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Section 2: Building the Black Community: The Family Section 2: Building the Black Community: The Church Section 2: Building the Black Community: The School Section 2: Quest for Economic Autonomy and Equal Rights Section 2: Memory and Mourning Section 2: Violence


The Ruins of Richmond, 1865.

The Ruins of Richmond, 1865.
(Chicago Historical Society)

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At the close of the Civil War, the main business section of Richmond, the Confederate capital, lay in ruins, resulting from devastating fires set by looters, merchants, and Confederate troops fleeing the advance of the Union army.
Copyright 2003
A New Birth of Freedom: Reconstruction During the Civil War The Meaning of Freedom: Black and White Responses to Slavery From Free Labor to Slave Labor Rights and Power: The Politics of Reconstruction Introduction The Ending of Reconstruction Epilogue Additional Resources Credits for this Exhibit