Reconstruction -- and the Rehearsal for Reconstruction
Reconstruction, literally speaking, started when the Civil War ended.
But before that came The "Rehearsal for Reconstruction." The Rehearsal era started in 1861 when Federal troops occupied the Sea Islands. The white planters fled, leaving thousands of Gullah slaves to their own devices. Northern teachers and missionaries, eager to prove that former slaves could become self sufficient, set up schools on the islands and helped prepare Sea Islanders for true independence.
YouTube has some interesting video related to that era:
Congressman Robert Smalls
Robert Smalls, a former slave, rose to prominence as a Civil War hero and later was influential in the reconstruction of the Sea Islands.
Laura Towne
Laura Towne was a teacher who founded Penn School, now known as Penn Center, or simply Penn. Penn was the first school for former slaves. One hundred years after the Civil War, Penn become a meeting place for Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Because of this history, Penn has become a mecca for people interested in social justice. The campus of Penn is a National Historic Landmark District.