The Civil War was one of the bloodiest wars in American history. Its damage to America was profound. It tore at the very fiber of America itself. The Reconstruction Era however was as damaging to America as the Civil War itself. Its damage has its roots in the reasons America went to civil war. In the time leading up to the Civil War the south was unhappy so they decided to leave the Union. They thought it was okay to leave if they were unhappy, while the North thought it was wrong. So the two sides went to war. After all was said and done the North had won and now faced the difficult task of reincorporating the South in to the Union once again, as well as rebuilding the South after being torn apart by the war. It was widely believed that Reconstruction was successful, when in fact, as stated by Eric Foner, it was a complete failure. It changed very little in the South.
             After the Civil War, America was a nation in crisis. The crisis that was faced by all America tore deep in to everyday life. The crisis faced by Congress was what to do with the states that had left the Union. How should they be let in; should they be let in at all; what do they have to do in order to be readmitted in to the Union? These were some of the questions that came before congress along with how they could keep the rebel leaders out of power to prevent this from happening again. If the Confederate leaders were to be left alone would they try to rebel once again?
             Another problem faced by America was the fact that Abraham Lincoln was dead and now Andrew Johnson was President. Neither the North nor the South liked him. His policies on Reconstruction upset so many that Congress attempted to impeach him, falling short by one vote on the necessary 2/3 of Congress needed to impeach a president. Johnson was a Southerner who was in office when the war broke out, got caught going against the South. This immediately alienated him from th
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