Victoria Hubble February 8, 2000 Reconstruction The Reconstruction, a time most people would call a rebirth, succeeded in few of the goals that it had set out to achieve within the 12 years it was in progress. It was the reconstruction’s failure in its objectives, that brought forth the inevitable success in changing the South, as well as the countless African Americans living in it as well as the countless African Americans living in it at the time. There were three goals the reconstruction set, and failed to achieve, as well as emphasizing the profound effect it had on the south, and an entire race. In the South the Reconstruction period was a time of readjustment accompanied by disorder. Southern whites wished to keep blacks in a condition of quasi-servitude, extending few civil rights and firmly rejecting social equality. Blacks, on the other hand, wanted full freedom and, above all, land of their own. Inevitably, there were frequent clashes. Some erupted into race riots, but acts of terrorism against individual black leaders were more common. During this turmoil, Southern whites and blacks began to work out ways of getting their farms back into operation and of making a living. Indeed, the most important developments of the Reconstruction era were not the highly publicized political contests but the slow, almost imperceptible changes that occurred in southern society. Blacks could now legally marry, and they set up conventional and usually stable family units; they quietly seceded from the white churches and formed their own religious organizations, which became a central point for the black community. Without land or money, most freedmen had to continue working for white masters; but they were now unwilling to labor in gangs or to live in the old slave quarters under the eye of the plantation owner. The governments set up in the Southern states under the congressional program of Reconstruction were, contrary to traditional cliches, fairly honest and effective. Though the period has sometimes been labeled "Black Reconstruction," the Radical governments in the south were never dominated by blacks. There were no black governors, only two black senators and a handful of congressmen, and only one legislature controlled by blacks. Those black who did hold office appear to have been about equal in competence and honesty to the whites. it i...
... middle of paper ...
...have political power, the right to a good education, and much more. After Republicans lost interest in supporting African American rights and Democrats regained political and economic control of the South, the racially segregated and capitalist government flourished again. The Reconstruction did, for a short time, transform the South for African Americans, but most rights and benefits gained during that time were lost to Democrats during the Redemption. The Redemption turned the Reconstruction into an economic, political, and social loss for most African Americans throughout the South. After more than 2 centuries of being emancipated, African Americans were given a new life. This phrase a new life was not the life of equality. However it was still a change from enslavement. This was the single and most important success of the Reconstruction. when it liberated African Americans in the South, it also replaced enslavement for segregation. When dealing with a historical event such as this one, a person has to look at what the Reconstruction has cost African Americans and what it has brought them in return, then they must answer the question "was it all worth while?"
The Civil War was at most one of the darkest hours in United States history. Bloodshed and loss quaked the land of our forefathers in a way we could not imagine. In the wake of the battles, the Union forces found new hope in their victories and came out on top in the victory of the war. In the hope to reconstruct the United States Abraham Lincoln proceeded with the new idea of reconstruction. The main idea was to give the freed slaves more rights and try to condone for the sins of the past and present. This was a short-lived initial plan, as the hopes and plans changed when Andrew Johnson took to presidency. His views of reconstruction conflicted towards the reconstruction, and the plan soon was updated to fit the new president’s beliefs. The
As an unabridged version of his other book, Eric Foner sets out to accomplish four main goals in A Short History of Reconstruction. These points enable the author to provide a smaller, but not neglectful, account of the United States during Reconstruction. By exploring the essence of the black experience, examining the ways in which Southern society evolved, the development of racial attitudes and race relations, and the complexities of race and class in the postwar South, as well as the emergence during the Civil War and Reconstruction of a national state possessing vastly expanded authority and a new set of purposes, Foner creates a narrative that encompasses some of the major issues during Reconstruction. Additionally, the author provides
Even when the Amendment abolished slavery in 1865, and the black people embraced education, built their own churches, reunited with their broken families and worked very hard in the sharecropping system, nothing was enough for the Reconstruction to succeed. Whites never gave total freedom to African Americans. Blacks were forced to endure curfews, passes, and living on rented land, which put them in a similar situation as slaves. In
With the end of the Civil war, many blacks felt that they would start reaping the benefits that had been denied from them for years. Being able to vote, own land, have a voice in political affairs were all goals that they felt were reachable. The era of Reconstruction was the “miracle” they had been searching for. But the South wasn’t going down without a fight and blacks would have to wait at least 100 years for Freedom Summer to arrive to receive the “miracle” they wanted. 100 years it took for equality to become more than just a word but a way of life for blacks. But they did enjoy some privileges that weren’t available to them.
The thesis “The New View of Reconstruction”, Eric Foner reviews the constantly changing view on the subject of the Reconstruction. The postwar Reconstruction period has been viewed in many different lights throughout history but one fact remains true, that it was one of the most “violent, dramatic and controversial” times in US’s history (224). In the beginning of his thesis, Eric Foner talks about the way the Reconstruction was though as before the 1960 as a period of intense, corruption and manipulation of the freedman. After mentioning the old way of thinking before the 1960’s, Eric Foner reveals the reason for this train of thought, the ignored testimonials of the black freedman.
After a war that claimed the lives of more men than that of all other wars combined, much of the country was left in ruins, literally and figuratively. Dozens of towns in the South had been burned to the ground. Meanwhile, the relations between the North and South had crumbled to pieces. Something needed to be done so that the country could once again be the United States of America, not the Divided States of America. The years from 1865 to 1877 were a time of rebuilding – the broken communities and the broken relations. This time period was known as Reconstruction. Reconstruction was a failure on the basis that the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments that were passed should have given protection and freedom to the African American people, instead, it actually hurt them because the laws were not enforced, and eventually lead to the organization of white supremacy terrorist groups.
After the Civil War ended in 1865, it was followed by an era known as Reconstruction that lasted until 1877, with the goal to rebuild the nation. Lincoln was the president at the beginning of this era, until his assassination caused his vice president, Andrew Johnson to take his place in 1865. Johnson was faced with numerous issues such as the reunification of the union and the unknown status of the ex-slaves, while compromising between the principles of the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. After the Election of 1868, Ulysses S. Grant, a former war hero with no political experience, became the nation’s new president, but was involved in numerous acts of corruption. Reconstruction successfully reintegrated the southern states into the Union through Lincoln and Johnson’s Reconstruction Plans, but was mostly a failure due to the continued discriminatory policies against African Americans, such as the Black Codes, Jim Crow laws, and sharecropping, as well as the widespread corruption of the elite in the North and the Panic of 1873,
The Emancipation Proclamation was a major turning point in our country’s modern history, but reconstruction caused major conflicts that to many years to resolve. One of the major issues was that southern states had to give blacks the same rights as whites and that did not sit well in the South. This was such an issue that in major cities, riots broke out and harmed many blacks. The black who were additionally emancipated were not financially stable because of the fact that they were never paid before. These issues caused major issues for the blacks in the Reconstruction Era because they were transitioning to a new life where they had to become independent and had equal right as everyone else. This was a major turning point and place of growth in the United States, but was additionally accompanied with major growing conflicts.
The Reconstruction-era was an extremely rough period for the African-Americans as well as many white settlers. The African-Americans endured numerous hardships and losses as a result of the white settlers' frustrations. Although the African-Americans' losses were great during this time, the progress made throughout that period is amazing. Many of them were sent off with nothing, to live on their own and a number of them managed to meet success. Their largest success came when the Reconstruction-era ended. African-Americans fought and struggled for their freedom, rights, and equality, for years, and although it took them a long time, they accomplished what they set out to do.
When Reconstruction began in 1865, a broken America had just finished fighting the Civil War. In all respects, Reconstruction was mainly just that. It was a time period of “putting back the pieces”, as people say. It was the point where America attempted to become a full running country once more. This, though, was not an easy task. The memory of massive death was still in the front of everyone’s mind, hardening into resentment and sometimes even hatred. The south was virtually non-existent politically or economically, and searching desperately for a way back in. Along with these things, now living amongst the population were almost
Reconstruction was needed and the period following the civil war, the reconstruction period, fostered many significant results and achievements especially for Constitutional amendments. While mending a broken country, the reconstruction period still left many fresh wounds. There was great successes and championships for former slaves and the blacks rights, but their was still lingering thoughts and acts of discrimination towards these groups. Reconstruction produced three amendments defending the people 's rights, yet discrimination towards blacks was peeking to new heights. Laws were not enough to change the hearts and minds of the people, which was at the core of the issue. With the unfortunate loss of the nation’s leader, it would be almost a hundred years later until America had leaders strong enough, in the nineteen sixties, that could change the ideas of racism and
During the reconstruction period, African Americans benefited from the civil rights act of March 1866 and the 13th, 14th and 15th amendment. However, for African Americans in the former confederacy, opportunities were limited as in1865 and 1866 the former confederacy states passed black codes’ a replacement of the former slave codes, which once again forcibly cemented the second-class status of African Americans. The most oppressive of the codes was against vagrancy, ...
The North’s negligence also contributed to the end of Reconstruction. The North had failed to notice the many racially motivated atrocities that occurred in the South durin...
Prior to the Civil War, African Americans were treated as second class individuals. They lacked the freedom and equality they sought for. To the African Americans, the Civil War was a war of liberation. Contrary to what African Americans perceived, Southerners viewed the war as an episode of their journey to salvation. Southern lands may have been destroyed and depleted, but the South was persistent that their racial order would not be disrupted. To most, the goals of the Reconstruction era were to fully restore the Union, and to some, grant emancipation and liberty to former slaves. Although the newly freedmen gained various rights and liberties, their naïve dreams of complete equality and liberation collapsed due to the immense resistance of the South.
America has gone through many hardships and struggles since coming together as a nation involving war and changes in the political system. Many highly regarded leaders in America have come bestowing their own ideas and foundation to provide a better life for “Americans”, but no other war or political change is more infamous than the civil war and reconstruction. Reconstruction started in 1865 and ended in 1877 and still to date one of the most debated issues in American history on whether reconstruction was a failure or success as well as a contest over the memory, meaning, and ending of the war. According to, “Major Problems in American History” David W. Blight of Yale University and Steven Hahn of the University of Pennsylvania take different stances on the meaning of reconstruction, and what caused its demise. David W. Blight argues that reconstruction was a conflict between two solely significant, but incompatible objectives that “vied” for attention both reconciliation and emancipation. On the other hand Steven Hahn argues that former slaves and confederates were willing and prepared to fight for what they believed in “reflecting a long tradition of southern violence that had previously undergirded slavery” Hahn also believes that reconstruction ended when the North grew tired of the 16 year freedom conflict. Although many people are unsure, Hahn’s arguments presents a more favorable appeal from support from his argument oppose to Blight. The inevitable end of reconstruction was the North pulling federal troops from the south allowing white rule to reign again and proving time travel exist as freed Africans in the south again had their civil, political, and economical position oppressed.