The Struggle for Reconciliation and Control

Abstract

Chapter 4 chronicles the period of political Reconstruction in the post-Civil War years, from 1865 to about 1874. Despite the formal end of war, the region did not see an end to bloodshed, as former rebels and Federals continued to struggle for political and social control in their neighborhoods and counties. The experiences of Arkansas and Missouri continued to diverge in the postwar era, with Arkansas and other former Confederate states falling under congressional Reconstruction in 1867. The chapter includes a discussion of the experience of uncertain freedom for emancipated slaves.