If you subtract the obvious slaving issue and the acts against people like rape and murder, there were acts committed by both sides during and after the war that did nothing restore humanity, commerce, and unity.

The north implemented the woes of reconstruction on the south merely as a punitive measure as Lincoln was very opposed to reconstruction. After Lincoln assassination Johnson as well was relunctant to implement these policies but was ploitically pushed by several northern governors. Contrast that to the fear the American people have today as being viewed as "conquerors or occupiers" in the peace keeping/war actions we get involved in. If we tried to do to a country today what we did to the south our citizens would be up in arms. Reconstruction was implemented in an attempt to ensure that industrialization would stay in the north and not continue its southerly migration. This severly impacted the south, moreso than the war, and the result can be seen in the poverty level of the culture up until modern times when industry has finally abandoned the north and move south for tax relief, a less corrupt local/state government in regards to labor rights, and a hungry non-union employee pool. All reconstruction achieved is the current division between north and south mentality that Lincoln fought hard to repair.

The south changed from an overt mistreatment of blacks to the covert method of Jim Crow laws and intimidation. This can still be seen in the resentment many have for the south when in actually today blacks have more opportunity in the south than in the north. Exceptions do exists in some areas where education has not progressed due to funding or the impedance of a white faction that still clings to the illogical ideaology of separatism. Blacks, albeit free, suffered more economically and socially after the war. They were not all given the promised 40 acres and a mule, but instead were forgotten by a north that freed them and then turned their back on them rather than deal with their plight and basically returned them to the hands of their former taskmaster. Ironic. So for another 100 years they had to endure hardships of aggressive discrimination, no education, no culture, and apathy but had no "savior" who came to free them yet again. They had to start the process themselves in the 1960's. Another ironic fact is that before the war Ohio was formed as a state originally for freed blackmen to come. Once the war was over the some northern states implemented laws that prevented blacks from immigrating north thus giving them no aveneue of escaping the continuing mistreatment they were supposedly freed from.

A very good unbiased and true account of events around the war ( really our country as a whole ) can be found in "America: the First 350 Years" by J. Steven Wilkins. The run up to war , the war, and rescontruction are higly documented and enlightening. I highly suggest it for an accurate portrayal of our early history from before. It is a very long read or listen if you get the mp3.