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the importance of the reconstruction era
the importance of the reconstruction era
the importance of the reconstruction era
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After the civil war, reconstruction was the era in the South, which lasted from 1865 to 1877. Immediately after the war, the economy of the southern states turned upside down due to the damage of plantation as well as lack of slaves for labor. On the contrary, the economy of northern states was strengthened during that time. In fact, various Amendments were passed during the reconstruction era which promoted civil and political rights for the African-Americans in the South. The thirteenth Amendment (1865) ended slavery by releasing about 3.5 million blacks in the South. The fourteenth Amendment (1868) guaranteed African-American rights of Citizenship and the Fifteenth Amendment (1870) guaranteed black men the constitutional right to vote. Consequently,
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
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.
What role(s) did African Americans play in achieving the "rights" outlined in this document by the late 1870s?
Confederacy was destroyed for good. The Federal Government had also outlawed slavery with the 13th amendment. The 13th amendment defined citizenship and protected all Americans under the law. Also all of the southern states drafted new constitutions and ratified the amendments. A lot of African Americans had participated in local governments. Businessmen had opened new industries such as steel, cotton and lumber mills. Also black institutions and churches had gained autonomy.
The Reconstruction Era that followed the Civil War was created to represent a period of political, economical, and social reconstruction of the Northern Union and the eleven Confederate states of the South. Though the conclusion of the Civil War and commencement of the Reconstruction Era represented the conclusion of slavery throughout the United States, it did not guarantee African Americans racial equality and freedom from prejudice and segregation in Southern states of the U.S. The few advancements during the Reconstruction Era, such as the establishments of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments failed to out weigh the extreme segregation caused by the early Black Codes and Jim Crow laws, gruesome violence derived from lynching tactics of Southern, white conservatives, political disasters caused by the restrictions on voting rights, and social injustice that the African Americans of the nineteenth and twentieth century experienced. Throughout the period of racial prejudice and unequal rights among races, the lives of African Americans were greatly influenced by black leaders who provided hope for a future Civil Rights movement and solutions to racial injustice in their modern day society.
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 governments established under Congressional Reconstruction made notable and lasting achievements. One positive outcome that resulted was the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which extended citizenship to African Americans and listed certain rights of all citizens such as the right to own property, bring lawsuits, and testify in court. Another major outcome was the Fifteenth Amendment, which prohibited the states from denying the right to vote because of a person’s race or because a person had been a slave. This finally granted African Americans the right to vote and marked an important change in the history of our country. A negative outcome resulted politically from congressional Reconstruction. Many of the federal laws concerning reconstruction led to the strengthening of the federal government at the expense of the states. These new laws often placed significant restrictions on state actions on the ground that the rights of national citizenship took precedence over the powers of state governments leading to an increase in sectional bitterness, an intensification of the racial issue, and the development of one-party politics in the South. Stemming from this “infringement” of states’ rights and intensified by the election of 1868 was another negative outcome. Fierce activities were stirred up by groups such as the KKK- violence became prominent, and terrorists and mobs attacked many people- mostly Republicans and blacks.
that a majority of the South would have to take an iron clad oath that
The Reconstruction Period which may also be known as the Radical Reconstruction took place from 1865 to 1877 (Foner, 439). Throughout this time a coherent definition for Freedom was not yet established leading to many disadvantages mainly to the African American communities. During this time political, social and economic issues affected the South. Therefore, regaining order in the Confederate state became important to the Union. By 1865 Congress established the Freedmen’s Bureau which brought a successful outcome, but was not sufficient to cure all established problems. According to Eric Foner the Freedmen’s Bureau was seen as a government experiment with the idea of establishing a sense of equality between social interactions. Not only this but it offered assistance to the poor and aged it brought about peace between the whites, blacks and freed people it helped establish equality between different social classes in the presence of courts. Many expectations were placed when established, but unfortunately not all were accomplished. Even though notable outcomes were seen, by the end of 1877 African Americans experienced disenfranchisement, segregation and racism. By making use of Ways of white folks written by Langston Hughes and Give me Liberty by Eric Foner both authors help depict an accurate idea of African American and White social and cultural interaction.
Following what was arguably the most turbulent time in American history; Reconstruction had far-reaching effects on a number of areas of life in the United States. In the Deep South, one of the clearest impacts could be seen on racial relations, specifically between whites and newly-freed African Americans. Legally, dramatic changes had been made at the federal level, providing African Americans with a host of rights that had never been offered them before. It was no wonder, then, that former slave owners in the South rejected these changes and rights, taking whatever steps necessary to keep African Americans down. The dramatic changes that took place in terms of race relations between African Americans and whites following Reconstruction had a far-reaching impact on society, with the shockwaves of these changes being felt nearly a century into the future.
African American contributions were not limited to the role of working the fields in the south or supplying labor for industry in the north. Many Negroes in both south and north participated in either direct or supporting roles in the military. While few saw combat in the south many northern black troops did see combat. The north started using black regiments to further beef up its already large white force. This spurred the southern General Robert E. Lee in 1865 to reopen the idea of using slaves as soldiers for the south. This idea had previously been trashed by legislators. One General Cobb of Georgia stated, "You cannot make soldiers of slaves....If slaves will make good soldiers our whole theory of slavery is wrong." With Robert E. Lee being as respected as he was and the reality that the war was at a crises point for the Confederacy his statement on the use of Negro soldiers "We should employ them without delay," was heard and implemented. A month before Appomattox President Davis signed the "Negro Soldier Law" authorizing slave enlistments. The act was too little too late, the war was already lost for the south.
After the Civil War, the USA offered civil rights and laws privileges to African-Americans. The USA government passed an amendment ending slavery in 1865; the Thirteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Although slavery was outlawed, it did not provide citizenship and equal rights. Therefore, the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendment offered
I would like to begin this assignment with a brief explanation of the points and reasons that relate to the topic of how and what the reasons were on why Southern whites were in favor of limiting rights and freedom to the black population of the United States , such reasons and ideas included the organized anti-black intimidating terrorist group The Ku Klux Klan , the introduction of the Black Codes formerly known as the Jim Crow laws and President Lincolns ideas such as the emancipation proclamation and the 10% loyalty oath and lastly sharecropping during the reconstruction era. To begin this essay first will be a brief explanation about the Reconstruction era .
History shows that slavery consisted of African Americans being treated inferior to whites. Slaves were mostly African Americans and even though today slavery is over people still look at blacks as less important than whites. Slavery has impacted our society today because people are still prejudice and discriminatory towards African Americans, they are still living in poverty and don’t have proper education and they don’t have an equal opportunity for jobs. Still today African Americans continue to lag behind whites.
In From Slavery to Freedom (2007), it was said that “the transition from slavery to freedom represents one of the major themes in the history of African Diaspora in the Americas” (para. 1). African American history plays an important role in American history not only because the Civil Rights Movement, but because of the strength and courage of Afro-Americans struggling to live a good life in America. Afro-Americans have been present in this country since the early 1600’s, and have been making history since. We as Americans have studied American history all throughout school, and took one Month out of the year to studied African American history. Of course we learn some things about the important people and events in African American history, but some of the most important things remain untold which will take more than a month to learn about.