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The reconstruction of America
Essay on reconstruction era aims and outcomes
Essay on reconstruction era aims and outcomes
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Ulysses Grant (1822-1885) commanded the victorious Union army during the American Civil War (1861-1865) and served as the 18th U.S. president from 1869 to 1877. An Ohio native, Grant graduated from West Point and fought in the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). During the Civil War, Grant, an aggressive and determined leader, was given command of all the U.S. armies. After the war he became a national hero, and the Republicans nominated him for president in 1868. A primary focus of Grant’s administration was Reconstruction, and he worked to reconcile the North and South while also attempting to protect the civil rights of newly freed black slaves. While Grant was personally honest, some of his associates were corrupt and his administration was tarnished by various scandals. …show more content…
The following year, he moved with his parents, Jesse Grant (1794-1873) and Hannah Simpson Grant (1798-1883), to Georgetown, Ohio, where his father ran a tannery. Did You …show more content…
As president, Grant tried to foster a peaceful reconciliation between the North and South. He supported pardons for former Confederate leaders while also attempting to protect the civil rights of freed slaves. In 1870, the 15th Amendment, which gave black men the right to vote, was ratified. Grant signed legislation aimed at limiting the activities of white terrorist groups like the Ku Klux Klan that used violence to intimidate blacks and prevent them from voting. At various times, the president stationed federal troops throughout the South to maintain law and order. Critics charged that Grant’s actions violated states’ rights, while others contended that the president did not do enough to protect
...dom and right to vote established by the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments, blacks were still oppressed by strong black codes and Jim Crow laws. The federal government created strong legislation for blacks to be helped and educated, but it was ineffective due to strong opposition. Although blacks cried out to agencies, such as the Freemen's Bureau, declaring that they were "in a more unpleasant condition than our former" (Document E), their cries were often overshadowed by violence.
Ulysses S. Grant was an American general and 18th president of the United States. Grant was born in Point Pleasant, Ohio, on April 27, 1822, the son of Hannah Simpson and Jesse Grant, the owner of a tannery. Taken to nearby Georgetown at the age of one, he was educated in local and boarding schools. In 1839, under the name of Ulysses Simpson instead of his original Hiram Ulysses, he was appointed to West Point. Graduating 21st in a class of 39 in 1843, he was assigned to Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. There he met Julia Dent, a local planter's daughter, whom he married after the Mexican War.
General Ulysses S Grant is, militarily, the reason why the Union was preserved, and why the Civil War did not extend past April 1865.
After the Civil War ended in 1865, it was followed by an era known as Reconstruction that lasted until 1877, with the goal to rebuild the nation. Lincoln was the president at the beginning of this era, until his assassination caused his vice president, Andrew Johnson to take his place in 1865. Johnson was faced with numerous issues such as the reunification of the union and the unknown status of the ex-slaves, while compromising between the principles of the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. After the Election of 1868, Ulysses S. Grant, a former war hero with no political experience, became the nation’s new president, but was involved in numerous acts of corruption. Reconstruction successfully reintegrated the southern states into the Union through Lincoln and Johnson’s Reconstruction Plans, but was mostly a failure due to the continued discriminatory policies against African Americans, such as the Black Codes, Jim Crow laws, and sharecropping, as well as the widespread corruption of the elite in the North and the Panic of 1873,
...ficult goals, Grant was able to inspire his troops. Although Grant signed the terms of surrender for Robert E. Lee, he did not take advantage of or humiliate Confederate troops through anger. Through professionalism and ethical standards, the Confederate troops surrendered and kept their dignity as they were granted American citizenship. Lastly, Grant made his vision clear to the American people during his presidency, and did not change his intentions to appeal to one specific group. This vision did bring about opposition from southern states. However, Grant continued to support the rights of minority groups and did what he felt was right for the American people, and not his personal gain. Overall, Ulysses S. Grant served as a military leader concerned with achieving high goals through his excellent inspiration techniques and dedication to achieve the task at hand.
Andrew Jackson was a popular hero during the War of 1812 who later became president of the United States. After losing the previous election to Quincy Adams, in 1828, Andrew Jackson won the electorate and defeated Adams 178-83 to become the 7th President of the United States. Sadly thereafter the election Jackson’s Wife Raquel died of a heart attack, nonetheless, President Jackson was inaugurated on March 4, 1829 in the presence of thousands.
The 15th Amendment states that “The right of the citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude”. This gave African Americans the right to vote. The amendment seemed to signify the fulfillment of all promises to African Americans. The 15th Amendment is also categorized as one of the three constitutional amendments. In the beginning thirty-seven states ratified the 15th Amendment. The first of these states to ratify the 15th Amendment was Nevada. To disenfranchise African Americans, devices were written into the constitutions of former confederate states. In 1869, when the New Year began, the republicans were anxious to introduce a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the black man’s right to vote. Congress considered the amendment that was proposed for two months. When congress approved a compromise, the amendment did not specifically mention the black man. The struggle for and against ratification hung on what blacks and other political interests would do. The Republican-dominated Congress passed the First Reconstruction Act. This act divided the South into five military districts and outlining how ...
“The result of the last week must convince you of the hopelessness of further resistance… [I] regard it as my duty to shift from myself the responsibility for further [loss] of blood, by asking you surrender [of] the Army of Northern Virginia.” is what General Ulysses S. Grant as the highest ranking officer of the Union Army, wrote to the opposing the highest ranking officer of the opposing Confederate army, General Robert E. Lee on April 7, 1865. (Alter, 2002) In 1861, the Southern states of the United States of America had seceded from the Union, forming the Confederate States of America, and President Lincoln deciding it was worth it to bring them back, declared war, sparking the American Civil War. (Gaines, 2009) Grant joined the army and was quickly promoted to general-in-chief, and despite a few setbacks, managed to force the Confederates to surrender after forcing their forces from the Rapidan River to the James River in a manner one soldier describe simply as "unspoken, unspeakable history." in 1865. (Civil War Trust, 2013) Four years later, Grant was voted as the United States president at forty six years old – the youngest president at that time. (Simon, 2013) Grant tried to help ease racial tensions during his term, but his presidency is most remembered as one filled with scandal. (PBS, 2013) From a humble background, to a soldier, and after some time, to a gifted and experienced general, eventually becoming a president, Grant fought his entire life as hard as he could for what he believed in, through both hardship and peace, helping America in many ways.
Therefore, when the Senate’s control by the Republicans passed the Thirteenth Amendments and was approved by the Confederate states it became law on December 18th 1865 (Mullane, 1993, p. 293). The Thirteenth Amendment emancipated all U.S. Slaves no matter where they were located and the Southern blacks now had to face the many challenges the Northern blacks has face for many years (Reconstruction and Its Aftermath, n.d., para 1). The new Reconstructed Congress approved the Fourteenth Amendment in which calling for equal protection for slaves under the law. Additionally, the passing of the Fifteenth Amendment had the power to abolish male suffrage, regardless of their race or color, but black women didn’t have the right to vote (Mullane, 1993, p. 293). The passing of the 14th and 15th Amendment was a huge success because it allowed the black males to have a say so in the new Congressional Reconstruction between 1867 and 1869 in which it allow black males the right to vote (Robin D. G. Kelley, 2000, p. 240). There was a major difference between the President Reconstruction plan and the Congressional Reconstruction because the
Through the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments to the constitution, the republicans tried to protect and establish black freedoms. At the same time southern state legislators were passing laws to restrict free blacks’ freedoms. Through the use of black codes and vagrancy laws, the south attempted to keep blacks in a state of slavery. These laws were worded in a way such that blacks rights would be so restricted that it would remain impossible for them to gain any real freedom.
In 1860, blacks were enslaved in the south. By 1877, blacks were legally allowed to vote and have all the rights afforded to any white man. The first major change to blacks’ rights was made by the thirteenth amendment. It abolished slavery in the United States; however it left blacks in a limbo between slaves and citizens. Some government officials, such as Gideon Welles, disagreed with the federal government dealing with civil rights. Contrary to their wishes, the next change came from the fourteenth amendment, which established blacks as full citizens. This was much to the delight of blacks who fought for the Un...
The reconstruction period which is the period of rebuilding the United States after the civil war is said to be a time of great pain, and endless questions to the United States (Gienapp, 2012). The Civil War led to the end of slavery, and three constitutional amendments which altered the nature of the African-American rights. The Thirteenth Amendment facilitated the abolishment of slavery in all territories, and states. What is more, the Fourteenth Amendment proscribed the US from depriving male citizens’ equal rights, and protection under the law, in spite of their race or color. Likewise, the Fifteenth Amendment granted all African-American males, the right to vote. All these changes and their ratification was a vital requirement for the Southerners to be re-admitted to the Union. As much as these changes were positive steps towards racial segregation, their enforcement proved difficult as the Southerners were against them, terming them as revenge, from the Northerners. The Southerners could not hold onto the idea that, black men could enjoy the same status as white men by being allowed to vote, and hold office (Reconstruction: American’s Unfinished Revolution, 2010).
Abraham Lincoln was one of the greatest presidents to ever serve in office in the history of the U.S., serving from 1860 to 1865. A self-educated attorney from Illinois, he proved himself to be a brilliant leader throughout the Civil War period. Although President Abraham Lincoln faced the biggest crisis in American history, he saved the nation by preserving the Union during the Civil War, boosting the economy, by fighting for the abolition of slavery, and by boosting the Northern economy.
In the latter half of the 18th century, freed slaves possessed the right to vote in all but three states. It was not until the 19th century that states began to pass laws to disenfranchise the black population. In 1850, only 6 out of the 31 states allowed blacks to vote. 1Following the civil war, three reconstruction amendments were passed. The first and second sought to end slavery and guarantee equal rights. The third, the 15th amendment, granted suffrage regardless of color, race, or previous position of servitude.2 The 15th Amendment monumentally changed the structure of American politics as it was no longer the privileged whites who could vote. For some it was as though hell had arrived on earth, but for others, it was freedom singing. However, the song was short lived. While many political cartoons from the period show the freedom that ex-slaves have for voting because of the 15th Amendment, they often neglect to include the fact that many African Americans were coerced into voting a certain way or simply had their rights stripped from them.
The Emancipation Proclamation did little to clarify the status or citizenship of the freed slaves; it opened the possibility of military service for blacks. In 1863, the need for men convinced the administration to recruit northern and southern blacks for the Union army. Lincoln came so see black soldier as “the great available and yet unavailed for force for restoring the Union”. African American people helped that military service would secure equal rights for their people. One the black soldier had fought for the Union, wrote Frederick Douglass, “there is no power on earth which can deny that he has earned the right of citizenship in the United States.” Lincoln exhibited a remarkable ability to alter his attitudes according to circumstance. He became so sincerely admire black soldiers during the Civil War. June 1864, Lincoln called on the party to “put into the platform as the keystone, the amendment of the Constitution abolishing and prohibiting slavery forever.” The party promptly called for the Thirteenth Amendment. The proposed amendment passed in early 1865 and was sent to the states for ratification. Finally, the war to save the Union had also become the war to free