The end of Reconstruction sets the United States up for the next phase of its development. That transition is the first topic of the U.S. History course you will take in high school. However, armed with your understanding of the E-S-P of Reconstruction, you can start "seeing" into that course right now.

In this section, you will review the different reasons for the end of Reconstruction and try and predict what happens next in the country’s history.

Gaze Into the Future

In this activity, you will "gaze" into the future with your E-S-P. A different prompt from Reconstruction will appear on the screen. In the text box below it, type in what you believe will happen to the United States as a result. Then, click on the ball to gaze into the future and learn what will happen. This is truly a test of your E-S-P!

Interactive exercise. Assistance may be required.

Economic: The United States enters the Long Depression, which reduces the prices of manufactured goods and the prices of crops. Factory workers and farmers are particularly hurt.

 

Political: The Republican party finds its popularity really hurt by all of the scandals and the way that Hayes was chosen to be president.

 

Social: White Southerners continue to oppress African Americans with organizations like the Ku Klux Klan and treat them like second-class citizens.

 

Social & Economic: Americans focus on the West as a source of new opportunities and chance for success. The remaining frontier is home to hundreds of thousands of American Indians.

Social & Economic: Americans start looking at cities as railroads pour people and goods there from all over the country with plenty of work in factories.

Putting It All Together

By 1877, the United States had come a long way since the first colonists set foot on the shores of Virginia and Massachusetts in the early 17th century. It was poised to undergo a period of remarkable economic growth and change and eventually become the most powerful country in the world. Yet, it would still face problems at home, particularly with its treatment of racial and ethnic minorities as well as its indigenous peoples. Some of its future development could have been predicted by the way Reconstruction ended. Other developments could not.

Regardless of how well you predicted the future, without using a little of the E-S-P, you would not have been able to see any of the history!