![RECONSTRUCTION: AMERICA AFTER THE CIVIL WAR](https://image.pbs.org/contentchannels/6TFa4Ok-black-logo-41-lxI7faK.png)
Reconstruction | Part 1, Hour 1
The aftermath of the Civil War was bewildering, exhilarating . . . and terrifying. African Americans had played a crucial role in saving the Union and now, as the country grappled with the terms and implications of Reconstruction, they struggled to breathe life into their hard-won freedom. The result was a second American Revolution.