托福阅读考试相关知识十五
Many northern politicians went to the South where they thought they could get power easily. These northerners were called *carpet-baggers. Both carpet-baggers and southern politicians were dishonest and stole money from the new governments, which hurt the South even more.
In 1870 the last three southern states were admitted to the Union again, and in 1877 the northern army finally left the South. The war lasted four years, but efforts to reunite the country took three times as long.
Effects of the Civil War
Differences between North and South are still strong. In the South the Confederate flag is still often used, and the state flags of *Georgia and *Mississippi were made to look similar to it. The state motto is Audemus jura nostra defendere, which is Latin for 'We dare to defend our rights'. The Civil War helped to end slavery, but long afterwards Blacks were still being treated badly, and race relations continue to be a problem. The South was so angry with the *Republicans, the party of Lincoln and Reconstruction, that southerners voted *Democratic for a century. The war showed strong differences between parts of the US, but many people believe that the most important thing it did was to prove that the US is one country.