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Summary – The Fourth Pivotal Turning Point
Since the period of Reconstruction, America has paid a

heavy price because the leaders who followed President
Lincoln lost sight of his wisdom and compassion. Andrew

Johnson’s sympathies with former Confederates enabled
their swift return to power; thus, ushering in the era of

Jim Crowe. At the same time, the over-zealous revenge
and harsh retributions that Northern Republicans

imposed on the South forced southerners to endure a
gruesome and bitter life during the long period of

reconstruction. Like former slaves, they struggled to
survive; most Southerners lost all they had.

The actions of President Johnson and the GOP proved
tragic and long lasting. The misery they inflicted on

defeated southerners empowered Southern Democrats
to mask into hooded Ku Klux Klan regiments and use

violence to regain power. The Klan enforced the evils of
Jim Crowe that soon forced former slaves into
indentured servitude, a new form of slavery that lasted

nearly 80 years.

– The Fifth Pivotal Turning Point

Martin Luther King, Jr. proved to be the next pivotal

turning point. He emerged during the early 1950’s to
lead the restoration of civil rights that had been

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