Reconstruction Dbq

On December 1863, President Abraham Lincoln brought forward his plan for Reconstruction or the 10% Plan. The main goal of this plan was to bring the Nation together without punishing any of the sides. Lincoln in his plan would let the south to rejoin the Union if 10%

Many historians assert that Reconstruction started during the Civil War with federal government debates that began in early 1863; however, history typically acknowledges the Reconstruction Era as the time between the conclusions of the Civil War’s armed conflict in 1865 through the signing of the Compromise of 1877. Historians agree in practicality that this tumultuous period of Reconstruction did not just abruptly end in 1877 as African Americans continued to face racial bias and discrimination through the Jim Crow era in the 1890s and on through the first decades of the twentieth Century. The freedom and exuberance that 4.2 million ex-slaves experienced at the end of the Civil War did not automatically convert to equality, nor did their

The 13th Amendment says “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States.” (Doc C) Although many years later African Americans still were not being treated like people, abolishing slavery was a big step to the stop of harsh treatment toward African Americans. The citizenship, and the right to vote are granted to African Americans by the 14, and 15 Amendments. The passing of these Amendments insured that the African Americans are people.

After the Civil War, reconstruction was considered unsuccessful because it did not help the ethnic tensions between black and white people. Although, black people were free from slavery with the help of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendment; they still were being treated unfairly against white people. When Andrew Johnson was elected president after the assassination of Lincoln, he vetoed bills that would help black people; he made it easy for the Confederate states to come back into the Union without guaranteeing the equal rights to blacks. Andrew Johnson allowed the returning southern states to enact “black codes”, which made the freed slaves like serfs, working on plantations and forced with hard labor. For instance, Mississippi

In the 1870s, after the civil war, somehow, America was still at war. Americans disagreed over the topic of letting former slaves become citizens and reuniting a divided North and south. This was called reconstruction. When Andrew Johnson was in office in 1865 , congress passed an amendment declaring all the slaves in America free. The 13th amendment was disputed by many and a lot of people were extremely angry about it. The American government had a plan in include african americans in society. After the civil was, a lot of the American lands were literally in ruins. Farms and plantations and were trampled and destroyed. Also, Southerners were in despair because their currency was now useless after the Southern government was demolished.

After the Civil War reached its end, the time came to work on restoring the disparate pieces of the nation. Throughout this crucial time in American history (dubbed the “Reconstruction Era”) blacks and whites responded to the changes very differently. And here’s how. Slaves were finally free due to the passing of the 13th amendment that abolished slavery in the United States, as well as guaranteeing their citizenship. Theoretically, this meant that blacks now had equal opportunities as whites.

The second was the 14th Amendment (ratified in 1868), which gave African Americans their citizenship and this entitled them to all of the rights of a citizen. Finally, the third was the 15th Amendment (ratified in 1870), which gave African Americans suffrage (the right to vote). Each of these three helped give African Americans their civil rights by law, but there was still extreme discrimination (particularly by certain groups that expressed discrimination, often by violent

By 1877, all of the former Confederate states had drafted new constitutions, acknowledged the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, and pledged their loyalty to the U.S. government. The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery everywhere in the United States, and not just in Confederate territories. The Fourteenth Amendment stated that all people born in the United States are American citizens. The Fifteenth Amendment prohibited the government from denying a citizen to vote based off their race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Those Amendments allowed for what people thought would be equal representation for all races of people across the United States.

The thirteenth amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude and was the first grant of civil rights given to African Americans (“Thirteenth Amendment: January 31, 1865”). The 14th Amendment was passed into law and protects the rights against state infringements, defines citizenship, prohibits states from interfering with privileges and immunities, requires due process and equal protection, punishes states for denying vote, and disqualifies Confederate officials and debts (“Fourteenth Amendment: June 16, 1866”). For the first time the word “equal” was established into the Constitution.

Reconstruction is often thought of as something that happened in the South. But events there were part of a much broader transformation. Far beyond the ex-Confederacy, the United States embarked on an ambitious process of nation building. (A. 446) The U.S. Constitution does not address the question of how to restore rebellious states. After the Civil War, the nation had to determine whether the Confederate states, upon seceding, had legally left the Union. If so, then their reentry required action by Congress. If not — if even during secession they had retained their constitutional status — then restoring these states might be an administrative matter, best left to the president. Lack of clarity on this fundamental question made for explosive politics. In the early years of Reconstruction, the president and Congress struggled over who was in charge. Only by winning this fight did Republicans in Congress open the way for the sweeping achievements of radical Reconstruction. (A. 447) As of 1877, all of the Confederate states had drafted new constitutions, recognized the new Amendments set forth (the 13th, 14th, and 15th), and had fully pledged their loyalty to the United States government. This allowed for the settling of states’ rights vs. federalism debate that had been ongoing since the mid1790s. While Reconstruction was a success on many fronts, there

Following the civil war Congress passed three amendments. The Thirteenth Amendment was passed by Congress in January 31, 1865. This states that no form of slavery should exist within the United States. Followed by the Fourteenth Amendment which was passed on June 13, 1866; that states that anyone born or naturalized in the United States cannot be denied life, liberty, and property without due process of law. Nor be denied equal protection of the law. Then the Fifteenth Amendment was passed on February 26, 1869 stating that any citizen of the United States regardless of your race should not be

It also allowed black men to join the Union Army and Navy, “enabling the liberated to become liberators.” (The Emancipation Proclamation) The big change in slavery and the fight for equality did not come until the Thirteenth Amendment was passed by Congress on January 31, 1865 and ratified by the states on December 6, 1865. With this event, it was declared that “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” (13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution) Although this Amendment did give slaves their freedom, it did not guarantee them the same rights nor the same treatment that other citizens of the United States had and took for granted. This was especially seen in the states that “enacted ‘black codes’ that were intended to limit the civil rights of the newly free slaves.” (Civil Rights) These “black codes” and the obvious difference in treatment were a large issue, and they were later addressed in the Constitution with the introduction of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendment. The Fourteenth Amendment was ratified on July 9, 1868 and it made large changes for black individuals. This Amendment “granted citizenship to ‘all persons born or naturalized in the United States,’ which included former slaves recently freed.” (14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution) It also “forbids states from denying

The thirteenth amendment was the official and final law passed to prohibit slavery. Laws that would later follow, the fourteenth and fifteenth, detailed the rights the new citizens would receive. The fourteenth clarified the definition of an American citizen, anyone who was “born or naturalized”, regardless of race. The fifteenth listed those with rights of suffrage, including African Americans. These laws provided temporary relief and hope for African Americans who desperately yearned for these freedoms. Blacks began running for and participating in legislative positions, due to the increase in literacy and job opportunity. These rights empowered the black community to start a culture of their own, but quickly drew inferior to the white

President Lincoln's began his reconstruction preparation during the Civil War.While observing the Civil War, he crafted the Ten Percent Plan. This blueprint stated that a seceded Southern state could be create their own state government once 10% of its voters from 1860’s voter roll, swore an oath of allegiance. He created this plan because he believed that it would benefit everyone. The plan allowed everyone, except high ranked Confederates, the opportunity to be fully pardoned. The Ten Percent Plan also protected Southerner’s private property; however, President Lincoln did not promise that he would protect their ownership of slaves. President Lincoln believed that this plan would quickly end the Civil War and begin the process of reconstruction. His ultimate goal was to unify the States as if the Civil War hadn’t occurred.

After the American Civil War, Congress passed several laws to protect the rights of the newly freed black slaves such as the Thirteenth Amendment that prohibited slaves in the United States. In addition, Congress also passed the Fourteenth Amendment to fortify the rights of freed black slaves in which the Amendment granted the citizenship to all citizens who born in the United States, regardless of races, and the citizens entitled to “equal protection of laws” of the states where they lived.