Charles Oscar Paullin, Reconstruction, 1861-1877 (1932)

This map, created by Charles Oscar Paullin for the 1932 Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States shows the boundaries of Confederate states and the dates when (a) Reconstruction governments were established, (b) states were readmitted to the Union, and (c) conservative governments were established. Conservative government refers to the political coalition of white Democrats who sought to "redeem" the South from the reforms brought about through "radical" Reconstruction, the period following the Civil War when Congress was dominated by so-called Radical Republicans who were focused on more equal rights for African-Americans. The map reveals the process by which Reconstruction efforts in the South waned throughout the 1870s, giving way to a rise in Jim Crow laws, Black disenfranchisement, and white supremacy.