After the Civil war, Reconstruction started. The reconstruction years of America served as transitions for the social, economical, cultural, and political aspects of society. Throughout this time, the United States of America shifted into a a modern industrial nation. This shift was led by entrepreneurs and businessmen. Industrialism eventually would make America into an economical and technological front runner in the world scope. During this time, American industry grew faster than ever before. While this caused cities and urban areas to spread, it also increased the pace of and therefore the stress of life. This consequence did not seem to have much an effect because during this time, it was the age of progress. Material comfort could potentially be achieved by anyone and everyone(or so it was thought). Industrialism brought many great positives to American society, but where there are positives, there are also negatives. Exploitation in industry ran rampant. Monopolies and laissez-faire policies were being exercised. As a result of this, people began to question the purpose of government. Was it there to serve the many or few, the haves or the have-nots, for business or for people? Many Americans began to even doubt the American Dream. The impact of reconstruction on this time was a big one, the abolition of slavery was taking place and the institution being removed from society, boatloads of immigrants were arriving consistently, and American values were changing. All that glitters is not gold.
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.
Reconstruction is the period of rebuilding the south that succeeded the Civil War (1861-1865). This period of time is set by the question now what? The Union won the war and most of the south was destroyed. Devastation, buildings turned into crumbles and lost crops. The South was drowning in poverty. To worsen the situation there were thousands of ex-slaves that were set free by the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13 Amendment. "All these ex-slaves", Dr. Susan Walens commented, "and no place to put them," The ex-slaves weren't just homeless but they had no rights, unlike white man. The government and congress had to solve the issues present in the south and the whole nation in order to re-establish the South. These issues were economical, social and political. The United States had presidential and congressional reconstruction. Reconstruction was a failure, a great attempt to unify the nation. It was a failure due to the events that took place during this period.
Reconstruction was a period of time that took place directly after the Civil War when the Confederacy was ruled by the Union government and military. Reconstruction is sometimes seen as a good thing because it did help out the newly freed African Americans, and the recently deprived white Southerners. However, it also created tension and resentment between Southerners and Northerners, as well as between the whites and the blacks, and, when the Reconstruction was over and the whites were back in office, they saw blacks as the enemy, and they took out the anger and injustice they felt they had received on the blacks. It brought the nation together once more, but it made the racial gap wider than ever.
Reconstruction was a major changing point in people’s views of freedom, because it presented the very idea of freedom for more than just white males and laid the foundation for other movements to follow. It occurred after the Civil War from 1865 to its official end in 1877. It originated primarily out of necessity. The government needed a plan to deal with all the now freed African Americans and the once confederate states rejoining the union. The Republican Party backed it though they themselves could not agree on an official plan. Several plans emerged, but in the end, it was a hodgepodge of each plan put together. Several historians would probably argue that reconstruction fail...
...the Reconstruction, is that no matter what legally was done in an effort to help, there were always loopholes and other laws that would counter us from being totally free. We may not have been in slavery, but we were still enslaved, not only because of our mindsets, but because of our surroundings. The system was meant for us to fail, be dependent, and continue being submissive to the white man because no matter what laws were passed, or what changes were made, that is where they wanted us to be. Black codes, Jim Crow laws, segregation, and everything else that was legal after slavery was abolished, were all forms of slavery in a subtle way. They were meant to get in the heads of the blacks, and if you can get in a person’s head, you can control them. The reconstruction era was the beginning of a downward spiral between blacks and whites that branched after slavery.
The Meaning of Reconstruction
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.
The American Civil War drastically changed communications in America by introducing new means of communication, and improving on old ways. Before the Civil War, you would need to speak to someone in person to tell them important news, or just to chat. During an after the Civil War, there were new and more efficient ways to communicate without taking a carriage to get somewhere or sending a soldier out onto the fields to tell a general something. You could do things like send a telegraph or a letter using the Postal Service. If it’s national news, and everyone needs to know about it, like the assassination of President Lincoln, you could publish it in a newspaper. The Civil War impacted America’s communication.
The Civil war and Reconstruction, both had profound effects on america in various political, economic, and social ways. both of these periods in time had different effects depending on the area which can be divided as the North and the South. Both of these areas experienced different alterations depending on the way that they had been influenced by the civil war and reconstruction. these alterations had both positive and negative effects which lead to the American society we know now.
On April 12th 1861, the Civil War began involving both the Union and the Confederacy. The main cause behind all of this was the issue of slavery and its expansion to new western territories. Both the Confederates in the South and the Union in the North were clashing over the proper process of Emancipation. While the Union’s goal was to eliminate slavery and to persevere the nation, the Confederates were insistent on keeping slavery and weren’t going to give it up without a fight. Abraham Lincoln became the 16th President in 1961 and he was the leading member of the Republican Party. Since the republicans were in control of the North, it was clear that the party wished to abolish slavery, which began the secession of the South soon after the