The Reconstruction Era, a time of great change in the United States. Following the Civil War, this era was a time when the government was trying to put the country back together with the North and South pieces. The trick was putting the nation back in a manner that would not result in recreating the causes that led to the United States breaking apart. Most of the South was in shambles, along with it government, after being devastated by the warfare that primarily took place in this region. One of the primary focuses was equality under the Constitution for those who did not previously have it before the Civil War. This was mainly centered on African Americans, previous slaves who had been freed under the Emancipation Act during the war. Now it was time to make sure that these former slaves received the rights that they deserved in this era. It took the result of the government stepping in to allow for sure liberties to occur. Yet, even with new amendments, African Americans were not treated equally and ways were found to go around such laws. Even women were not treated equally and attempted at this time to receive civil rights and liberties. Without this time of change and groups reaching for individual rights under the government, we would not be where we are today in this nation of diversity. After the Civil War, African Americans were supposedly free from slavery and would be treated as equals. However, life for these once slaves would be nothing of like what was expected, only knowing freedom by what they saw that their masters had. With this newfound freedom granted to them by the 13th Amendment that emancipated them from slavery, African Americans believed they could live the free lives they had dreamed about. “The famil... ... middle of paper ... ... that was building. Even though the movement did not gain immediate results or victories, I believe the movement was successful. It set the foundation for individuals in the future to stand up for their natural born rights. Rights that were given to the white male population. Not to account that this population was only the middle and high class groups. Poor whites, females, African Americans, immigrants and Native Americans were denied rights under the Constitution. Works Cited Notes: 1. Eric Foner, “The Making of,” in Give Me Liberty!: An American History (New York: W.W. Norton &, 2009), 523. 2. Foner, “The Making of,” 523. 3. Foner, “The Making of,” 524. 4. Foner, “The Making of,” 529. 5. Foner, “The Making of,” 535. 6. Foner, “The Making of,” 549. 7. Foner, “The Making of,” 537. 8. Foner, “The Making of,” 541. 9. Foner, “The Making of,” 543.
Reconstruction could be considered one of the largest projects ever undertaken. The mess that was the south, left in the ruins of a bloody war, called for drastic measures. The inquisition that begs to be asked is whether or not this venture was a success. Unfortunately the answer isn't as simple as "yes" or "no". Although many promises were broken, the much-debated goals of Reconstruction are still present in the minds of today's leaders as we continue to rebuild our country.
In the words of President Abraham Lincoln during his Gettysburg Address (Doc. A), the Civil War itself, gave to our Nation, “a new birth of freedom”. The Civil War had ended and the South was in rack and ruin. Bodies of Confederate soldiers lay lifeless on the grounds they fought so hard to protect. Entire plantations that once graced the South were merely smoldering ash. The end of the Civil War and the abolishment of slavery, stirred together issues and dilemmas that Americans, in the North and South, had to process, in hopes of finding the true meaning of freedom.
Reconstruction 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.
This story was set in the deep south were ownership of African Americans was no different than owning a mule. Demonstrates of how the Thirteenth Amendment was intended to free slaves and describes the abolitionist’s efforts. The freedom of African Americans was less a humanitarian act than an economic one. There was a battle between the North and South freed slaves from bondage but at a certain cost. While a few good men prophesied the African Americans were created equal by God’s hands, the movement to free African Americans gained momentum spirited by economic and technological innovations such as the export, import, railroad, finance, and the North’s desire for more caucasian immigrants to join America’s workforce to improve our evolving nation. The inspiration for world power that freed slaves and gave them initial victory of a vote with passage of the Fifteenth Amendment. A huge part of this story follows the evolution of the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment more acts for civil rights.
The Reconstruction-era offered numerous opportunities to African-Americans, by attempting to secure the rights for ex-slaves, but the opportunities presented even more obstacles to them. The thought of freedom intrigued the African-Americans at first, but many of them quickly changed their minds after experiencing it. Henry William Ravenel, a slaveowner, proclaimed, "When they were told they were free, some said they did not wish to be free, and they were silenced with threats of being shot (Firsthand 24)." The Reconstruction-era effected the white settlers and their crops, as well, posing yet more obstacles for the already-struggling African-Americans. The hardships endured throughout this period of history were very immense and the struggle toward freedom and equality held a heavy price for all.
The Civil war could very easily be known as one of the greatest tragedies in United States history. After the Civil War, the people of The United States had so much anger and hatred towards each other and the government that 11 Southern states seceded from the Nation and parted into two pieces. The Nation split into either the Northern abolitionist or the Southern planation farmers. The Reconstruction era was meant to be exactly how the name announces it to be. It was a time for the United States to fix the broken pieces the war had caused allowing the country to mend together and unite once again. The point of Reconstruction was to establish unity between the states and to also create and protect the civil rights of the former slaves. Although Reconstruction failed in many aspects such as the upraise in white supremacy and racism, the reconstruction era was a time the United States took a lead in the direction of race equality.
Following the Civil War, life in the south was dramatically changed. America faced an arduous task of rebuilding the devastated economy and social infrastructure in former Confederate states. This new movement was known as the Reconstruction era, and it was responsible for the emergence of a multifaceted industrialization of manufactured goods and transportation networks. In the book, Steel Drivin’ Man, Scott Reynolds Nelson conveys the intensity of political debate during the Reconstruction era. The conflict revolved around the role of the federal government in domestic affairs as well as the status of recently freed African-American slaves. This period marked the emergence of John Henry, a former African-American slave that became a classic figure of American folklore myths. He was known as the man who defeated the steam-powered drill in a race, but died shortly after from inhaling the rock dust generated by the steam drills. The story of John Henry emerged out of and reflected the histories of southern reconstruction by outlining the political, social, and economic changes that undermined black equality.
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...
"African-Americans as a matter of our highest law were in fact no more citizens than cattle. " -- Ira Glasser, Legacy of Racial Subjugation, 2014
Americans did not simply end when the war was over. African Americans were discriminated against in every way imaginable during reconstruction and after reconstruction was over an egalitarian society was far from created. This essay will take a look at the way state governments, local governments and the federal government played a role in keeping African Americans down and limiting them from fulfilling
As stated many historians have begun to describe the Reconstruction Era as a “Splendid Failure”, given the intricate circumstances in the political and economic issues in America following the effects of the Civil War, it is not a complete revelation that the Reconstruction Era was going to face difficult and most challenging obstacles throughout the era. The Reconstruction Era provided success of many different business and began a series of small and large business in which contributed to the Industrialization Era. As new industrial businesses were establishing, advertising came as a vital component. In the chapter, describes the many opportunities that were created through Thomas Edison’s light bulb invention allowing employees to work longer
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,
The reconstruction Era is the time after the civil war when we started to form ourselves as a complete united country. The civil war ended in April of 1865, and Abraham Lincoln was sadly assassinated less than a week later. Reconstruction was Lincoln’s idea, and he was largely anti-slavery, so his plan for reconstruction involved all states to draft new state constitutions that completely abolished slavery. It was his ultimate goal to reunited our nation after the war. Unfortunately, after his death, Lincoln’s vice president, Andrew Johnson, took over, and introduced a different plan for reconstruction. He said that states had to take a vow to abolish slavery before they could be readmitted into the nation, but after that, horrible black codes
It is common knowledge that the American Civil War provided freedom and certain civil rights, including to right to vote, to the African-American population of the nineteenth-century. What is not generally known, and only very rarely acknowledged, is that after freeing the slaves held in the Southeastern portion of the U.S., the federal government abandoned these same African-Americans at the end of the Reconstruction period.2
The beginning of the 20th century was a memorable time in history for the United States. This time period drastically changed our country politically and socially by reform. The Presidents that ruled our country during this era were especially powerful and made many differences, women and African Americans were starting to take a stand, and our country was able to make it all the way through the Great Depression. All of these events that took place in the early 1900s helped our country regain strength and find a balance of its power. The act of reformation, helped to strongly shape America into what it has become today.