The Reconstruction period is the twelve years after the civil war that was a difficult time for the U.S.which was in place from 1865 to 1877. The Reconstruction was centered around rebuilding the U.S after the civil war and granting African Americans more rights. The James Byrd trial shows how the Reconstruction period was successful because his family was able to put his murder on trial. This era allowed him, as an African American man, to have the same rights and freedoms as a citizen of the U.S as stated in the fourteenth Amendment. A black man's life being able to be put on trial during the Reconstruction period shows how racial issues have been decreasing, and showing how Amendments made during this time had an increase in freedoms for
