Final answer:
Reconstruction is relevant even today as it laid the groundwork for the civil rights struggles of the 1960s and onwards, marking the beginning of what is known as the Second Reconstruction. Despite initial gains, earlier failures necessitated continued efforts to ensure racial equality and civil rights for African Americans, making Reconstruction's legacy a cornerstone of ongoing social change.
Step-by-step explanation:
The legacy of Reconstruction is relevant to contemporary discussions about racial equality and civil rights. Although the Reconstruction era, from 1865 until 1877, was a time of significant political and social change, it failed to sustain the advances made, especially for African Americans. This failure translated into the continuous struggle for civil rights that we observed resurging during the Second Reconstruction, particularly in the 1960s, with landmark federal legislation targeting discriminatory practices such as voter suppression and segregation.
The period known as the Second Reconstruction refers to the mid-20th-century civil rights movement, where the federal government finally acted to dismantle many of the institutional barriers to racial equality that had persisted since the first Reconstruction. Establishing civil rights through legal means was a crucial part of the process, as was the broader societal shift towards recognizing the equality of all citizens, regardless of race. Therefore, understanding Reconstruction's legacy is essential to knowing why civil rights remain a vital aspect of American society today.