Dbq Essay On How Reconstruction Affected American Society

When blacks were given the right to vote, it was only somewhat successful. Many blacks did use their new political power to vote as it is shown in Harper's Weekly (Document G), but whites still tried to stop them. Literacy tests, grandfather clauses, and fear caused by the Ku Klux Klan were used to keep blacks from exercising their right to vote. Another issue of reconstruction was the banking and currency system. In an attempt to uniform the currency, Senator John Sherman gave a speech saying that with "a currency and a medium of exchange, we shall have a broader and more generous nationality" (Document B). At the time many states had their own currency and a change needed to be made to unite the states. A sense of nationality was needed as the nation was in turmoil after the attempted secession of the South. Reconstruction came to an end in 1877 with the Compromise of 1877. Rutherford Hayes became president for agreeing to end federal support for Southern Republicans and building a transcontinental railroad. In this compromise he also withdrew troops from the South. This, along with the rejection of laws protecting blacks from discrimination, brought reconstruction to an end in 1877.

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.

After the northern voters rejected Johnson’s policies in the congressional elections, Republicans in Congress took firm hold of Reconstruction in the South. Congress passed the Reconstruction Act later, it temporarily divided the South in five districts and outlined how governments based on universal (male) suffrage were to be organized. This law also required the states in the South to ratify the 14th amendment. The definition of citizenship was expanded by granting all of the slaves “equal protection” of the Constitution before the slaves could join the Union. By 1870, all of the slave states had been welcomed to the Union. In this period the african-americans won the election against the southern governments and even the U.S. Congress.

Reconstruction (1867-1877) under Congress was a fast tightening of a noose in the South. Congress no longer trusted Andrew Johnson’s loose plan for Reconstruction, so they began closing in on their plans. Radical Republicans made many lasting impacts in this period. Under Congress, the 14th and 15th Amendment was created, guaranteeing rights to African Americans. A newly created Freedmen’s Bureau help create many schools and colleges, lasting up to modern times. African Americans held power in office, although they were quickly brought down by the Ku Klux Klan’s terrorism. The main path Reconstruction took was based on the government’s plans. There

Reconstruction could be considered one of the largest projects ever undertaken. The mess that was the south, left in the ruins of a bloody war, called for drastic measures. The inquisition that begs to be asked is whether or not this venture was a success. Unfortunately the answer isn't as simple as "yes" or "no". Although many promises were broken, the much-debated goals of Reconstruction are still present in the minds of today's leaders as we continue to rebuild our country.

During the Civil War and the reconstruction period, Congress had been debating over the fact that colored people were denied certain actions in society. For starters, they were denied the certain right to vote. Because of this, Congress decided to create the 15th amendment which allowed African Americans to vote without being denied by the Federal government or state. The state were now becoming anti-slavery due to the North’s winning of the Civil War. Because the South had lost, there was

During a time of convolution and commotion, every citizen had a different answer to inquiries about the essence of liberty and equal opportunity. Because of these differences, Reconstruction was legislatively a victory, but socially and economically a catastrophe. Although the successes of Reconstruction were few, the impact created set the foundation for movements to come. Initially, from 1865 to 1866, President Johnson’s Reconstruction-

The key goals of Reconstruction were to readmit the South into the Union and to define the status of freedmen in American society. The Reconstruction era was marked by political, not violent, conflict. Some historical myths are that the South was victimized by Reconstruction, and that the various plans of Reconstruction were corrupt and unjust. Actually, the plans were quite lenient, enforcing military rule for only a short period of time, ignoring land reform, and granting pardons easily. The task of Reconstruction was to re-integrate America into a whole nation, securing the rights of each man and establishing order once again. There were three major Reconstruction

Imagine being a soldier in the Civil War, fighting with a great risk of dying, and then, somehow win the war. Since winning the war, slaves had been freed and the United States would start rebuilding itself. Former slaves were even able to get jobs and become part of the government. However, after several years of rebuilding, there is still more things to do. Then, all of the sudden, the rebuilding stops and no one knows why. Racism was making a comeback, even more so fierce than before the Civil War. There was even talk of a second Civil War, and People started wondering if it was the North or South who had stopped this great rebuilding. Recently, there has been talk about who had caused the end. However, because of the North having the most power, them getting sick of carpetbagging government/“Negro Question”, and also deciding on slaves having a probation period, it is clear that the North was the problem to Reconstruction.

Finally, the social aspect of Reconstruction created problems such as violence and unbalance between African American and southern Confederates. Black rights and freedoms upset many white southerners who had ordered slaves around for years and caused retaliation from former Confederates. Violent hate groups began to form such as the Knights of the White Camelia, or the more well known Ku Klux Klan (Jackson n.p). These organizations sought to maintain white supremacy by suppressing blacks and government officials in favor of black rights. Methods of lynching, hanging, attacks on public jailing systems, and other forms of violence spread through the South (History.com n.p). Perhaps some consider land redistribution an effective solution

Throughout this time, the ranking of freedman was significantly increased, and by 1868; many state legislatures had African American delegates. All of America, as well as the South, had to be rebuilt, and, despite the South's hostile resistance, African-Americans were slowly and gradually becoming part of this nation. The long-awaited citizenship for Blacks was confirmed in 1868, by the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. By 1870, the 15th Amendment had been added to the Constitution, which gave blacks the right to vote. The 15th Amendment forbids the states from denying the right to vote to any person on account of race, color, or previous condition of

The period of Reconstruction began during the Civil War and ended in 1877. This era is known for the advancements made in favor of racial equality. These improvements included the fourteenth amendment (citizenship and equal protection under the law to blacks) and the fifteenth amendment (voting rights for blacks) of the Constitution. Yet, with the end of Reconstruction in 1877, the Republican Party lost control of the southern governments and the Democratic Party took over. This shift in power was supposed to mark the beginning of the "New South" in which the virtues of thrift, industry, and progress would become the model characteristics of the South. However, the changes in the South from 1877-1900 reflected traditional attitudes and

Reconstruction was a period of time after the Civil War (1865-1877) that was supposed to be the rebuilding of America. It was also the process used to readmit all the Confederate states back into the Union. There was controversy, however, on how to go about rebuilding the nation. Abraham Lincoln proposed a lenient plan. After he was assassinated, Andrew Johnson proposed a very similar plan. The Radical Republicans, a group of legislators that were in favor of freedmen’s rights, were opposed to both plans under “Presidential Reconstruction”. They initiated “Congressional Reconstruction”. Because of the conflicting views, there was little cooperation between the Executive and Legislative branches. This lead to many unsuccessful

Those who felt threatened by the massive amount of African-Americans who would now be participating in the government criticized this Amendment, which allowed all male citizens the right to vote regardless of race. Ex-Confederates, many of which were not allowed to vote after bitterly losing to the north, argued that African-Americans were not ready to vote because they were ignorant to the political system of the U.S. The political power of the south would be in the hands of the formerly oppressed, as opposed to their oppressors, who would be practically powerless. The debate on this topic would cause more tension in southern society, which was already undergoing a difficult period of adaptation. Another problem which arose in the south were laws which would further the oppression of the African-American population. Commonly called Black Codes, these laws also punished white persons who supported emancipation during the Civil War. These Black Codes were often unreasonable or unneeded to keep order within society. They were simply created as bitter retaliation by the ex-Confederates who were not pleased by the integration, which had just taken place. Black Codes were created and enforced on a State level which became superior to the Fourteenth Amendment. The laws would be psychologically damaging to the African-American population, who would be forced to feel

To the Radical Republicans, Johnson's plan seemed no better than Lincoln's because it failed to address the needs of former slaves in three prominent areas: land, voting rights, and protection under the law. Confederates states, however, readily committed to the conditions put forth in the Presidential Reconstruction plan, and were readmitted to the Union. A few years later, the Reconstruction Act of 1867 was passed, which did not recognize the governments formed under Lincoln and Johnson's plans. Through the Reconstruction Act, Tennessee was the only former Confederate State recognized as having been readmitted to the Union because it had ratified the Fourteenth Amendment. In order for the rest of the former Confederate states to be readmitted to the Union through the Reconstruction Act, each state had to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment, also. The Republicans introduced the Fifteenth Amendment after the election of 1868 because they feared that Pro-Confederate Southern whites might try to place limits on black suffrage. In order to prevent this, the Fifteenth Amendment states that no one can be kept from voting because of "race, color, or previous condition of servitude." Through the different plans that were proposed by the three different Presidents in office during the Reconstruction period, the Thirteenth,