Answer:
Reconstruction Era refers to the period from the end of the Civil War in 1865 to 1877, when the defeated southern states were ruled by the federal government. Following the Civil War, the Federal Government was faced with three main problems concerning the defeated Confederacy: the political reconciliation and readmission of the southern states of the Union, the economic reconstruction of the south, and the training and support for the freed slaves.
The southern states were placed under the US Army, which managed the territories as military occupation zones. The losers were treated harshly during this time and many who held leading positions in the Confederacy, both politically and militarily, lost both homes and jobs. Others were prevented from voting, which together with a radical black American suffrage campaign and the immigration of white Republicans from the north led to the Republican Party gaining an important position in the traditionally democratically dominated south.