Yes, the federal government would have had to maintain troops in the south for much longer and probably in greater numbers, and by the end of Reconstruction there just wasn't electoral support for it anymore. And maybe then it would have worked out?
But it's also possible that violence would have erupted when the Union forces pulled out, even if it happened decades after the war ended. There are other historical examples of violence erupting after an occupying force leaves. But who knows! This is the frustrating thing about historical what-ifs: maybe things could have gone better, but they also might have just gone bad differently.
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Date: 2019-10-29 08:31 pm (UTC)But it's also possible that violence would have erupted when the Union forces pulled out, even if it happened decades after the war ended. There are other historical examples of violence erupting after an occupying force leaves. But who knows! This is the frustrating thing about historical what-ifs: maybe things could have gone better, but they also might have just gone bad differently.