2) The reconstruction

After Lincoln was killed, the vice-president, Andrew Johnson, became the new president. Johnson appointed provincial governors for the former confederate states. And although they were forced to accept the end of slavery, southern governments created 'black codes' which limited black peoples rights, such as the right to vote or to sit on juries. Southern whites were completely unwilling to accept the former slaves as equals. There were a lot of conflicts at that time. Furthermore in 1866-1867 the Ku Klux Klan was formed to terrorize black people. Klansmen wearing their ghostlike costumes would gather in the yard and burn the cross. If the Black man went to vote in the next election, they would kill him by tying a rope around his neck and hanging him from a tree. They played an important role in restoring white rule by scaring black people into not voting.

After the Black people stopped voting, the state governments in the South passed several laws that in slang were called the Jim Crow laws. These laws were designed to separate white people from Blacks. These laws said that there had to be separate schools for Black and white children. Black people could not eat in the same restaurant as white people. On the railroads, Black people could not ride in the same carriage as white people. Even in public places, separate drinking fountains had to be installed. This system was called segregation. Segregation violated the 14th amendment. It was not until after World War II that President Eisenhower began to enforce the 14th amendment.

3) The rise of the superpower

After the Civil War, there were many new inventions. In 1866, Cyrus W. Field was able to lay a cable across the Atlantic Ocean. This made it possible to send telegrams between Europe and America.

By 1900 the population of the USA was almost 76 million. Immigrants from Europe poured into the country hoping for a better life. Many people were lured by the Homesteader Act of 1862. Settlers were offered 160 acres of land free provided they agreed to till it for 5 years. (However Chinese immigration into the USA was ended by the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882).

Between 1870 and 1880, Alexander Graham Bell worked on inventing the telephone. By 1880, his telephone was good enough so that rich people and businesses began installing them. By 1900, there were nearly half a million telephones in America.

An important development during this period was electricity. Between 1870 and 1880, they began bringing electricity into the cities. By the end of the century, 2774 cities and towns had electricity. In addition to lighting buildings and streets, electricity was used for power. Electric elevators were invented and installed in taller buildings. In addition, electric trams were invented. These replaced the horse drawn trams in the cities. Transportation in the cities became much faster. During the 1890's, they began building a subway system in New York. The subways were rapid and effective. Today, the subway stations in New York are very old and ugly.

American industry also boomed. In the late 19th century the USA was the fastest growing industrial nation in the world. By the end of the century it had surpassed Britain in production of iron and steel. The American railroad network also grew rapidly. In 1850 there were 9,000 miles of railways. By 1900 there were 190,000 miles. The first transcontinental railroad was built in 1869.

An important invention near the end of the nineteenth century was refrigeration. They began building refrigerated freight cars for the railroads. This made it possible to send food long distances without the food spoiling. The meat packing industry developed. Chicago became the first meatpacking center. Live cows and pigs from the West were sent to the stockyards in Chicago. There they were butchered and cut up into meat.

Meanwhile, in 1859, Edwin Drake (1819-1899) found oil in Pennsylvania. Soon there was a flourishing oil industry in Pennsylvania. The first oil pipeline was built in 1865.

In 1896, Henry Ford built his first automobile and a factory to make them.

Meanwhile American agriculture continued to boom. It was helped by new technology. Cyrus McCormick invented a mechanical reaper in 1834. John Deere (1804-1886) invented the steel plough in 1838. In 1854 the first successful self-governing windmill was made.

This was also the period when sports began to take their modern form. Baseball was really a folk game. We know of more than two hundred teams that existed at the end of the Civil War.

In 1872, Congress established Yellowstone National Park. Located mostly in northwestern Wyoming, it covers 8992 square kilometers. The park has more than 3000 geysers and hot springs. Some of the geysers throw up hot water to heights of more than twenty meters. Yellowstone National Park was the first national park to be established anywhere in the world.

So it was the time when people were trying to forget the past and move on to the future.