Was Reconstruction more 3T than 1T?

[David Horn]

(10-13-2022, 02:44 PM)JasonBlack Wrote: Unlike past and subsequent 1Ts, Reconstruction was an era of rugged self-determination and personal freedom, rather than trust, conformity and optimism. In place of collectivistic Civics leading the rebuilding of society, we had gritty,  individualistic Reactives (Gilded Generation), who chose to focus their rebuilding efforts primarily on industry and private enterprise.

All of this sounds more like a 3T to me than a 1T.

That's a bit of a selective reading of the times.  The real issue with Reconstruction: it never really happened.  The South degraded into a neo-antebellum version of itself, with former slaves still under the thumb of the upper-classs whites, and lower-class whites only a small step above them.  Is it any surprise that the North decided to say "screw this" and did just what you noted.  

But it was only the nominal victors who turned their backs on the mess.  The south never quit and never forgot.  We're still dealing with that to this day, and it's getting really ugly again!