Reconstruction Dbq

Seth Weymouth
Mrs.Seaton/Mr.Blomenkamp
English III/U.S. History
29 October 2014
Reconstruction of the South
Think back to when the Civil War finally ended after five terrible years of battle and a poor farmer is trying to pick up his life make a living for his family. The southern reconstruction of 1865 was suppose to aid the farmer in reestablish his life and homestead, yet the years delay postponed the inevitable. After the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, the Reconstruction Bill halted, due to the policies for President Ulysses S. Grant. When many people thought reconstruction was killed, it was actually just delayed and was later reinstated by President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1877. In the eleven years it took for the South to

The civil war freed the slaves in the South which severely hurt the farmers production. Farmers lost a substantial amount of money from the loss of free labor. Now that the slaves were free, the farmers were forced to either pay the slaves or do the work themselves. This was a huge set back for the agricultural economy because the plantations were not as effective as they once were. On top of the loss of labor, the farmer’s fields and plantations were destroyed. The vast fields were used as battlegrounds in the Civil War. The fields and crops were destroyed and ruined. With the production at a screeching halt, farmers were put in a dilemma. With the crops un-salvageable, the farmers were not exporting anything. The Southern states were put in an economic depression without the export of goods. Property values plummeted due to the economic

The Ku Klux Klan used violence to strike fear in black voters. The clan members didn’t believe that blacks were equal to the superior white people. The Ku Klux Klan targeted any black farmers, businessmen, politicians, and all other African Americans in their wake. They attacked schoolteachers that taught blacks and would often attack black students going to and from school. They would also attack any white people that were supporting black rights (Morales1).For instance, the Ku Klux Klan murdered and hung a state senator at court house as an example. The members killed him because they wanted to ward people off from voting for equality for African Americans. Freedom for slavery was a bumpy, hazardous path that had many rough edges which was a huge delay (McCardell296). Another way the clan tried to deter the political world was the abducted a George State Legislature from his home and viciously beat him because he would not forfeit his morals about the freedom for blacks. They bribed him with lots money to persuade him to leave his office but he stayed true to his beliefs. The Ku Klux Klan killed or injured thousands of African Americans and supports (Morales1). At this time of the reconstruction, the Ku Klux Klan was at a down fall. They’re main intentions were to discourage blacks and black supporters. But as the Reconstruction era progressed, people, both black and white,