There are different perspectives on the history of Reconstruction; some people believe that rebuilding the South during the period of 1865 to 1877 was a very important stage in the United States history because it was the start of American Society as a home of freedom. However, others view Reconstruction as a negative impact on African Americans. Ronald E. Butchart sees Reconstruction as the main reason for educational discrimination against African Americans. Reconstruction in the South helped African Americans in good ways, such as giving them the freedom they deserved. Like anything else, Reconstruction in the South had purposes, achievements, and failures. The main purpose for Reconstruction in the South was to restore the south to the union. Reconstruction succeeded in many different aspects such as the Enforcement Act of 1870. Along with succeeding, Reconstruction in the south had some failures including the Jim Crow Laws, which affected the African Americans. This paper will talk more thoroughly about each of these points that occurred while reconstructing the South and how each point helped the African Americans during this time period. To start, according to the book The Era of Reconstruction, 1863-1877 by Forrest G. Wood, “The issue of Reconstruction did not suddenly appear in 1865 or 1867.” Reconstruction in the South happened because the government wanted to allow the Southern states back into the union. Andrew Johnson, the president during the period of the
Eric Foner’s A Short History of Reconstruction is a shortened version of his Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877; however, in the shorter version certain broad themes unified the crucial narrative. His first theme is the midst of the black experience, second theme is to trace the ways Southern society as a whole was remodeled, third theme is the evolution of racial attitudes and patterns of race relations, and the fourth theme is the emergence during the Civil War and Reconstruction. This narration of Reconstruction begins not in 1865, but with the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. This was done to stress the importance of the Proclamation in unifying two major themes, grass-roots black activity and the newly empowered national state and to indicate that Reconstruction was the beginning of a broadened historical process: the adjustment of American society to the end of slavery.
The reconstruction was an era when African Americans tried to fit in and to rebuild the South. The reconstruction started in 1876. Some troops started to leave the South. The KKK was also starting to rebel against the government. The North took their focus of reconstruction and focused on scandals. This essay is trustworthy because I used primary sources. The South was the cause for the end of the reconstruction because the KKK was killing people, KKK was forcing people to vote democratic ticket, and South did nothing about the KKK.
After the Civil War, the United States had many problems to solve. The country had to figure out how to integrate newly freed slaves into society and bring the former Confederate states back into the Union. Reconstruction was period of time after the civil war in which the United States addressed these problems. Reconstruction had two different phases: Presidential Reconstruction took place from 1865 to 1867, and Congressional Reconstruction took place from 1867 to 1877. Presidential Reconstruction began with Abraham Lincoln, who proposed the Proclamation of Amnesty and the ten percent oath plan. Lincoln was focused on leniency and forgiveness; under his plan southerners would take an oath of loyalty to the Union, and after only ten percent of a state’s voters had taken this oath, the state could be readmitted. After Lincoln’s assassination, Andrew Johnson took over Reconstruction. Johnson wanted to punish landowners, but liberally handed out pardons, as he greatly enjoyed the power that he had over southerners. Under Johnson, former confederates were re-elected, and southern states discriminated blacks. Eventually, Congress took over Reconstruction. During Congressional Reconstruction, the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments were passed, and the freedman’s bureau was created. Overall, the failures of Reconstruction outweighed the failures because it took a very long time for it to achieve its goals, and the South was still able to
The Reconstruction of the United States was an experiment in interracial democracy. The Civil War victory by the North brought to a close the establishment of slavery but, in turn, opened Pandora's box. The questions and answers pertaining to economical, political, and social equality for freedmen had yet to be addressed on a practical level. The Southern states, still bitter from defeat and economic stresses, strongly rejected the societal transformations thrust upon them. The Northern states' focal point remained on the necessary political powers by which to enact constitutional amendments, therefore empowering the federal government with the capabilities to enforce the principles of equal rights. On paper, slavery was abolished, but in reality, African-Americans were once again enslaved on a ship without the security or knowledge of what the next port held for them. The Civil War had not truly ended. It was still active under the guise of Reconstruction, but now coats and flags of many colors existed, and battles were merely fought on alternate battlefields. A war of ideas lacking in substantial practicality resulted in repetitious battles being won and loss. The motivating forces that set Reconstruction into motion were for the most part the North's quest for unification among states', and the emancipation of slaves. However, the primary objective of Reconstruction was to grant political, economical, and social opportunities for the freedmen. The
There were many short-term and long-term effects of the Civil War. After the Civil War through 1896, the North and South tried to reunite the United States through Reconstruction to avoid being attacked by other countries. While the government tried to solve key problems facing the nation, their solutions were short-term and failed to address the problem. Due to many people disagreeing about these solutions the government was coming up with, there were many battles over Reconstruction that did not work out for many people. After all the struggling and disagreeing the American people finally brought an end to Reconstruction. Rebuilding the nation, The battle over Reconstruction, and the end of Reconstruction all had many short and long-term effects.
The American Civil War claimed the lives of over 700,000 people. The war was fought from 1861-1865. The results of the war were described as; a union victory, abolishment of slavery, territorial integrity preserved and the destruction and dissolution of the Confederate States. The twelve years that followed were called the Reconstruction Era, 1865-1877. The purpose of the Reconstruction Era was to restore National Unity, strengthen the government, and guarantee rights to freed slaves. The reality of reconstruction though was; violence (260,000 dead), newly freed slaves suffered the most, and Lincoln's hopes of trust and rededication to peace were lost when he was assassinated on April 15th, 1865. It is these realities of the Reconstruction Era and beyond that this paper will address and how those realities affected the newly freed slaves. Life in post-bellum America for African - Americans was violent and filled with fear because of white supremacy, lynching, and the brutal mutilations of blacks.
With the era of American Reconstruction in America during the mid to late 1800’s came a sense of opportunity and hope for its people. America was on the move as nation, railroads being built faster than ever and the freedmen looking to find their niche in society. Although in the beginning the government provided support for these new citizens, efforts toward reconstruction faded as the years passed. Those efforts faded to a point where they were all but nonexistent, and with the unwritten Compromise of 1877, what feeble efforts that were left of reconstruction were now all but dead. Politically, reconstruction failed to provide equality by pulling Federal troops from the South, allowing former Confederate officials and slave owners
The effort to rebuild the southern states and restore the Union was known as Reconstruction, a period that lasted from 1865 to 1877. Several different plans for Reconstruction emerged during and after the war. Much debate about differing plans centered on who would control Reconstruction -- the President or Congress.
Reconstruction took placed in the South from 1865 to 1880. It impacted the United States’ history by holding the South back economically behind the
When Reconstruction began in 1865, a broken America had just finished fighting the Civil War. In all respects, Reconstruction was a time period of
Due to the gradual elimination of African-American rights and the withdrawal of Federal troops from the South to enforce such rights, the end of Reconstruction surfaced in 1877. In the eyes of blacks, Reconstruction was a point in history where they could see their civil rights expanding before their very own eyes. On the contrary, whites were deeply disturbed at the way their once “white supremacy” government was dwindling in the rear-view mirror behind them. This fourteen year period known as Reconstruction houses the memories of temporary freedom, scandal, backdoor deals, and the unresolved social, political, and economical issues of our country.
Reconstruction did not help African Americans move closer to the American Dream. Even though there were positives, there were also negatives. Due to Reconstruction, hate groups started, there was not any safety for African Americans, and the Black Codes or Jim Crow laws. One of the most infamous hate groups to rise was the Klu Klux Klan. KKK for short. African Americans were terrorized by this group. They are responsible for many hangings, burnings, and other horrors that were inflicted upon African Americans. Also, there was not any safety from the groups. It was not like being in the center of a city was going to help. There are unfortunately many pictures of African Americans being hanged in very populated areas. Also, there was the rise of Black Codes(Jim Crow laws). It is like how the saying goes, out of the frying pan and into the fire. Some of the codes, but not limited to, was the Grandfather clause, which basically said that if your grandfather could not vote, you cannot vote. There were also many other ways that African Americans were restricted from voting. There was poll tax, and unfair evaluations of voting tests. This also included segregation of schools (separate but equal). There was even a law forbidding a white person from marrying a black person. However, even though all of these horrific things came because the end of slavery,
During The Reconstruction era, African Americans faced many obstacles on their way to success. Reconstruction of the United States refers to the remodeling that took place after the civil war. The country was injured in all areas. Its society, economy and physical structure had been In January of 1863; President Abraham Lincoln lifted the chains off thousands of African Americans’ shoulders by releasing the Emancipation Proclamation. Unfortunately, this relief was short-winded. The Emancipation Proclamation stated that all people who were deemed as slaves, were to be set free from slavery and guaranteed to no return to it. At first glance, this new legislative act appeared to provide endless opportunities for newly freed African Americans. Instead, life after the passing of the Emancipation Proclamation conceived more problems for African Americans than those they possessed during the bondage of slavery. After the Emancipation Proclamation was passed, African Americans faced various issues including a lack of opportunities, an unfair starting point and continuous discrimination.
Following the Civil War, the Reconstruction Era began. During this time, the southern part of the United States attempted a transformation directed by Congress from 1863 to 1877. Known for its successes and failures, the Reconstruction was a time of great pain and an infinite amount of questions. As well as many long term, short term, positive, negative, social, and political effects.
During the time of Reconstruction, the federal government did little to help the people of America as a whole, they concentrated on bettering African American lives and “reconstructing” the South. The focus during this time period was to protect the rights of African Americans, which had long and hard been fought for. The federal government made it their priority to ensure equal rights among all black people. Also, the readmission of the Confederate states was essential to the federal