Well I recently started working on a post-civil war southern gothic/western I find period pieces fascinating Im still working on how to approach elements of history with fiction interwoven into the story.
The obvious (to me) strategy is to research the period, decide on a specific year and locations (general or specific), and then more targeted research. Become, if not an expert, at least very knowledgeable about the real world setting. But the first goal has to be to narrow your focus to withing a couple years of your target time, and within a few tens of miles of locations in your story. Whether you decide to fictionalize the setting from there is your choice, but at least your decision will be an informed one. Either way, you will have something substantial to share with your readers.
I love this era! I would recommend reading up on what was going on just after the Civil War. I will share what I can remember. The period after the Civil War was known as 'Reconstruction', where the US initiated a strategem to get the seceded states back into the Union. President Andrew Johnson, if I recall correctly, had Civil War generals swear fealty to the Union before he would grant them pardons and recognize them as US citizens again. (Triva: Lee didn't get his until the Gerald Ford administration!!) Despite the south no longer having slaves, the southerners still pulled many tactics to control the blacks such as the Jim Crow laws and mandatory literacy tests to be allowed to vote. We also see a rise in violence against the blacks, sadly, with the Ku Klux Klan. Also, the term 'carpetbaggers' was coined in this period, meaning a Northerner who came to the south to seek political or commercial gains. I'd help you more, but you should tell us more about your story. Who is the protag? What is the plot? Unless we know, we can't help you figure out how to weave this period of history into your story. EDIT: Er, I am assuming you meant after the American Civil War, not another civil war, yes?
I'm 160 years old. Understand that it has been a long, long time since all that happened, so I'll record what I can remember. Mind, I'll have to use the internet to help me out.
