The Civil War And The End Of Reconstruction

1481 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Introduction of the american society change in 1920

The Civil War in 1861-1865 was a time period in which the United States wrestled intensely over what kind of nation it would be. The war initially stemmed from the differences between the North and South, or between slave states and (mostly) non-slave states. These two sides argued over the right to continue the institution of slavery. The North wanted to abolish slavery whereas the South believed it needed slaves to keep its plantations running and its cotton-based economy successful. Following the Civil War, during the time period of Reconstruction, the abolition of slavery was followed by further reform movements to overcome racial inequalities and both rebuild and modernize the devastated Southern economy. Great changes occurred everywhere. The sum of these changes, at the constitutional and social levels, amounted to a vividly different nation. Despite counter-movements that sought to return to America to a state that had existed prior to the Civil war, by 1877 the nation had undergone constitutional and social revolutions. From the period before the Civil War to the end of Reconstruction, America underwent many constitutional changes that changed both the shape of American democracy and the role of its government. The greatest constitutional conflicts were focused on states ' rights versus the power of the federal government. When the South seceded from the Union in 1860, the United States government responded by invading to quell the rebellion. South Carolina had seceded from the union because it thought that the federal government posed too great a threat to its state prerogatives. Soon after, all the southern states followed. South Carolina Declaration of Causes of Secession, Dec. 24, 1860, referenced the restrained powe... ... middle of paper ... ...and southern resistance by the KKK. The racial division between whites and blacks caused significant changes in America and amounted to a revolution. The time period of 1860-1877 were times that represented great constitutional and social changes in America. The outcomes of Reconstruction were immensely significant. The North got what it wanted, no slaves. The Southern States had to finally accept the 13th and 14th Amendments, and this advance gave blacks in America many rights that whites had. The Freedmen’s Bureau was also established, and this institution helped freed blacks find housing. The power of the federal government grew, and blacks earned their civil rights. There was, however, tension between blacks and whites given the racial divide. Overall, after the Civil War and Reconstruction, America was firmly on the road to the modern nation we know today.

Show More
Related

  • Reconstruction Essay

    721 Words  | 2 Pages

    This began a chain of events that led to the rise of the Ku Klux Klan and the end of the biracial democracy in the south. Johnson put pro-Union Southern political leaders into power, even though many had aided the Confederacy during the war. These men, with Johnson's support, attempted to restore a sense of the “Old South”, essentially trying to force blacks down as low in the class system as they legally could in light of the 13th and 14th Amendments-second class citizens. In 1866 the Radical Republicans stood up to President Johnson, and a battle for control of Reconstruction ensued.... ... middle of paper ...

    Read More

  • Reforms Introduced in the American South between 1865 and 1877

    363 Words  | 1 Pages

    Groups of people soon received new rights. Congress passed the Civil Rights Act. It gave black Americans full citizenship and guaranteed them equal treatment. Also, it passed the Fourteenth Amendment to make sure that the Supreme Court couldn’t declare the Civil Rights Act unconstitutional. The amendment made blacks citizens of the United States and the states in which they lived. Also, states were forbidden to deprive blacks of life, liberty, or property without due process. Additionally, blacks could not be discriminated by the law. If a state would deprive blacks of their rights as citizens, it’s number of congressional representatives would be reduced. The Civil Rights Act as well as the Fourteenth Amendment affected both the North and the South.

    Read More

  • Summary: Why The North Won The Civil War

    999 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Civil War, beginning in 1861 and ending in 1865, was a notorious event in American history for many influential reasons. Among them was the war 's conclusive role in determining a united or divided American nation, its efforts to successfully abolish the slavery institution and bring victory to the northern states. This Civil War was first inspired by the unsettling differences that divided the northern and southern states over the power that resided in the hands of the national government to constrain slavery from taking place within the territories. There was only one victor in the Civil War. Due to the lack of resources, plethora of weaknesses, and disorganized leadership the Southern States possessed in comparison to the Northern States,

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of The 14th Amendment

    885 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Civil War Reconstruction Dbq

    941 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the time period of 1860 and 1877 many major changes occurred. From the beginning of the civil war to the fall of the reconstruction, the United States changed dramatically. Nearly one hundred years after the Declaration of Independence which declared all men equal, many social and constitutional alterations were necessary to protect the rights of all people, no matter their race. These social and constitutional developments that were made during 1860 to 1877 were so drastic it could be called a revolution.

    Read More

  • Why Did Reconstruction Fail?

    945 Words  | 2 Pages

    Reconstruction is known as the period after the Civil war. The whole country was separated in two, people didn’t know what to do, the south was completely destroyed, and there were a lot of decisions to be made by the president. It lasted four years, and there was over half a million casualties between the union (North) and the confederate states (South). The north was declared the winner of the war after General Lee surrender in the Appomattox court house on April 9, 1865. The causes of the war was the secession of several southern states, they argued that it was up to them and it was in their rights to decide whether they should make slavery legal or illegal in their own boundaries. But the Union had other things in mind, the union wanted to decide whether or not the states were going to have slaves. This was just to make sure the country was equal on slavery and non-slavery on both sides, but states thought the union was abusing their power and being too strict on them, and that is when they decided to secede. The first state to secede was south Carolina, then they were followed by six other states, among those states were Florida, Texas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. These states got together and created the confederate states of America in February 4, 1861, and the president was Jefferson Davis, they also made a government similar to the one of the U.S. Constitution.

    Read More

  • Reconstruction After the Civil War

    1850 Words  | 4 Pages

    loyalty oath. If this happened then that state could setup a new state government. Under

    Read More

  • The End Of The Antebellum Era

    838 Words  | 2 Pages

    Near the end of the Antebellum Era, tensions and sectionalism increased as the states argued over what was constitutional. The South had later seceded from the United States and had become the Confederacy of America while the North had remained as the Union. The South had fully supported states’ rights while the north had strongly disapproved it. However, westward expansion, southern anger with the abolitionists, and the secession of the South that had destroyed the feeling of unity in the country because of the disagreement over slavery had been the main factors to the cause of the Civil War. Therefore, since slavery was the primary reason for the discontent in the country, it had been the primary cause of the Civil War.

    Read More

  • Reconstruction in America After the Civil War

    879 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Essay On The 15th Amendment

    683 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...r right to vote. Social and economic segregation were added to the black American’s loss of political power. In some cases, to keep white supremacy, a group called “Ku Klux Klan” would intimidate black males who had voted or who tried to vote. The Ku Klux Klan along with other groups would often burn their homes, churches, and schools down. Some even resorted to murder. A number of these blacks were killed while attempting to defend their right to vote.

    Read More

  • Constitutional and Social Issues From 1860 to 1877

    977 Words  | 2 Pages

    All in all, between 1860 and 1877, the constitutional and social developments have amount to a revolution. A revolution encompasses improvements and downfalls, and without a doubt, the times between 1860 and 1877 covered all of this. The revolution solidified the power of the federal government and gave new suffrage and civil opportunities for black freedmen with the reconstruction amendments. Also, at the same time, the revolution contained resentment from white men, through terrorist activities, the Ku Klux Klan, and black codes. As a result, the new constitutional and social developments changed the American nation with a revolution of good and bad.

    Read More

  • Reasons why the South Won Reconstruction

    837 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Civil War marked a defining moment in United States history. Long simmering sectional tensions reached critical when eleven slaveholding states seceded from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America. Political disagreement gave way to war as the Confederates insisted they had the right to leave the Union, while the loyal states refused to allow them to go. Four years of fighting claimed almost 1.5 million casualties, resulting in a Union victory. Even though the North won the war, they did a horrible job in trying to win the peace, or in other words, the Reconstruction era. Rather than eliminating slavery in the South, the Southerners had a new form of slavery, which was run by a new set of codes called "Black Codes”. With the help of President Johnson, the South continued their plantations, in essence becoming exactly what they were before the war. Overall, the South won Reconstruction because in the end they got slavery (without the name), they got an easy pass back into the Union, and things reverted back to the way they had been prior the war.

    Read More

  • Causes of The American Civil War

    2128 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...om’s Cabin in 1852, the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, the Dred Scott Decision of 1857, John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry in 1859, and the outcome of the Presidential Election of 1860—created conditions where Southerners felt the need to secede from the United States (they felt that their “way of life” was being threatened), as well as created conditions where the Northerners decided to go to war against the Southern Confederacy in order to maintain the Union. It is not surprising, however, that the Civil War occurred; since the Industrial Revolution, the Industrial North had always been different than the Agricultural South. If each region paid more attention to resolving the issues that separated them, instead of trying to prove themselves right, they could have stopped the bloodiest battle in American history (even though this is using hindsight knowledge).

    Read More

  • Effects Of Reconstruction

    1323 Words  | 3 Pages

    On one hand the slaves were free, and on the other hand they were not given equal rights, and they were discriminated for the color of their skin tone. In other words, Reconstruction was a mixed success, which combined both positive and negative impacts. By the end of the era, the North and South were once again reunited, and all southern state legislatures had abolished slavery in their constitutions. However, it some sense, Reconstruction was a failure because blacks were not provided equal rights and opportunities. Racism and segregation did not end at all. On the other hand, there was a huge change to the country as the US was completely in a chaos stage during the civil war. Despite some obstructions, it can be concluded that the Reconstruction was somewhat beneficial for African American. As time passes, many schools and colleges were founded for blacks, and many other doors were opened to uplift their life. Overall, all these outcomes can be considered as a huge

    Read More

  • Breaking Point Of The Civil War

    1505 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

More about The Civil War And The End Of Reconstruction

Open Document