U.S. Reconsturction

After the Civil War ended in 1865, the new struggle was a plan that would possibly unite the nation. This plan was known as the “Reconstruction.” When the Civil War ended most cities in the south were fine, but as you proceeded to the countryside; the barns were all burnt, chimneys standing without houses and houses standing without roofs, or doors, or windows. (Hakim). At an estimated 360,000 deaths in Union and 260,00 deaths for the Confederacy, many Northerners felt that the South had to pay for their actions by punishing them. President Lincoln decided he wanted to resolve this situation in a peaceful way and asked the Northerners to forget their anger. Due to this, Lincoln wanted the Confederacy to rejoin the Union and set up new state governments as soon as possible. In congress there were people known as Radical Republican that wanted to defend the rights of the African American and change the South. John Wilkes Booth a Southern man against Lincoln’s decision shot him dead on April 14, 1865 at Fords Theater. Once, President Lincoln died, the new president was Andrew Johnson. Before Lincoln died, he had plans for the reconstruction, however President Johnson put Lincoln’s plan into action. This meant that the Southern states had to extirpate slavery. Southern Whites passed black codes to get rid of the African Americans rights. This led to the start group of the Freedmen Bureau, which provided support to the poor African Americans and Whites. Throughout the Reconstruction, Congress added three amendments to the Constitution. One benefit was that the national government had more power states. The first of three amendments passed was the thirteenth amendment, which got rid of slavery, however Black Codes still restricted Afric...

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...y this event is not only important to history, but it’s very important to us.

Works Cited

Britannica.com, Reconstruction http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/493722/Reconstruction/295416/The-end-of-Reconstruction

June 2, 2014. Internet.

Davidson, James West and Michael B. Stoff. America: A History of Our Nation. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, 2011. Print.

Hakim, Joy. A History of US Volume 7: Reconstructing America 1865- 1890. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. Class Reading

History.com, Reconstruction http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/reconstruction June 2, 2014. Internet.

Mutone, Stephanie. U.S. History Demystified; Hard stuff made easy. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. Print.

Sparknotes.com Title: Reconstruction Summary (1865-1877) http://www.sparknotes.com/history/american/reconstruction/summary.html June 2, 2014. Internet.