North or South: Reconstruction after the American Civil War
analytical Essay
1766 words
The American Civil War came to a terrible and bloody end with six hundred thousand casualties and the North winning and the South losing. Southern soldiers returned from the war and found their home in ruins. Lots of people lost their homes, land, businesses, and their way of life. Many Southerners faced starvation due to the high food prices and the widespread of crop failure. The Confederate money that was used by Southerners was now useless. Numerous banks collapsed, and the merchants went bankrupt because people couldn’t pay their debts. The people of the South were penniless and broken. (“Post”) But once again America was reunited, but its economy was ruined, and was socially and politically damaged. After the Civil War, change was needed. The Civil War helped African Americans get their citizenships, rights to vote, and more importantly, their freedom. On April 11, 1865, President Lincoln introduced his plan for Reconstruction (“Cause”). The Reconstruction was meant to improve and restore America into a successful, united country while helping recently “free” African Americans in society. He warned people that the, years of the Reconstruction would be “fraught with great difficulty.” Three days later he was assassinated (“Cause”). The twelve years after the Civil War was called Reconstruction. The Reconstruction era was an opportunity of change and was an expansion of freedom for former slaves. It was a time where the North and the Republicans were attempting to fix the Southern economy, set up new governments and support the rights of freedmen. There were also many problems and resistance to the Reconstruction process. “…there were so many different views about how Reconstruction should be accomplished, and because so much... ... middle of paper ... ...Library of Congress). N.p., n.d. Web. 09 May 2014. "Primary Documents in American History." 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Primary Documents of American History (Virtual Programs & Services, Library of Congress). N.p., n.d. Web. 08 May 2014. Randall, J. G., and David Herbert Donald. The Civil War and Reconstruction. Lexington, MA: Heath, 1969. N. pag. Web. "Reconstruction in the South." Reconstruction in the South. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2014. "Southern Resistance." Reconstruction Era. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2014. SparkNotes. SparkNotes, n.d. Web. 11 May 2014. The cover of Harper’s Weekly, March 14, 1874 "The Ku Klux Klan in Reconstruction North Carolina: Methods of Madness in the Struggle for Southern Dominance." Omeka RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2014. Tourgee Albion, Letter on Ku Klux Klan Activities. New York Tribune, May 1870.
In this essay, the author
- Describes how the american civil war came to a terrible and bloody end with six hundred thousand casualties, the north winning and the south losing. southern soldiers returned from the war and found their home in ruins.
- Explains that the civil war helped african americans get their citizenships, rights to vote, and freedom. the reconstruction era was an opportunity of change and an expansion of freedom for former slaves.
- Explains that many steps were taken to ensure the african americans got their freedom and their rights. the thirteenth amendment to the constitution states that slavery is abolished and has ended.
- Analyzes how abram colby was assaulted by the kkk because he was a leader who jeopardized white american control and power.
- Analyzes the ku klux klan in reconstruction north carolina: methods of madness in the struggle for southern
- Analyzes how the election of 1876 crushed the dreams of millions of african americans. it was the same year as the celebration of the united states’ freedom from england.
- Argues that the north and the south were responsible for ending the efforts to establish the rights and protection for southern blacks after the civil war.
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- explanatory
- opinionated
- The Reconstruction Eraanalytical essayAfter the American Civil War ended in 1865, the nation devoted much of their time to rebuild the South, during a time period known as Reconstruction Era (1865-1877). Reconstruction generally refers to the period in which the federal government set the conditions that would allow the rebellious southern states to be readmitted into the Union. During this time, the South faced some hardships, benefits, and disappointments. Some examples of hardships that the South had to face was that the Civil War damaged the South and there was a decrease in wealth and agriculture, according to Documents 2 and 8. An example of benefits for African Americans during the Reconstruction Era is that teachers, like Charlotte Forten from Document 4, educated former slaves. However, many methods were used to deny African Americans their rights, like the Grandfather Clause (Document 6).
In this essay, the author
- Explains that after the american civil war ended in 1865, the nation devoted much of their time to rebuild the south, during a time period known as reconstruction era.
- Analyzes how the civil war damaged the south severely after many battles were fought on their ground.
- Explains charlotte forten's experience as a "negro teacher who went south to teach ex-slaves." the former slaves were excited to learn because they considered education as critical definition of freedom.
- Explains that african americans were able to serve in congress and vote after the 15th amendment was passed in january 1870.
- Explains that african americans faced many disappointments during this time period, such as literacy tests, poll taxes, and the grandfather clause.
- Analyzes how the jim crow laws segregated african americans from whites in public places. the idea of disliking one race, also known as prejudice, was expressed through the laws.
934 wordsRead More - How Did Reconstruction Affect African Americansexplanatory essayFollowing the Civil War, America underwent many changes during the Reconstruction era to reach where it needed to be or where it should’ve been. The purpose of reconstruction was to rebuild the South after the Union’s victory in the war that freed all the slaves the South had and needed. During this period, there were ratifications of amendments, social and economic factors that affected African Africans, and the end of reconstruction.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that america underwent many changes during the reconstruction era to reach where it needed to be. the purpose of reconstruction was to rebuild the south after the union's victory in the war.
- Explains that abraham lincoln's emancipation proclamation was the first change made during the reconstruction period in the united states.
- Explains that the second change was presidential reconstruction during andrew johnson's presidency. his stance was on his beliefs in unionism and states' rights.
- Explains that the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments were important because they were designed to ensure equality among the recently emancipated slaves, the african americans, and white people.
- Explains that african americans were denied their rights in many different ways during the ratification of the 15th amendment, such as jim crow laws, poll taxes, and the literacy test.
- Explains that the compromise of 1877 was an agreement that stated if hayes could remove the troops from the southern states, he would win the presidency and become president.
- Concludes that america would have been rebuilding for who knows how long had it not been for all the changes reconstruction brought. it went through numerous political, social, and economic factors to grant all men equal rights and citizenship.
729 wordsRead More - Reasons why the South Won Reconstructionanalytical essayThe 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.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the civil war marked a defining moment in united states history when eleven slaveholding states seceded from the union and formed the confederate states of america.
- Explains that after the civil war, the south needed to rejoin the north to become a united states. after lincoln's assassination, president andrew johnson took over.
- Explains that president andrew johnson, a southern democrat, was in favor of the south. he agreed with lincoln's ten-percent plan and pushed it forward.
- Analyzes how the south was able to prevent the north from imposing their northern way of life on the south during reconstruction. they removed black politicians from office and ensured that blacks never had political and civil rights.
- Concludes that lincoln won the war for the north, but president johnson won reconstruction by allowing them to create their own laws to keep the former slaves down.
837 wordsRead More - Successes and Failures of the Reconstruction Eraanalytical essayIn 1865, prior to Abraham Lincoln's assassination, Reconstruction commenced after the Confederacy's surrender at Appomattox. Post-Civil War, the South's economic, social, and political status lied in ruins. New constitutions had to be established and the country recreated to maintain peace, unity, and order in the United States.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how president lincoln aimed to crush the rebellion with armed might and get the south to give up its rebellion voluntarily and return to the union.
- Analyzes how andrew johnson, lincoln's vice-president, took the presidential office on april 15, 1865. he considered the confederate states as traitors, pardoned thousands of leaders, and argued against negroes having universal suffrage.
- Explains how corruption dominated the country after ulysses s. grant won the presidential election of 1869.
- Explains that reconstruction commenced after the confederacy's surrender at appomattox in 1865. some contemporaries considered it a waste of time and money.
- Explains how the 13th amendment, passed in 1865, officially freed all victims of slavery and involuntary servitude, but failed to define any rights or benefits given to them.
- Explains that the compromise of 1877 allowed rutherford b. hayes to be president, and called for a removal of all federal troops from the south, marking the end of reconstruction.
1465 wordsRead More - Essay On North Vs South Reconstructionanalytical essayIt’s the end of the Civil War and the nation is completely corrupt. Racism, destroyed towns, and an unscrupulous government are in the middle of the Reconstruction. The Civil War was said to be the bloodiest war in American history. Some of the battles were the Battle of Antietam, Battle of Shiloh, Seven Days Battle, and the First Battle of Bull Run. An extreme amount of people were killed. The Battle of Antietam is said to be the bloodiest day in American History. A whopping 23,000 people died in that one single day. When the Civil War ended with the Battle of Gettysburg the North and South were in ruins, but the South was completely destroyed. Thousands of miles of railroads demolished and 50 percent of all the factories in the South were completely wrecked. This is
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the civil war was the bloodiest war in american history. the southern resistance ruined the efforts to rebuild the south.
- Explains that the southern resistance killed the efforts to rebuild the south because the kkk was a terrorist group that murdered anyone who supported the reconstruction.
- Explains that the southern resistance killed the reconstruction because the south declined help from the north. the election between hayes and tilden took place at this time.
- Analyzes how the southern resistance ruined the efforts to rebuild the south because the klu klux klan was part of the north.
812 wordsRead More - Success of Reconstructionexplanatory essayReconstruction was the time period following the Civil War, which lasted from 1865 to 1877, in which the United States began to rebuild. The term can also refer to the process the federal government used to readmit the defeated Confederate states to the Union. While all aspects of Reconstruction were not successful, the main goal of the time period was carried out, making Reconstruction over all successful. During this time, the Confederate states were readmitted to the Union, the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments were ratified, and African Americans were freed from slavery and able to start new lives.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that reconstruction was the time period following the civil war, in which the united states began to rebuild.
- Explains that reconstruction was to readmit the confederate states into the union. the ten percent plan was devised by president lincoln and andrew johnson.
- Explains that tennessee was the only former confederate state recognized as having been readmitted to the union because it had ratified the fourteenth amendment.
- Explains how reconstruction helped to improve the lives of former slaves. after the civil war, african americans were allowed to make everyday decisions and take control of their lives.
- Explains that the period of reconstruction after the civil war was successful because it brought the confederate states back into the union and helped african americans experience aspects of life that they had never before been allowed to.
765 wordsRead More - Reconstruction in America After the Civil Waranalytical essayThe 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.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that america has gone through many hardships and struggles since coming together as a nation involving war and changes in the political system.
- Analyzes how hahn evokes the two strong different beliefs even after the war leaves a bitter taste in people’s mouth evolving to animosity towards one another, ultimately making reconcile difficult.
- Explains that lincoln's passing awoke two highly regarded republican leaders that came together to start 'radicals'. the plan was to disenfranchise white southerners, protect black civil rights, and confiscate south property and grant them to newly freed slaves.
- Analyzes how lincoln's death opens doors for people like blight to propose powerful counter arguments about "meaning and memory" as significant factors to reconstruction.
879 wordsRead More - Reconstruction Policy after the Civil Waropinionated essayPost-civil war the torn nation juggles wide ranges of emotions as they attempt to piece together the shattered unity but didn’t know how to go about doing so. President Lincoln had great plans for the reconstruction but was killed before he could put them into action. He was murdered by John Booth at Ford Theater and passed the next morning. Lincoln’s Vice-president, Andrew Johnson, took over and became the new president. Johnson and Congress argued about how to go about the reconstruction and in the end Congress enacted their own laws and amendments that strengthened the federal government. Freedmen weren’t truly free after the Civil war ended, free in name only. Ex-Confederates were less than the Northerners and didn’t get the rights they once had as states in a great nation. Southerners were turned away from congress and states rights weren’t bestowed upon them until much later. Their rights came back but the damage was done and left the south feeling very bitter. Reconstruction should be a combination of reunification, integration, and attempting to restore the damage brought upon U.S. citizens during the Civil War.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that reconstruction should be a combination of reunification, integration, and attempting to restore the damage brought upon u.s. citizens during the civil war.
- Explains that ex-confederates, ex rebels, and fellow countrymen were treated unfairly when returning to the union. lincoln created the 10% plan to allow southerners back into congress.
- Opines that integration of blacks would take much more than a law against slavery.
- Opines that the people who should be able to vote and run should have no issues with pledging their loyalty.
- Opines that the reconstruction period should have applied the concept of unification and helping one another rather than for profit.
- Explains that the reconstruction era was corrupt because of the corrupt views of congress and the ku klux klan. reintegrating the south was an issue because the north disliked the idea of allowing traitors back into the union.
1190 wordsRead More - Was The Reconstruction A Success Or A Failureanalytical essayReconstruction 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.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that reconstruction was a failure due to the events that took place during this period.
- Analyzes how the special field order 15 put all the land under federal control acquired by the government during the war to use for the homestead of the blacks.
- Explains that the freedmen bureau was the federal institution in control of terrains given to blacks and now they had to take it back.
- Analyzes how president johnson started the period of reconstruction by pardoning confederates soldiers if they pleaded loyalty and alliance to the union.
- Explains that congress impeached president johnson for slowing the reconstruction. grant won the elections, and the 15th amendment was added to the constitution.
- Explains that reconstruction was a hard time where bad decisions took place but god ones were put in effect like the three amendments, the civil rights bill, and the tenure of office.
957 wordsRead More - Why Did Reconstruction Fail?analytical essayReconstruction 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.
In this essay, the author
- Describes the period after the civil war, when the country was separated in two, the south was destroyed, and there were decisions to be made by the president.
- Explains that lincoln's plan to reunite the nation, restore, and heal the wounds that the aftermath of the civil war had left behind sparked tensions in the north.
- Explains that congress created the freedmen's bureau, which helped recently-freed slaves that had lost their home plantations due to the wars, and passed the civil rights act.
- Cites cassel, s. (2008, june 1). the failure of reconstruction. history conection.
- Cites gordon, t. (2010, january 1). reconstruction. the story of us. retrieved april 17, 2014.
- Analyzes how the complexity and number of ideas that led to confusion and further separation of the nation caused the process to crash and fail.
945 wordsRead More