reconstruction

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When the Civil War ended a period known as Reconstruction began, lasting from 1865 to 1877. The main goals of Reconstruction included reunifying the Southern states into the union, rebuilding the South’s declined economy, and promoting the rights freed slaves now possessed. Despite the intentions for Reconstruction though, it was generally considered a failure. Reconstruction was an overall failure that resulted from Andrew Johnson’s presidency, the Black Codes, sharecropping, and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan. This period of rebuilding following the Civil War remained a time of great tension, pain and unending questions.
One main reason Reconstruction was a failure is because of Andrew Johnson’s presidency. After the death of Abraham Lincoln, his vice president, Andrew Johnson assumed presidency. While his plan for Reconstruction was similar to Lincolns, he merely worsened the process of Reconstruction altogether. He was very racist and would openly speak negatively about African Americans. He also belonged to the Democratic political party of the South, which was the opposing political party of congress. Johnson undermined any efforts congress made to benefit freed African Americans by vetoing laws. One main bill Johnson vetoed was known as the Freedmen’s Bureau. This bureau was intended to provide necessities like food, clothes, and education to African Americans and whites in the South. The Freedmen’s Bureau Schools also taught them a variety of skills including how to find a job. However, he vetoed the Bureau with no consideration for African Americans. Johnson did not support the reconciliation of freed African Americans and Southern white men. He instead supported the discrimination of freed slaves and a government that li...

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...rican Americans struggled in new communities and the KKK created even more difficulties for them. Members of the Klan dressed in all white burning black schools, homes and churches. State governments within the South remained helpless silently supporting these violent acts. The Klan used terror tactics like beating and sometimes killing to threaten African Americans and other people who supported them; the organizations major goal was to reestablish white control. Racial violence by Klan members continued to grow throughout the South despite efforts of reformation by the Union.
In conclusion, the plans for Reconstruction were an overall failure caused by Andrew Johnson’s presidency, the Black Codes, sharecropping, and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan. Despite the intentions for Reconstruction there was much resistance in the Reconstruction plan and reform efforts.

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