The white south’s war against Reconstruction has left the north with a choice: double-down on protecting the rights of formerly enslaved people or abandon the project.

With the future of Reconstruction in the balance, the country spends four months awaiting the results of a bitterly contested election. Militia form, Governors discuss using national guard troops to overpower the army, and Congressmen begin carrying pistols for protection.

A makeshift bipartisan commission is formed, but it only sort of works. Many prepare for a second Civil War. An eleventh hour deal saves the Union but results in a major retreat on Reconstruction.

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