This is an extremely complex issue, but most historians agree tat Reconstruction was an overall failure, since although the African Americans were technically free from slavery, many states in the South implemented a series of "Jim Crow" laws that kept the newly-freed slaves from being equal members of society. <span />
Answer:
The southern states reacted to Lincoln's win by seceding from US. They believed he would abolish slavery.
South Carolina was the first state to secede. The South said, "If Lincoln wins, we secede".
