Radical Republicans After the Civil War

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In 1863, two years prior to the end of the Civil War, the Era of Reconstruction of the United States had begun. This period of reconstruction was a time of chaos and disorder uprooted from the strong resentment against white Southerners that postwar plans had created. Reconstruction plans of Abraham Lincoln, Radical Republicans in Congress, and Andrew Johnson were very diverse and contained many distinct differences. Passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, which banned slavery, established the rights of African Americans, and defined the basis by which Southern states could rejoin the Union, inflamed this strong sense of anger and resentment. The actions of the Radical Republicans, especially, led to many changes in the South. Thaddeus Stevens and Charles Sumner, leaders of this zealous antislavery advocate group, held many motives which they hoped would lead them to possess power by taking advantage of South through any way possible. A group formed of a coalition of Northern altruists, industrialists, former Whigs, practical politicians, the Radical Republicans shared similar qualities and beliefs that abolitionists held. They were not committed to the emancipation of slaves and in favor of abolitionism, but believed that freed slaves should hold the same rights that whites held. Radicals believed that blacks were entitled to the same political rights and opportunities as whites, fully dedicated to achieving equal treatment and enfranchisement of freed blacks. Radical Republicans, like abolitionists, opposed the Fugitive Slave Act and the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Following the elections of 1860, Radical Republicans began to develop a strong, powerful force in Congress, some becoming chairmen of important committees. In the ... ... middle of paper ... ...avorable cause, and many Radicals began to lose their seats in Congress. The Radical Republicans, those who remained in Congress, urged President Ulysses S. Grant to take action against the newly formed Ku Klux Klan, who killed blacks, whites, and immigrants. On April 20th, 1871, Congress passed the Ku Klux Act, which gave the president the power to intervene in troubled states with the authority to suspend a writ of habeas corpus in countries where such conflicts occurred. The Ku Klux Act became the Radical Republicans’ last considerable victory in Congress. In the 1870s, several Radical Republicans agitated for the eight hour day and improved conditions and treatment for the working people. But, with limited power and isolation in Congress, the Radical Republicans were unable to persuade Congress to pass legislation to protect the emerging trade union movement.

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