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reconstruction era after the civil war
reconstruction era informative essay
reconstruction era informative essay
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Was Reconstruction a Success or Failure? The United States, a nation that has undergone many hard changes, politically, economically, and socially. The success of this great nation has relied on different plans and objectives set out by the leaders that have gone before us. One plan that helped shape our nation was Reconstruction. Though many consider Reconstruction to be a failure, Reconstruction helped pass laws that recognized African Americans as equals, restored the Union, and provided educational opportunities for former slaves. These initiatives are what made Reconstruction a success. As the Civil War ended, according to Norton et al., America was a nation in need of “healing, justice, and physical rebuilding” (465). The war had left …show more content…
Although many laws were passed that recognized African Americans as equals, the liberties they had been promised were not being upheld. Hoffman, Blum, and Gjerde state that “Union League members in a North Carolina county, upon learning of three or four black men who ‘didn’t mean to vote,’ threatened to ‘whip them’ and ‘made them go.’ In another country, ‘some few colored men who declined voting’ were, in the words of a white conservative, ‘bitterly persecute[ed]” (22). Black codes were also made to control African Americans. Norton et al. states that “the new black codes compelled former slaves to carry passes, observe a curfew, live in housing provided by a landowner, and give up hope of entering many desirable occupations” (476). The discrimination and violence towards African Americans during this era and the laws passed that were not being enforced were very disgraceful. However, Reconstruction was a huge stepping stone for the way our nation is shaped today. It wasn’t pretty but it was the step our nation needed to take. We now live in a country where no matter the race, everyone is considered equal. Reconstruction was a success. Without it, who knows where our nation would be today. African American may have never gained the freedoms they have today without the
With the end of the Civil war, many blacks felt that they would start reaping the benefits that had been denied from them for years. Being able to vote, own land, have a voice in political affairs were all goals that they felt were reachable. The era of Reconstruction was the “miracle” they had been searching for. But the South wasn’t going down without a fight and blacks would have to wait at least 100 years for Freedom Summer to arrive to receive the “miracle” they wanted. 100 years it took for equality to become more than just a word but a way of life for blacks. But they did enjoy some privileges that weren’t available to them.
The seed sown by the wealthy Southern plantation owner of racial disparity had germinated to later become the profoundly discriminatory society. The suppression and unjust behavior of white southern plantation owner towards black slaves had led the civil war, which transition the new era of uncertainty. The work of post-civil war does not end with the abolishment of slavery, but it only starts. The task of rebuilding the south, readmission of the confederate army to union, and providing assistance for the free people of post war, was later known as reconstruction. The work of reconstruction had not only failed to rebuild the nation as the united. But it also failed profoundly of what was the urgent needs of the post war; provide assistance
Reconstruction was a time period, following the Civil War, which focused on rebuilding the nation. Reconstruction was primarily focused with readmitting the seceded states into the Union. Another major issue was the condition of the approximately 4 million freedmen.
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,
As a country, America has gone through many political changes throughout her lifetime. Leaders have come and gone, all of them having different objectives and plans for the future. As history takes its course, though, most all of these “revolutionary movements” come to an end. One such movement was Reconstruction. Reconstruction was a time period in America consisting of many leaders, goals and accomplishments. Though, like all things in life, it did come to an end, the resulting outcome has been labeled both a success and a failure. When Reconstruction began in 1865, a broken America had just finished fighting the Civil War. In all respects, Reconstruction was mainly just that. It was a time period of “putting back the pieces”, as people
During the reconstruction period, African Americans benefited from the civil rights act of March 1866 and the 13th, 14th and 15th amendment. However, for African Americans in the former confederacy, opportunities were limited as in1865 and 1866 the former confederacy states passed black codes’ a replacement of the former slave codes, which once again forcibly cemented the second-class status of African Americans. The most oppressive of the codes was against vagrancy, ...
The period of Reconstruction after the Civil War was successful because it brought the Confederate states back into the Union, which is what one definition of the term Reconstruction refers to, and it helped African Americans to experience aspects of life that they had never before been allowed to. Due to the ratification of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments, former slaves were able to start new lives for themselves with legal rights to defend their actions.
Reconstruction has been brutally murdered! For a little over a decade after the Civil War, the victorious North launched a campaign of social, economic, and political recovery in South. Martial law was also implemented in the South. Eventually, the North hoped to admit the territory in the former Confederacy back into the United States as states. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments freed the African Americans, made them citizens, and gave them the right to vote. Despite this, Reconstruction was unfortunately cut short in 1877. The North killed Recosntruction because of racism, negligence, and distractions.
After the close of the Civil War, African American slaves were recognized by the federal government as being free men and women. This new-found freedom led to a push for greater rights, including the ability to educate themselves, own property, and obtain jobs that would provide support for their families. To assist in these matters, the government responded with the creation of the Freedmen’s Bureau, an agency that was designed to create a new social order. Through the building of schools, the provision of medical care, and access to the justice system, African Americans were given a host of rights that had been denied them in years past (“Making…”, 1997). It was no wonder, then, that southern whites rejected many of these practices and took steps to undercut the advances of this agency. As they were gradually re-admitted to the union, many southern states passed black codes,...
Over the course of centuries, Americans faced many hardships when it came to dealing with the economy and the social and political living. One thing that most really struck these Americans was the Civil War because they became in need for a reason for this war. David Blight, the author of Race and Reunion, argues that there had been two competing interests: healing and justice, in which one of them began to fade away: this is because many Americans had a different perspective of the Civil War, which eventually overpowered justice.
By 1866, several distinct positions on Reconstruction emerged. These were divided into three opposing camps: Conservatives (democrats), Moderates, and Radicals. The Conservatives believed the South should be readmitted into the Union as soon as possible, but the Radicals and Moderates believed there should be consequences for succeeding.
The reconstruction was a failure in U.S history. Due to the “Ku Klux Klan”, they renamed the slave codes to the black codes, and racial segregation towards african americans. Reconstruction could’ve been a success towards the United States if people didn’t treat African American and blacks with so much disrespect once they were free out of slavery.
Even though African Americans were considered citizens there was still discrimination against them. Citizenship for African Americans was very different from citizenship for white people so even though the amendment was passed it did not make a difference. Yet another amendment was passed during reconstruction. This was the 13th amendment which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude. You may read it and say that reconstruction was a success but let's take a deeper look. When the 13th amendment was passed the south was irate. The south mainly depended on slaves to get there work done so they did not want to lose them. This led to the rise of racial groups and racial violence. Was it worth it? No just because slavery was being abolished did not mean that slaves were free. Remember slaves were set free and given no money so if they wanted money they had to work. So former slave owners saw this as an opportunity to get back there slaves. They made this concept called sharecropping. This basically let former slaves get land and plant on
My main priority in the Reconstruction is to provide assistance to the South, while not comprising on the moral principles. As a northerner, I viewed slavery as immoral, so many of the laws I passed were to benefit African Americans and reunite the country. The Wade-Davis that I encourage Congress to pass, was to ensure that the Southern states never again secede from the Union, by having the majority of white males pledge their loyalty to the Union, abolish slavery, and renounce the Confederacy. Next, I tried to reestablish the South as a major agricultural production center by requiring former slave owners to hire help to plant and grow food. If they treated their workers unfairly, meaning like they were still slaves, and many of the workers
The original purpose of Reconstruction was to restore the buildings and the economy of the south the best they could, but without the immoral element of slavery. But, reconstruction under the Johnson Presidency was a failure for a few reasons: 1) Convict Leasing, 2) Sharecropping, 3) the Ku Klux Klan, 4) Segregation in schools, even in the North, 5) Carpetbaggers/Scalawags, 6) misleading statistics, and 7) racism.