Era Of Reconstruction Research Paper

Reconstruction was an important chapter in the history of civil rights for blacks. Civil rights legislation has a history dating back to the Reconstruction era. The history of black civil rights is actually rooted in the Reconstruction era, not the Civil Rights Movement. The modern civil rights era was a civil rights revolution known as the second Reconstruction. Most people can recall at least something about the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960′s, but very few know about civil rights legislation 100 years earlier. This era of civil rights legislation is rarely taught or explored and should be looked at more often. It is a largely overlooked chapter of American history that needs to come to light.

If any historical period in American history

It is troubling for a counrty that prefers stories of progress rather than regression. Freedom alone did not cause a bitter reaction toward blacks, it was the quest for citizenship that accounted for the increase in violence. In other words, incorporating blacks as full citizens into the American polity, commonly referred to as interracial democracy, was problematic. Terrorist organizations began a campaign of murder, assault and arson that can be described as domestic terrorism. Key issues of the era involved: citizenship, rights, democracy, the power of the federal government, Constitutional interpretion, and race relations. People view Reconstruction as a triumph or tragedy. Some believe Reconstruction was an era of constitutional triumph of federal power over states' rights in determining blacks' civil rights and the meaning of freedom. On the other hand, some believe the era was tragic in which the federal government tried to make blacks politically and socially equal to whites. Still, others saw the era as a failure for not securing political and civil rights for blacks. The Civil Rights Act of 1866, the Enforcement Acts of 1870-71, and the Civil Rights Act of 1875 promulgated to aid blacks who were targeted, abused, beaten and oppressed. In a number of ways, blacks found the postwar era similar to the prewar era. A military presence in the South was needed to protect blacks from

The financial aspect of the legendary aphorism, "40 acres and a mule" derived from Union Major General William T. Sherman who decreed that 400,000 acres of land in the South would be divided into 40-acre lots and given to former slaves. The order later was revoked by President Andrew Johnson. The Freedmen's Bureau helped former slaves build their lives after the Civil War. For example, the Bureau provided food, jobs, health care, education, legal assistance, and attempted to reconnect with families whom they had become separated. The Reconstruction Amendments are the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments. They provided the legal basis that guaranteed freedom and prevented discrimination in civil rights to freedmen. These amendments were undermined by state laws and federal court decisions, which altered the trajectory of consitutional law. The three civil rights bills of the era were the Civil Rights Act of 1866, the Enforcement Acts 1870-71, and the Civil Rights Act of 1875. These laws aimed at birthright citizenship, Klan violence, and . Reconstruction formally ended in 1877, when President Hayes disavowed national efforts to enforce blacks' civil rights and withdrew the last federal troops from the South. The erosion of civil rights for blacks began when the era