Essay on Reconstruction

Reconstruction was the time period following the Civil War, which lasted from 1865 to 1877, in which the United States began to rebuild. The term can also refer to the process the federal government used to readmit the defeated Confederate states to the Union. While all aspects of Reconstruction were not successful, the main goal of the time period was carried out, making Reconstruction over all successful. During this time, the Confederate states were readmitted to the Union, the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments were ratified, and African Americans were freed from slavery and able to start new lives.

In “Reconstruction Revisited”, Eric Foner reexamines the political, social, and economic experiences of black and white Americans in the aftermath of the Civil War. With the help of many historian works, Foner gives equal representation to both sides of the Reconstruction argument.

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.

His stance on reconstruction was similar to Lincoln’s, in that he was not as harsh on the South as the Radical Republicans in Congress wanted. In May 1865, Johnson issued his Amnesty Proclamation, which required an oath of loyalty from former confederates, who would then be pardoned and have their property restored (except slaves) that had be confiscated by Federal officials during the war. The only people not included in this proclamation were high-ranking military and civilian Confederate officials and those who resigned their positions in the Federal government to serve the in the Confederacy. Johnson issued a second proclamation outlining his plan for how the states should go about getting themselves back into the Union. Under this plan, the President would appoint a governor to each state under reconstruction.

Congress passes the Reconstruction Act of 1867, which divided the South into districts and required Southern states to approve the 14th Amendment to grant blacks citizenship, before rejoining the Union. Later, congress gives African Americans the right to vote by ratifying the 15th Amendment. The Reconstruction established the South’s first state-funded public school systems, created a just taxation legislation, and passed laws against discrimination and economic development programs. The approach of Congress was different than Johnson’s plan, because they worked to improve the lives of African Americans by passing laws in their favor, and expanding their rights. Congress did not care what the South wanted, and expected the South to abide by their rules. On the other hand, Johnson wanted to preserve the nation, and did not want to do anything to anger the South. Moreover, he was a strong believer in states rights, and the idea that the federal government had no right to enforce restrictive laws on the entire country.

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

In 1866, Congress passed The Civil Rights Act of 1866 which allowed them to be genuine citizens and thus granted them federal protection under the law. Score for the blacks. Furthermore, the South was placed under military rule to ensure that this act was being enforced. During this tremendous time of freedom, blacks were allowed to vote and hold office – something that finally extended a voice and position in our country to their community. Meanwhile, whites were growing tired of all the nonsense. They wanted their beloved Old South back. Many refused to attend the integrated Reconstruction-era state constitutional conventions. Southern whites would use highly exaggerated and publicized incidences of “social injustices” to protect their claims of being thrown over to so-called negro domination. Any action was necessary that could help clinch their argument and overturn the Reconstruction

     One of the major issues of the Civil War was slavery, and even with a victory by the North, blacks rights did not improve very much. Throughout individual Southern states, Black Codes were passed in state legislatures to repress the suffrage of black males. “All freedmen, free Negroes, and mulattos…with no lawful employment or business… shall be fined… and imprisoned…” In an effort to counteract these laws, the federal government passed the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. These Amendments were only effective to a minimal degree, because the Southerners found other ways to restrict the opportunities of blacks. Southern whites organized secret societies such as the Ku Klux Klan to intimidate blacks and white reformers. Often times, violence was used by these secret societies to express their views. These Reconstruction policies dealing with blacks were not very efficient, for blacks did not receive equal

We can also say that, in a way, Republicans wanted reconstruction to change. There were bigger issues at hand and it was economically draining on the South. A lot of people up North did not like the fact that black Americans were soon sharing a social status with white Americans. The North was no safe space for blacks, there was still prejudice and unfair brutality. One of the only reasons the North was anti-slavery was because they simply did not use it, they used poor white people and other lower class minorities to boost the Northern Industrial work. But that did not stop the inherent prejudice that a majority of people had during that

The victory of the Civil War in 1865 may have given slaves their freedom, but the progression of rebuilding the South brought about a new set of substantial challenges for America. The death of President Abraham Lincoln took American by surprise. President Lincoln was not clear of his plan of Reconstruction; however, Lincoln did state that he had a simple plan for rebuilding. After the death of Abraham Lincoln everyone was confused on how to merge two pieces of the country back together. When Andrew Johnson took over presidency he made the decision to follow through with the simple plans that Abraham Lincoln had stated. However, the Congress had a different plan for Reconstruction; the Congress wanted to make the south pay for what they had done. The Congress and President Johnson had several similarities and differences in the reconstruction plan, the Republicans had strong determination to control the South and prior to 1877 the Republicans had

—Henry Ford. This was the Southern optimist’s view of what the results of post Civil War Reconstruction could be. Unfortunately, once the Congressional era of Reconstruction began, this view was squandered under federal punishment of the South. This policy led to strained relations between Congress and the ex-Confederate states. The difference of opinion was over how harshly the South should be punished for leaving the Union. The South wanted to be readmitted with as little friction as possible, so they sided with the Democrats, like Robert E. Lee, and Moderate Republicans. Congress on the other hand, being mostly controlled by Radical Republicans, believed

“In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, it is perhaps not surprising that historians turned renewed attention to home-grown American terrorism. Recent books on Reconstruction…have infused their subjects with drama by focusing on violent confrontations,” Eric Foner notes in the introduction of the updated edition to his 1988 publication Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877. Up until now, Foner’s revisionist historiography of Reconstruction was the only alternative offered to the Dunning School’s account of the important historical era. In recent years a neo-revisionist interpretation of Reconstruction has emerged in works by a younger generation of historians such as Gregory Downs, Carole Emberton, Hannah Rosen, Megan Kate Nelson and Jim downs. This new scholarship pays close attention to violence, the body, language, and gender—how these important themes directly relate to power, struggle, and political status of freedpeople in the postbellum nation—and either rethink or are completely uninterested in Foner’s revisionist narrative of Reconstruction.

As the great Civil War of 1861 came to a close many in our country knew a plan to rebuild and reconstruct our land and laws was needed. Unfortunately there were many opposing ideas of the correct Reconstruction plan making it difficult for our president to instate something concrete. It is well known that Lincoln, Johnson and the Radical Republicans all had similar but different ideas of what needed to be done. The ordeal was messy and heavily induced by the radical response and assassination of Lincoln, inducting Johnson into office. Many attempts to help those of lower class failed but some came through in the end. The ideas of Reconstruction were long and thought out but by the 1870s waned down to make room for

As a country, America has gone though many political changes throughout its lifetime. Leaders have come and gone, and all of them have had their own objectives and plans for the future. As history has taken its course, though, almost all of these “revolutionary movements” have come to an end. One such movement was Reconstruction. Reconstruction was a violent period that defined the defeated South’s status in the Union and the meaning of freedom for ex-slaves. Though, like many things in life, it did come to an end, and the resulting outcome has been labeled both a success and a failure.