Existing comment:
Reconstruction
During the decade following the Civil War, former Confederate states were required to "reconstruct" their state governments before reentering the Union.
When Virginia's immediate postwar government restricted the rights of former slaves, Congress placed the commonwealth under military rule until a new constitution could be adopted. The "Underwood Constitution" was adopted in 1870; it reformed the tax system, created a system of free public schools, and recognized the 14th and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. By 1890, however, white legislators restored white supremacy through segregation. |