Dictionary
re•con•struc•tion
Pronunciation: (rē"kun-struk'shun), [key]—
n.
1. an act of reconstructing.
2. (
cap.)
U.S. Hist.
a. the process by which the states that had seceded were reorganized as part of the Union after the Civil War.
b. the period during which this took place, 1865–77.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.