How did the Reconstruction governments in the South reflect the social changes of the time period? (1866-1868)

One of the major social changes that was going on in the
South during this time was an effort to modernize the region and bring it out of its
somewhat backward antebellum state.  The desire to do this, combined with the reluctance
on the part of some in the South to embrace the changes, was reflected in the
Reconstruction governments.

One of the main things these
governments were trying to do was to improve the lives of all Southerners by making the
economy more egalitarian and by providing more in the way of government services.  This
is why, for example, the Reconstruction governments created the first comprehensive
public school systems.  They wanted to educate all the people where most children (even
among whites) in the prewar South had not gone to
school.

At the same time, however, the governments
reflected reluctance among some Southerners to change.  Many of the so-called scalawags
were in no way eager to embrace black rights.  This meant that the governments were not
completely behind social changes of this sort.

In short,
then, the Reconstruction governments reflected the desire to modernize the South, along
with the reluctance on the part of many to take the change too
far.