A Serious Moment

How does one transition from being a rebel country back to being a part of a united country?

It might have been different if Lincoln had not been assassinated.  It might have been oh, so much easier.  The horrors of carpetbaggers and reconstruction and racism might have been avoided.

But the federal government couldn't deal with "might have been."  They had reality staring them in the face, and they had to deal with it then and there.  To think of it as a whole had to be mindboggling. 

Step one was addressed by U.S. Grant when he instructed the Union army to grant permission to Confederate soldiers to simply "go home."  Passes were issued to each soldier individually:

The next problem was where to put the suddenly-freed slaves all across the south.  They had no money, certainly no savings, and much of the southern cities, landscape and wealth had been obliterated by the war, so ways to earn money were few and far between.  Northern abolitionist groups came to the rescue of some by funding housing and schools.  (Interesting how the federal government didn't jump in and spend taxpayer dollars for this.  It allowed private organizations to meet the needs.)

Much like the "Continental" in 1776, the Confederate money became absolutely worthless so even white men were penniless.  Once-wealthy plantation owners (think "Gone With The Wind") lost their lands and homes because they had no money to pay the taxes - and now no slaves to plant the crops to harvest to earn the money to pay the taxes.  Tens of thousands of men had been killed during the Civil War and their widows and children had no way to earn a living.

Segregation became the norm, so separate schools and restaurants and libraries had to be built.

Free elections had to be held, state constitutions had to be rewritten addressing all the issues involved with ending slavery.

Issues large and small HAD to be addressed.  Scattered through the Greensboro Historical Museum were clues to how all of this was accomplished.  I'm sure it was painful for everyone in the United States - and the pain lasted for a long, long time.