan commission is formed, but it only sort of works. Many prepare for a second Civil War. An eleventh hour deal saves the Union but results in a major retreat on Reconstruction.
","author_name":"Nicholas Fogel"}