It's been a while since I've studied this, but I think I can help. After the South lost, Lincoln had plans for "Reconstruction" of the South. Part of the point of Reconstruction was to forgive them for the crimes and return to normal life. Unfortunately many former Southern leaders later found government positions in their own states, which isn't a good idea for the enemies of the North to be given back power. As for the end of slavery, that was mostly true, except blacks still were persecuted by the Southern government and denied basic rights (as you're probably aware of). Many blacks ended up working in the same fields as they had done before although they weren't technically slaves. So they "forgot nothing" because they were pissed off at the North for the war and the fact that the South lost, and they were determined not to really change their attitude, I suppose. They learnt nothing because after losing to the North, they were immediately forgiven and essentially left unpunished despite four years of death and destruction. I'm sure there are smaller details that you should find, but that's basically what I understand as correct.
