Final answer:
Reconstruction in the South was abandoned in 1877 due to several factors, including the resistance of white southerners to racial equality, the focus on more pressing economic issues, and the contested Presidential election of 1876.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Reconstruction era in the South was abandoned in 1877 for several reasons. One of the main reasons was that many white southerners were not willing to accept the equality of the races, and conservative southerners began to regain control of their state governments. Additionally, northerners grew tired of the focus on the South as economic issues, like the depression of 1873, took precedence. The contested Presidential election of 1876, between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel J. Tilden, also played a significant role in ending Reconstruction. Hayes ultimately became president through a Compromise, which involved the withdrawal of federal troops from the South.