The reconstruction was a great success educationally and a minor success politically. Economically, the reconstruction caused a revised and legal version of slavery that implicated long term social problems. In 1865, Congress established the Freedmen's Bureau which helped distribute food, supplies, medical care, and education to freedmen and white refugees. Its greatest success came from educational aide to about 200,000 African Americans. Failures were often derived from the re-establishment of slavery - legally - through labor contracts. These contracts were often impossible to fulfill because the landowner would claim “the sharecropper owes more than he has earned” (Document D). To pay the debt, the sharecropper must promise the landowner …show more content…
From Johnson's perspective, reconstruction was complete by 1865 but in reality, freed slaves still had no rights and Johnson tried to detain any forward moving actions of reconstruction. The republican congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866 which granted emancipated African Americans the right to sue, serve on juries, and other legal rights. Congress also passed the 13th amendment, abolishing slavery, and the 14th amendment, recognizing freed slaves as citizens (Document B). Opelousas, Louisiana responded to the amendments with the “Black Codes;” no African American enter the limits of the town unless a permit is cleared, no African American will rent or own a house or weapon in town, and no public meetings between African Americans are permitted, and all African Americans must be employed by a “white person” (Document C). Other legal issues pertained to the Ku Klux Klan or KKK. The members of this society pursued the idea that African Americans are meant to be enslaved and put in place to function properly in American society. At one point, the KKK’s violence become so prominent that military troops were ordered to protect freedmen. The political portion of reconstruction placed important laws but lacked in tremendously improving the political situation of African
After the civil war, the Federal government went to many lengths to try and help freedmen in former slave states. But these expansions were quickly terminated after Rutherford B. Hayes was elected in 1876. The South had started to limit the rights of blacks within the boundaries that the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments allowed. And the North started to turn a blind eye to all of the problems that existed in the South. (C)In the end, both states contributed to the end of reconstitution, but the South made more efforts to persecute blacks than the North did. Although both the North and the South were responsible for ending reconstruction, the South was mainly responsible for the end of reconstruction in the South.
Reconstruction was a time period of major change in the United States of America for both African Americans and White citizens. After the Civil War, the reconstruction process started out as a failure, but over the years turned into a huge success because of how African Americans were able to live normal lives. Overall, Reconstruction was a success because freedom and growth of equality for African Americans was increased greatly.
The original purpose of Reconstruction was to restore the buildings and the economy of the south the best they could, but without the immoral element of slavery. But, reconstruction under the Johnson Presidency was a failure for a few reasons: 1) Convict Leasing, 2) Sharecropping, 3) the Ku Klux Klan, 4) Segregation in schools, even in the North, 5) Carpetbaggers/Scalawags, 6) misleading statistics, and 7) racism.
Both Civil War and Reconstruction should be considered as a success because two important Civil War achievements outweighed its failures: destruction of slavery, which challenged ideas about citizenship, and openness of new doors of opportunity for women, which challenged traditional women roles and two important Reconstruction achievements that outweighed Reconstruction’s failures: the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, which produced positive changes in American political and racial relations.
Many people had different views and ideas about Reconstruction. There was much debate about how the Confederate states, which included Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia, should be readmitted into the Union. Some people believed that the states should be treated as territories, and others believed that the southern leaders should be punished instead of the states. Still, others believed that the South still belonged to the Union because secession was illegal. During the Civil War, on December 1863, President Lincoln announced his 10 % Plan for Reconstruction. Many Northerners considered it to be too mild, but the blacks condemned it for ignoring
True success is only accredited to the Civil Rights Movement while Reconstruction is considered a failure. This is from a multitude of reasons. First, Reconstruction was controlled by the federal government, not by the people. That meant less support and less passion. The Civil Rights Movement, on the other hand, was unofficial, but backed mainly by the people. This led to success as supporters were passionate and would persevere, unlike the government, Next, where the strength lay in both movements was different. In Reconstruction, the North/Republicans had military might, which wasn’t as effective as the force of reason and logic, used during the Civil Rights Movement. The ideals were stronger than any military could be. Lastly, the Civil Rights Movement wasn’t a deliberate push, a last stand, but rather a careful, planned movement, unlike Reconstruction, which was hastily done. This led to a great contrast in
Reconstruction was the time between 1863 and 1877 when the U.S. focused on abolishing slavery, destroying the Confederacy, and reconstructing the nation and the Constitution and is also the general history of the post-Civil War era in the U.S. between 1865 and 1877. Under Abraham Lincoln, presidential reconstruction began in each state as soon as federal troops controlled most of the state. The usual ending date is 1877, when the Compromise of 1877 saw the collapse of the last Republican state governments in the South
The North’s victory after four years of fighting in the Civil War in 1865 allowed the 13th amendment to pass, and eventually added the 14th and 15th amendment to the constitution. These abolished slavery and attempted to create equal rights among all people. The Reconstruction Act divided the South into separate military districts and formed governments based on male suffrage. The South and North had extremely different views on how to rebuild the South and how former slaves should be incorporated into the country as freed people. The process of the Reconstruction period of rebuilding the South proposed many new challenges. The efforts to ensure equal rights to the freedmen failed because of the acts that were passed to control the labor and
The civil war ended in 1865 but that wasn’t the end of their struggle. Slavery had been discontinued, and with it southerners were obligated to ratify the 14th amendment. Lots of changes happened between 1865 and 1877 mostly revolving around black equality. This period of time was called reconstruction. It altered they way we view blacks today, and at the time was a major event, especially for previous slave owners. A large portion of America was democratic and opposed slavery, many of them forming leuges aganist it. And when black people were freed there were 4 million people without jobs, and landowners without money to pay for workers. There were some of the many reasons why Congress’ Reconstruction was a sucessful one. Congress’ Reconstruction efforts failed because of the democrats whos appossed slavery, the men who created white leagues, and the scarcity of jobs.
Florwisse Innocent APUSH II MRS. BAIN Era Synthesis questions Reconstruction 1863-1877 2. Why did Lincoln win reelection in 1864 ?
After the Civil War the people of the nation especially the government wanted to help the newly freed African-Americans however something caused the ever-growing wave of equality to cave in on itself and retract. In the beginning many people were supportive of reconstruction. Laws like the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments were passed ensuring African-American citizenship and their civil rights. Schools and churches were quickly built for them and the former slaves were even gaining positions in the government. It all seemed great until the election of 1876 when Ruther B. Hayes a republican and Samuel J. Tilden a democrat ran for the presidency.
Reconstruction occurred from 1865 to 1877 in both the North and South, and the government's goals during this time period were to return the Southern States to the Union, rebuild the Southern economy, and to gain rights for African Americans. Reconstruction started once the Civil War ended. Although the war was over, throughout most of Reconstruction the Northern and Southern States were divided. There were different views on how to accomplish the goals set by the Federal government, and this brought conflict in the government and states. Many Southern and even some Northern white people also had an extreme dislike of African Americans which lead to African American rights not being completely enforced or created.
The Union and status of America was destroyed after the Civil War ended in 1865. A nation that was so split between views, that it brought war upon itself, had to learn to rebuild and reunite it’s people. The era of Reconstruction, from 1863 to 1877, aimed to do this. Historians often disagree with each other over whether the outcome of this era was positive or negative. Aspects to Reconstruction were both successes and failures.
After the Union’s victory in the Civil War during 1865, the era of Reconstruction began, an era in which the prospect of rebuilding the nation once again after the catastrophic effects of the war arose. During Reconstruction, African Americans were attempted to be integrated into American society, it was questioned on what terms Confederate states would be welcomed into the country, and the economy was meant to be fixed but all of this ultimately failed. Reconstruction was not successful in rebuilding the political, economical, and racial issues in the country post Civil War as there were even more racial and discriminatory issues, a damaged federal government, and an injured economy as well.
Reconstruction was a period which took place after the Civil War between 1865-1877, and it was a process by which former states of the Confederacy were “reconstructed” into the United States. Reconstruction was also a controversial period as the Blacks were not receiving the rights that they were promised due to which the Southerners were against Republicans, also the president, and the Congress did not agree on the same plan for Reconstruction. Reconstruction was a time in which America consisted of many leaders, goals, and accomplishments. Reconstruction did come to an end, but its outcome was distinguished as a failure, and as a success.