reconstruction

[ ree-kuhn-struhk-shuhn ]

noun

1. the act of reconstructing, rebuilding, or reassembling, or the state of being reconstructed:

   the gigantic task of reconstruction after a fire.

2. something reconstructed, rebuilt, or reassembled:

   a reconstruction of the sequence of events leading to his death; accurate reconstructions of ancient Greek buildings.

3. (initial capital letter) U.S. History.
   1. the process by which the states that had seceded were reorganized as part of the Union after the Civil War.
   2. the period during which this took place, 1865–77.

Reconstruction

/ ˌriːkənˈstrʌkʃən /

noun

1. history the period after the Civil War when the South was reorganized and reintegrated into the Union (1865–77)

Reconstruction

1. The period after the Civil War in which the states formerly part of the Confederacy were brought back into the United States. During Reconstruction, the South was divided into military districts for the supervision of elections to set up new state governments. These governments often included carpetbaggers , as former officials of the Confederacy were not allowed to serve in them. The new state governments approved three amendments to the Constitution : the Thirteenth Amendment, which outlawed slavery; the Fourteenth Amendment , which had a provision keeping some former supporters of the Confederacy out of public office until Congress allowed them to serve; and the Fifteenth Amendment, which guaranteed voting rights for black men. Once a state approved the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments, it was to be readmitted to the United States and again represented in Congress. The official end of Reconstruction came in 1877, when the last troops were withdrawn from the South.

Notes

The program established for Reconstruction, largely the work of Republicans in the North, was far more severe than what President Abraham Lincoln had proposed before his assassination. Large numbers of white southerners resented being kept out of the “healing” of the nation that Lincoln had called for and were unwilling to give up their former authority. Ill feeling by former Confederates during Reconstruction led to the formation of the Ku Klux Klan and a long-standing hatred among southerners for the Republican party .

Other Words From

• recon·struction·al recon·struction·ary adjective
• pre-Re·con·struction noun adjective
• self-recon·struction noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of reconstruction¹

First recorded in 1785–95; re- + construction

Example Sentences

In a rare interview, the senior UN Coordinator for Humanitarian Action and Reconstruction in Gaza said the systems to deliver assistance - including through multiple land and sea routes into Gaza - were now in place.

From BBC

You have sections addressing the era of slavery and Reconstruction, the "Posse Comitatus" movement and the recent phenomenon of the "constitutional sheriff."

From Salon

Board, the Supreme Court actually asked the parties if they could provide supplemental briefing on how the Reconstruction Congress would have understood the 14th Amendment to apply to segregated schools.

From Salon

Leevy Johnson, who became the first Black House member since Reconstruction in 1971 and went on to become the first Black leader of the South Carolina Bar the same year Finney joined the Supreme Court.

From Seattle Times

Reconstruction is expected to take four years and cost at least $20 million — a price tag that does not include a new plot of land in a very expensive area.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• rehabilitation
• reorganization
• repair
• restoration