Was Reconstruction a Noble Experiment?

By Thorpe, Francis Newton, 1857–1926 [No restrictions], via Wikimedia Commons

Was Reconstruction a noble experiment that failed, a vengeful Northern punishment of the South, or the best that could have been expected under the circumstances? This is a very interesting question and one I had to think about during a college class. We are taught that it was a good thing for the South. It was reconstruction after all. But what one considers noble can be seen as destructive and evil to the other side.