Reconstructing and Expanding America: Introduction
The end of the Civil War found the South in a state of devastation and destruction. Buildings and roads had been burned; even the government systems had been destroyed. The newly freed slaves were in a quandary of what to do. They did not own land and most could not read or write. Look at the picture of the paper mill in Richmond, Virginia. Damage like this was rampant throughout the South. It was going to take both time and a lot of money to rebuild the South and recover from the war. Historically, this would become known as the Reconstruction period.
Paper Mill in Richmond, Virginia after the Civil War
An industrial economy had already taken hold of European countries. The need for resources and labor to rebuild the South contributed to the need for expedited industrial growth in America. During the years after the Civil War, Americans also continued to move westward settling in lands acquired during the Louisiana Purchase. Americans needed to meet their manifest destiny and the federal government needed to monitor the needs of westward expansion as the South was being rebuilt. In this unit we will explore America after the Civil War and identify the people, resources, and technologies that contributed to the growth of industry and expansion.
Depiction of westward expansion