First, fuckity fuck fuck fucking fucking fuck cool guys say fuck a lot fucker fuck.

Yes, absolutely.

I guess I'll just take your word for it. I just don't see how it would have been possible with almost the complete absence of a strong and expansive federal government combined with a general commitment on both sides to state's rights, and the overall war-weariness of Northern voters.

… what the fuck do you think Reconstruction was?

A 10-year military enforcement that was flagging out there towards the end. You'd need to 20 - 30+ years minimum and the creation of a permanent federal admin presence to get to a point where the South's new way of life could normalize. I could talk about this some more but apparently we just say "yes" around here. My fault for not realizing this was a meme community before I posted. For fun, look into what it took to "reconstruct" Germany and Japan post-WW2.

Yes, absolutely. Sharecropping is not actually great for the economy, and the South would remain economically marginal to the USA for decades afterwards.

No generational occupation, no long-lasting reform. As wasn't discussed, because what good is conversation, the economics, politics, general belief in state's rights, Northerner's exhausted of war, the fact that the 15th Amendment was supported mainly as strategy for securing Republican political dominance in the South, that Northerners didn't generally favor social integration, all meant what would have been nice to have happened just didn't.

Yes. The only fucking reason Reconstruction ended in the first fucking place was a deal between the Democrats and Republicans over a disputed election.

This is you confusing what ought to be with what could have been. My question was very simple: given the the circumstances, what more could have be done? Certainly something, but enough to make modern American less of a "cesspool". Hindsight is fucking 20 fucking fucker 20, fucker fucking fuck shit.