Reconstruction efforts after the Civil war have been recognized as a political success however, there are a lot of things that could have been done differently.
Most important for the African-American community. While slavery was completely abolished throughout the country, most former slaves could not find decent living, especially along the bible belt.
Due to rampant racism still in place, African-American community was marginalized in ghettos, taking up small jobs if available.
My main focus would have been to ensure that all these freed people had the same basic rights and opportunities by law.
