Dear Ms. Sara,

You may want to venture away from your local library to do research on Reconstruction in Tennessee. As you may know, the period known as Reconstruction was a traumatic time for the American South. East Tennessee, in particular, had a terrible time. Below are two recommended books that look at some of the issues for the region that also are applicable to other areas of the state.

War at Every Door: Partisan Politics & Guerrilla Violence in East Tennessee, 1860-1869. by Noel C. Fisher

Mountain Rebels: East Tennessee Confederates & the Civil War, 1860-1870. by W. Todd Groce

You will also want to look at the governor of Tennessee at the time by the name of William G. "Parson" Brownlow. His policies of retribution, failure to enforce equal justice, etc., set the conditions of organizations like the Ku Klux Klan to come to prominence.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Respectfully,

Gerald D. Hodge, Jr.
War Between the States Historian
Historian: http://39thgavolinfrgt.homestead.com/39thHomepage.html
Warner Robbins, Georgia