The Civil War, Reconstruction, and the Industrial Era

The Civil War, Reconstruction, and the Industrial Era

1. The Civil War (1861–1865)

• Root Causes: Sectional conflict over slavery, states' rights versus federal authority, and economic disparities between the agrarian South and industrialized North.
• Emancipation Proclamation (1863): President Abraham Lincoln declared all enslaved people in Confederate-held territory free, transforming the war into a crusade for human liberty.

2. Reconstruction (1865–1877)

• Reintegration of Southern states and ratification of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments.
• Ended with the Compromise of 1877, leading to the rise of Jim Crow segregation laws and disenfranchisement in the South.

3. The Gilded Age & Industrialization (Late 19th Century)

• Rapid expansion of railroads, steel (Carnegie), and oil (Rockefeller).
• Rise of labor unions fighting for 8-hour workdays, safer factory conditions, and the abolition of child labor.