Learn about a pivotal time in American history and its momentous effects on civil rights in America.

Reconstruction -- the period after the Civil War -- was meant to give newly freed Black people the same rights as white people. And indeed there were monumental changes once slavery ended -- thriving new Black communities, the first Black members in Congress, and a new sense of dignity for many Black Americans. But this time of hope didn't last long and instead, a deeply segregated United States continued on for another hundred years. Find out what went wrong in this fascinating overview of a troubled time.

Sherri L. Smith is the author of What Was the Harlem Renaissance?, Who Were the Tuskegee Airmen? and What Is the Civil Rights Movement? She currently lives in Los Angeles, California.