Allen C. Guelzo | Time

In this image from the U.S. Library of Congress, the funeral procession for U.S. President Abraham Lincoln moves down Pennsylvania Avenue on April 19, 1865, in Washington, D.C. The absence of Lincoln was one of the factors that allowed Reconstruction to fail.

Reconstruction Didn't Fail. It Was Overthrown

But Reconstruction might have turned out a good deal worse than it did

But Reconstruction might have turned out a good deal worse than it did