Reconstruction The period that occurred following the Civil War is known as Reconstruction. In the South, during this period of time many people suffered. There was great amount of property damage done to such things as farms, factories and railroads. Many other things were destroyed that citizens depended upon to keep their economy strong. Some economic hardships included destruction of the credit system and worthlessness of the Confederate money. Though statistics in the South were vague, historians say that 750,000 individuals would be a reasonably close estimate of Southern enrollments in the arm