The Numerous Changes to America from Reconstruction to the New Deal

1581 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Roosevelt's New Deal Policy and its impact on the American economy and people

America following Reconstruction was completely different from America during FDR's New Deal. In 1876, the government was based on the ideas of Laissez-faire which meant that government stayed out of the citizens' lives. Society in 1876 was dominated by white men who ran the country while there were no rights for women, blacks, and immigrants. In 1876, Americans lived on farms in rural America. By the 1930's, America was a welfare state with government just starting to control different aspects such as economy and corporations. In the 1930's women, blacks, and immigrants all had the right to vote, and the majority of Americans were living in cities. Blacks had the right to vote; however, they were usually disenfranchised by whites. The main changes in the government were that it went from having no authority to being full-inclusive. The significant change in the society was it went from a white male-dominant society to slowly moving towards equality.

Following Reconstruction, Americans were concerned with building a New South which brought changes to the social traditions since slavery had ended. Because whites believed they were superior, they needed to keep blacks in their place. They first tried segregating them which was legal as long as the facilities were supposedly equal because of the Supreme Court ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson. Then the white Americans also tried to disenfranchise the blacks by implementing poll taxes and grandfather clauses. Finally, to keep blacks in their place, whites went to lynching blacks. Blacks such as Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois responded to their racial inequality but had little success against the traditional views of the white Southerners.

The South, following...

... middle of paper ...

...r Roosevelt made sure that women were also taken care of in the New Deal. Minorities were discriminated against even in the New Deal programs. The New Deal did not provide recovery to the American economy right away, but it did restore the policies and programs to ensure that another depression does not happen in American history. The economy did not completely recover until after World War II.

In conclusion, America went through many drastic changes from the end Reconstruction to the New Deal. Most of these changes involved significant alterations to the social and political climates of American.

REFERENCE

Goldfield, D., Abbott, C., Anderson, V.D., Argersinger, J. E., Argersinger, P.H., Barney, W.L.,

& Weir, R.M. (2004). The American journey: A history of the United States (Volume II, 3rd

ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Show More
Related

  • Reconstruction Essay

    721 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...d or were members of the organization. By the 1870’s many of the state governments that had been set up by Republicans using the loose coalition of black southerners, carpet baggers, and scalawags had been reverted back and put in the hands of white supremacists and the old elite, seeking revenge. This came in the form of segregation, the denial of land and jobs to blacks, as well as poll taxes and literacy tests to prevent blacks from voting. In the end, Reconstruction held such promise for a truly equal south, but the actions taken by President Johnson and the eventual lack of northern support left the fledgling Reconstruction governments to fend for themselves in a sea of hostile extremists and angered southerners. This failure is the direct cause of the race issues such as segregation and profiling, which still arise even today in the 21st century.

    Read More

  • Civil War Reconstruction Dbq

    941 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the time period of 1860 and 1877 many major changes occurred. From the beginning of the civil war to the fall of the reconstruction, the United States changed dramatically. Nearly one hundred years after the Declaration of Independence which declared all men equal, many social and constitutional alterations were necessary to protect the rights of all people, no matter their race. These social and constitutional developments that were made during 1860 to 1877 were so drastic it could be called a revolution.

    Read More

  • Freedom Summer comparisons with Era of Reconstruction

    801 Words  | 2 Pages

    Civil rights is another aspect that didn’t change. During Reconstruction, blacks were often seen not heard. It was usually the white man’s word over the black man’s word. Even if there was a crowd of people that saw what happened, unless they were black, they sided with the white man. But if these actions involved a white man getting hurt or killed for supporting the black community, that’s when the government stepped in to put and end to it.

    Read More

  • Gender and Power in the Salem Witch Trials

    1138 Words  | 3 Pages

    Goldfield, David. The American Journey A History of the United States. New Jersey: Pearson 2011

    Read More

  • Booker T. Washington

    641 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the late 1800's, more and more blacks became victims of lynchings and Jim Crow laws that segregated blacks. To reduce racial conflicts, I advised blacks to stop demanding equal rights and to simply get along with whites. I urged whites to give black better jobs.

    Read More

  • Ida B. Wells, Booker T, Washington, and W.E.B Dubois

    1245 Words  | 3 Pages

    Beginning in the 1890’s Jim Crow laws or also known as the color-line was put into effect in the Southern states. These laws restricted the rights of blacks and segregation from the white population. These laws were put into effect as partially a result of the reaction of the whites to blacks not submitting to segregation of railroads, streetcars, and other public facilities. African Americans Ids B. Wells, Booker T. Washington, and W.E.B Dubois had differing opinions on the color-line. Wells and Dubois felt the color-line created prejudice toward blacks and that the black population could not become equal with the whites under such conditions. On the other hand, Booker T. Washington thought the laws were a good compromise between the parties at the time.

    Read More

  • Reconstruction: The Promises And Failure Of Reconstruction

    807 Words  | 2 Pages

    Reconstruction failed because of the North’s and South’s inability to come together on political, economic, and cultural issues during the rebuilding process in the post-war years. Though the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments abolished slavery and permitted rights for African Americans in the South, the establishment of such laws as the Black Codes by Southern State Governments inhibited African American’s freedom. Among regulating their right to vote, marry, and own property, the codes affected African American’s ability to earn jobs, which eliminated the black workforce, so it did not pose a threat of competing with white individuals who were seeking jobs. Economic progression in the South proved to be a failure during Reconstruction, due to the inability of the two sides’ coming together to an agreement on how the South should rebuild. Industrialization in the South only progressed as a stipulation from the Compromise of 1877, in which the Federal Government agreed to take the steps to help implement the

    Read More

  • Black Status: Post Civil War America

    1111 Words  | 3 Pages

    Reconstruction was intended to give African-Americans the chance for a new and better life. Many of them stayed with their old masters after being freed, while others left in search of opportunity through education as well as land ownership. However this was not exactly an easy task. There were many things standing in their way, chiefly white supremacists and the laws and restrictions they placed upon African-Americans. Beginning with the 'black codes' established by President Johnson's reconstruction plan, blacks were required to have a curfew as well as carry identification. Labor contracts established under Johnson's Reconstruction even bound the 'freedmen' to their respective plantations. A few years later, another set of laws known as the 'Jim Crow' laws directly undermined the status of blacks by placing unfair restrictions on everything from voting rights all the way to the segregation of water fountains. Besides these restrictions, the blacks had to deal with the Democratic Party whose northern wing even denounced racial equality. As a result of democratic hostility and the Republican Party's support of Black suffrage, freedmen greatly supported the Republican Party.

    Read More

  • American History, 1865-1900

    1131 Words  | 3 Pages

    The years after the civil war left one half of America, the north, satisfied and the other half, the south, mostly dissatisfied. Therefore the last third of the nineteenth century, 1865-1900, was a time period in which America was mending, repairing, improving, reshaping, and reconstructing its society, economy, culture, and policies. Basically it was changing everything it stood for. This continual change can be seen in the following events that took place during this time. These events are both causes and effects of why America is what it is today. These are some examples: the reconstruction of the south, the great movement towards the west, the agricultural revolution, the rise of industrialism, the completion of the transcontinental railroad, and America's growth to gaining world power. All of these are reasons and events that characterize America as being an ever-changing nation.

    Read More

  • Roosevelt and The New Deal

    1547 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...nment went from being passive to having much responsibilities in the lives of the people. Most of what Roosevelt did was to better the economy and benefit the people. Most of the laws he passed had to do with his three r's: relief, recovery, and reform. Roosevelt took the presidency during a rough time period, but through the New Deal, the government greatly expanded into the lives of the people and led them out of depression.

    Read More

  • Effects Of Reconstruction

    1323 Words  | 3 Pages

    America has gone through many political, social and economic crises throughout her lifetime. One revolutionary movement called as Reconstruction after a civil war was established. Reconstruction refers to the era or period after the civil war when the United States was rebuilding and reuniting. Reconstruction was one of the complex situations in the US history. All the citizens had anticipated for the better nation from the reconstruction. Millions of people at that period were optimistic and hopeful because it was the greatest time of the transformation of social, political and economic status of a nation. Reconstruction was assumed to possess an enormous accomplishment in the US history, but it was not entirely successful in making that

    Read More

  • Manifest Destiny

    1323 Words  | 3 Pages

    Appleby, Joyce, Alan Brinkley, James M. McPherson. The American Journey: Building a Nation. New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2000

    Read More

  • Reconstruction In The Era Of Reconstruction

    1281 Words  | 3 Pages

    Tragically, however, very few of these goals were achieved. It seems as if every time the African Americans manage to move one step closer to reaching true equality among the Southern whites, whether it be in a social, political, or economic fashion, the whites always react by committing violent acts against them. Initially, the Southern whites (in fear of black supremacy in Southern politics) fought to preserve the white supremacy Southern politics had always functioned by. This “ushered most African Americans to the margins of the southern political world” (Brinkley, 369). Secondly, African Americans struggled to survive once they were set free; they had nowhere to live and nothing to eat. Because of such reasons, most former slaves decided to remain living on their plantations as tenants, paying their tenancy by working the crop fields. Sadly, even this failed for the African Americans due to the birth of the crop-lien system. Lastly, the Southern whites counteracted the effects of the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments by establishing the Jim Crow laws, which aided them with upholding, if not increasing, the steady level of segregation in the South. Ultimately, out of the very few accomplishments made by the African American population during and following the Era of Reconstruction, there existed one achievement significant enough to change the course of American history: the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments. As a result of these amendments, “would one day serve as the basis for a “Second Reconstruction” that would renew the drive to bring freedom to all Americans” (Brinkley,

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Washington And W. E. B. Dubois

    1057 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the late 19th and early 20th century, racial injustice was very prominent and even wildly accepted in the South. Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois were two of the most renowned “pioneers in the [search] for African-American equality in America” (Washington, DuBois, and the Black Future). Washington was “born a slave” who highly believed in the concept of “separate but equal,” meaning that “we can be as [distant] as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress” (Washington 1042). DuBois was a victim of many “racial problems before his years as a student” and disagreed with Washington’s point of view, which led

    Read More

  • Exploring The Natural History Museum

    2048 Words  | 5 Pages

    Race relations and the comeback of conservative Democrats have extremely limited African-American opportunities. The northern industrial continued by economic advances, less by corruption and the depression of 1873. The Compromise of 1877 ended the Reconstruction era.

    Read More

More about The Numerous Changes to America from Reconstruction to the New Deal

Open Document