From Old to New
An Old South was slowly disappearing as a New South was gaining life by 1865. This is evident in many situations but four southern people, all from different backgrounds, show this process. Cornelia McDonald, Louis Hughes, Samuel Agnew and John Robertson all were affected by this terrible event and their lives altered to accommodate to the direction the south was headed. Although there was change, many citizens hung onto their old way of reasoning not wanting to let go of what they were familiar with before and during the war.
The north and south lived relatively different lifestyles before the war. These differences caused tension between them. After Lincoln’s election in 1860 the fear and anxiety within the southern elite rose and succession occurred. The states of the Deep South formed a government and were referred to as the Confederacy led by Jefferson Davis. The south held many key aspects of life close to their heart for which they fought the war. It was important to fight with honor and protect the family name along with fulfilling their role as a paternalist. The white and African American people were also aware of the class distinctions and hierarchy that was in place throughout society. Slavery was the place of the African Americans and white citizens were supreme. Lastly, the south was not an industrial empire but rural and agricultural. The slave labor helped this thrive and brought content to the white people of the south. Within these categories is where the changes and continuity are held after the Civil War.
Cornelia McDonald’s life was changed drastically because of the war. Cornelia led the life of a wealthy elite lady of the southern culture. She did not have to work but was used as a symbol of her husband’s wealth. After the war began her husband left to defend his honor and the cause while she was left to care for the family. She was forced from her home and became a war refugee. Now she had to do work she never had to do before. She had to do the chores her slaves had to do. While doing these chores she also had to keep her class distinction. It was important to her that she did not lose her place in society.
The Reconstruction was the process of trying to rebuild the South after the devastating effect of the Civil War. Some interesting facts during the Civil War were first, in 1869 the first college football game took place, second, African American universities became a reality, and last, in 1870, Hiram Revels was elected the first black Senator. In the end, Reconstruction died, but we’ve all been asking the same thing; North or South: Who killed the Reconstruction? Answering this question, I believe the North killed the Reconstruction by a lack of focus on it, the racism on African Americans, and being sick of assisting the South.
Reconstruction could be considered one of the largest projects ever undertaken. The mess that was the south, left in the ruins of a bloody war, called for drastic measures. The inquisition that begs to be asked is whether or not this venture was a success. Unfortunately the answer isn't as simple as "yes" or "no". Although many promises were broken, the much-debated goals of Reconstruction are still present in the minds of today's leaders as we continue to rebuild our country.
After the Union victory in the Civil War, the South was still bitter and needed vast societal changes that matched those in the North. Reconstruction efforts were made to to make the regions more similar socially, politically, and economically; because despite the fact that they were on nation, the two societies were very different. There were still unresolved issues in regards to the status of former slaves and what system of labor should replace slavery. After the Union’s victory in the Civil War, reform efforts were made during the Reconstruction era to reunite the North and South and make ideas in the South more similar to those in the North; but this failed because of the South’s preconcieved ideas towards race.
After the North won the civil war, it was time to rebuild this nation. This period of reconstruction was supposed to have a profound change on society. Unfortunately this was not the case. Reconstruction did not fundamentally alter this nation. Not to say that nothing happened, but nothing that really made a change or difference happened. First, the control of the south was given right back to the planter elite. Also, even though slavery was abolished; blacks were not free. Finally, Congress and President Johnson could not get along. Although the civil war reshaped this country profoundly. The reconstruction efforts did little but scratch a surface, before being quickly wiped away.
loyalty oath. If this happened then that state could setup a new state government. Under
The south was in economic and social chaos after its defeat in the war. 1865-1877 was a time period of reconstructing the south, however, it left an everlasting impression that kept the south behind for years to come. The political apprehension the south felt was due to the fact that there was no more authority and the new states had to deal with the northern states. The question was how the newly reelected Lincoln was going to bring these states back to the Union.
The Reconstruction-era offered numerous opportunities to African-Americans, by attempting to secure the rights for ex-slaves, but the opportunities presented even more obstacles to them. The thought of freedom intrigued the African-Americans at first, but many of them quickly changed their minds after experiencing it. Henry William Ravenel, a slaveowner, proclaimed, "When they were told they were free, some said they did not wish to be free, and they were silenced with threats of being shot (Firsthand 24)." The Reconstruction-era effected the white settlers and their crops, as well, posing yet more obstacles for the already-struggling African-Americans. The hardships endured throughout this period of history were very immense and the struggle toward freedom and equality held a heavy price for all.
The Civil war could very easily be known as one of the greatest tragedies in United States history. After the Civil War, the people of The United States had so much anger and hatred towards each other and the government that 11 Southern states seceded from the Nation and parted into two pieces. The Nation split into either the Northern abolitionist or the Southern planation farmers. The Reconstruction era was meant to be exactly how the name announces it to be. It was a time for the United States to fix the broken pieces the war had caused allowing the country to mend together and unite once again. The point of Reconstruction was to establish unity between the states and to also create and protect the civil rights of the former slaves. Although Reconstruction failed in many aspects such as the upraise in white supremacy and racism, the reconstruction era was a time the United States took a lead in the direction of race equality.
Chapter sixteen begins with the reconstruction period of the civil war. From previous history classes I have learned more in depth about the war and why the North was fighting against the South, but overall I think the most important part to look at from the civil war is the end of it and what was to come after it, which was the reconstruction era. Lincoln had just released his emancipation proclamation and freed the slaves. As happy as this may seem it was actually quite the opposite. Attitudes of white southerners towards black in the south hadn 't changed a bit after the Emancipation Proclamation. In 1865 Carl Schurz was sent by President Andrew Johnson to investigate the current conditions of the confederacy after they were defeated in the civil war. While there he shared in his “Report on the Condition of the South” that southerners have a belief “so deeply rooted… that the negro will not work without physical compulsion”. Overall this just shows how the attitudes of white southerners were no different. They truly believed that the blacks weren 't able to work or function without force. Many northerners and abolitionists, such as Wendell Phillips, at this time saw this and actually said that Lincoln didn 't do enough. They wanted him to do a complete overhaul of southern society. Personally I understand where these people were coming from. They were people who really wanted all the issues to be resolved. Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was a step in the right direction, but he could have done more. Schurz even noted that “negroes who walked away from the plantations, or were found upon the roads, were shot or otherwise severely punished”. Former slaves weren ...
Who do you think was the one to end reconstruction. The south because they did not want blacks to have the same right as black people. Or the north for pushing for many rights for the African Americans? Who was the one to end reconstruction the south or the north, what do you think? In the history of the United States the term reconstruction has two meanings. The first one is the history of the country from 1865 to 1877 then the Civil War was the second one is the transformation of the Southern United States from 1863 to 1877 as directed by Congress with the reconstruction of state and society.Who Killed Reconstruction the north or the south? The south killed reconstruction because The south did not want anything to do with African Americans if they let them have rights reconstruction would not have ended.The south did not want African Americans to be free but the north wanted the blacks to be free.The south also did not want the african americans have the right to vote because the south thought that the African Americans were not important. The problem was that the north did not like how the south thought about African Americans.The south should have had let the African Americans have rights because eventually the African Americans would get their rights. Also if the south did that there would not be a civil war. Both southern resistance and northern neglect contributed to the death of reconstruction. However southern resistance was the greater problem.
...hing, and mob action, the South eventually wore down the political will of the North, allowing the South to go back to their old ways of life.
After the Civil War the South had to be rebuilt. This was known as the Reconstruction Era. During the Recontruction Era a lot of time was devoted to the south by the nation.In fact there was a reconstruction plan made by President Abraham Lincoln.The point of his plan was to make the rebuilding of the South quicker. However the South did face some hardships, benefits, and disappointments during that time. For example, the South suffered a major decline in their econmy after the Civil War.
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.
Some say the New South began to emerge when federal troops were removed from the South in 1877 and consistently was being reformed well into the twentieth century. A group of Democratic office holders, the Redeemers, were said to have redeemed the South from federal intervention. These leaders came from middle classes, and the majority of them had served the Confederacy. The Redeemers were interested in increasing economic opportunities for Southerners. The most important person in the years of the Redeemers was a newspaperman—the “Spokesman of the New South—a man by the name of Henry W. Grady. Grady was a strong promoter of a “New South”. He made an apology for defending slavery and spoke about how the South had learned its lesson. There was certainly not a New South immediately; there were changes in the South, but nothing to classify it as having a new attitude.
From 1865 to 1877, the United States underwent an era of political complexity and social turbulence known as Reconstruction (Tindell). This period of American history generated extensive implications for life of Americans (Tindell). The main goal of the Reconstruction was to rebuild a devasted South after the abolition of slavery, disruptions of the economy due to the war, and the tremendous amounts of deaths left it in near ruins (Tindell).