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White Reconciliation
(Winter 1866)
The president pardons Southerners and returns their lands, dismissing freed slaves' claims. (6:11)

The Cotton Economy
(1866)
To rebuild the Southern economy, planters are forced to hire their former slaves. (3:52)

Violence and Intimidation
(1866)
Southern whites use restrictive laws and murder to compel black submission. (3:27)

Sharecropping
(Spring 1866)
Landowner Fan Butler negotiates new labor arrangements with her former slaves. (4:52)

Making Something Out of Nothing
(Fall 1867)
Fan Butler struggles to make contracts with black laborers who are learning to assert their rights. (3:51)

The End of Reconstruction
(Spring 1877)
Republicans agree to abandon Reconstruction in a back-room political deal. (2:20)