After four years of fighting between the Union and Confederacy in the American Civil War, it was finally decided in 1864 that the 11 Southern states that had seceded from the nation would been restored back into the Union. However, the problems of rebuilding the Union were just as difficult as the war itself had been. Since most of the war was fought on Southern territory, the South had been devastated both physically and economically. Helping former slaves and making state governments loyal to the Union also presented various problems that would take years to resolve. The primary focus of Reconstruction after the Civil War would, in my Reconstruction plan, be based primarily on the integration of freed African Americans into Southern society. Many problems faced by Southerners leading up to the Civil War and following it centered on racial hatred and slavery. When this factor is removed from Southern society, the re-entry of the former Confederate states into the union should be much easier. Additionally, former Confederates should be afforded the rights like any other citizen of the United States. They should not be imprisoned, fined, banned or discriminated against in any way. Too harsh punishment for Confederates would only cause a heightened sense of hatred and unnecessary sectionalism, making the South feel more oppressed than it already is. It didn't matter whether they were high-ranking generals or common soldiers, in my plan they would be treated like any other Americans. In fact, General Robert E. Lee, the leading Confederate general of the Civil War, did not share similar beliefs with most Confederates at the time. He fought only for his loyalty to his home state of Virginia. Furthermore, the ex-confedera... at the center of the card... is the delicate period of reconstruction. Union troops should be stationed at voting booths to ensure blacks' right to vote. If necessary, Union soldiers would also have a role in keeping freedmen safe from hate groups like the KKK. However, the main goal is to show as little violence as possible and slowly withdraw Union troops as the South stabilizes. The presence of Union soldiers is very important in protecting the rights of freedmen in the South. Although rebuilding a destroyed country may at first seem like a daunting task, my plan is simplified by the fact that it is based on integrating freedmen into the Southern society, and the South in the rest of the country's society. Factors such as Union troops enforcing nonviolence in the South and heavy fines for acts of racial hatred should help the South adapt to reconstruction in short order according to my plan.