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Problems in need of reconstruction after the civil war
The rise of the ku klux klan
Problems in need of reconstruction after the civil war
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In 1863, two years prior to the end of the Civil War, the Era of Reconstruction of the United States had begun. This period of reconstruction was a time of chaos and disorder uprooted from the strong resentment against white Southerners that postwar plans had created. Reconstruction plans of Abraham Lincoln, Radical Republicans in Congress, and Andrew Johnson were very diverse and contained many distinct differences. Passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, which banned slavery, established the rights of African Americans, and defined the basis by which Southern states could rejoin the Union, inflamed this strong sense of anger and resentment. The actions of the Radical Republicans, especially, led to many changes in the South. Thaddeus Stevens and Charles Sumner, leaders of this zealous antislavery advocate group, held many motives which they hoped would lead them to possess power by taking advantage of South through any way possible. A group formed of a coalition of Northern altruists, industrialists, former Whigs, practical politicians, the Radical Republicans shared similar qualities and beliefs that abolitionists held. They were not committed to the emancipation of slaves and in favor of abolitionism, but believed that freed slaves should hold the same rights that whites held. Radicals believed that blacks were entitled to the same political rights and opportunities as whites, fully dedicated to achieving equal treatment and enfranchisement of freed blacks. Radical Republicans, like abolitionists, opposed the Fugitive Slave Act and the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Following the elections of 1860, Radical Republicans began to develop a strong, powerful force in Congress, some becoming chairmen of important committees. In the ... ... middle of paper ... ...avorable cause, and many Radicals began to lose their seats in Congress. The Radical Republicans, those who remained in Congress, urged President Ulysses S. Grant to take action against the newly formed Ku Klux Klan, who killed blacks, whites, and immigrants. On April 20th, 1871, Congress passed the Ku Klux Act, which gave the president the power to intervene in troubled states with the authority to suspend a writ of habeas corpus in countries where such conflicts occurred. The Ku Klux Act became the Radical Republicans’ last considerable victory in Congress. In the 1870s, several Radical Republicans agitated for the eight hour day and improved conditions and treatment for the working people. But, with limited power and isolation in Congress, the Radical Republicans were unable to persuade Congress to pass legislation to protect the emerging trade union movement.
After the Civil War, the Radical Republicans had a different view from that of President Andrew Johnson with respect to Reconstruction. Just like Abraham Lincoln, his predecessor who lived barely a year into the Reconstruction before he was assassinated, President Johnson was of the idea that a more lenient and conciliatory approach should be taken in the South which had faced a lot of damage due to the civil war. On the other hand, Radical Republicans were against both Lincoln’s and Johnson’s approaches and policies on reconstruction as they were too lenient. The Radical Republicans approach was more strict and firmer because it wanted the Federal government to exert more control of the South during Reconstruction by ensuring the protection
In the beginning of the 1860s, there were constitutional developments that arose to a radical extent because it suffices the beliefs of American citizens with the issue over slavery. For instance, Abraham Lincoln taking hold of the presidency was an impacting ...
“Industrial unions dominated the landscape of the late nineteen century U.S. labor movement.” They gathered all level workers together without discrimination of gender, race, or nationality. They declared the eight-hour workday for the first time when normal work time should be 12. Low wage of workers caused the “Great Strike of 1877”, which began with railroad workers in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. After the “Great Strike”, industrial union started to
In order to unite the nation, intense dispute had aroused. Through various laws both African Americans and ex-Confederates were affected by the reconstruction period. Although the Reconstruction Era had gained a negative legacy, the ratification of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were a breakthrough in the life of African Americans. The continuous development of polices was to reach the intended goal that the Reconstruction Era was sought for, to unify the United States of
...onstitution through the 13 (abolished slavery), 14 (minumun guaratntees as a precondition to their readmission back into the Union), and 15th amendmentm (black suffrage). These amendments could have been passed any other time and in the second reconstruction (brown versus the board of …). Taylot, "What if anything reconstrution accomplised in Louisiana? The state did get a better constution but a subseqent changes made the law a joke." Reconstrution in Lousianan brought temporary change. But it gave to another generation the opportunity to accomplish what their ancestors had failed to do during reconstrution. "
Around 1871 and 1872 Reconstruction started to decline. The main change of ideologies was presented thanks to the unpopularity of the Republican Party and the fear present mainly by the white population. After the reconstruction acts; which represented an effort to crush anti-black sentiment and to assure black votes and the Federal Army was moved away southern whites feared the power that African Americans were acquiring and decided to act upon it. The fear can be seen in a quote General Gordon “Our people have always flet that if the white troops of the Federal Army could have been stationed in those negro belts we would have been safe” (Wish, p.162) During the reconstruction era, white supremacists groups such as the KKK came into play. They were dedicated to raising terror in black communities and challenged their political and social views as well as white people that supported the black cause; although many members of this organization believed they were acting as a “peace police”(Wish, p. 153). Later on, political power swayed towards political and social white supremacist views. This can be seen during the compromise of 1877. There was a great dispute during the presidential election of 1876. Republican Hayes and Democrat Tilden fought for the White House. Eventually they came to the agreement that Hayes would be president if he removed federal
As a central figure in the Republican Party and passionate advocate for anti-slavery, William Henry Seward characterized the conflict between the Southern Democrats and Northern Republicans as inevitable. Each political party had two radically different ideologies regarding the expansion of slavery into western territories. The Southern Democrats believed that slavery should exist in all western states while the Northern Republicans strongly disagreed. Similar to the ideologies of the Republicans, Seward believed that slavery was unjust and humans were granted the r...
In the first few years of the Reconstruction, violent acts against the former slaves took place primarily in the south. In 1866, about one year after the civil war, the most well renowned terrorist group of the time, the Klu Klux Klan, took shape in Tennessee. In 1866, the Civil Rights Bill was proposed in Congress. At the time, it was referred to as, “one of the most important bills ever presented to the House for its action.”
The majority of speculations regarding the causes of the American Civil War are in some relation to slavery. While slavery was a factor in the disagreements that led to the Civil War, it was not the solitary or primary cause. There were three other, larger causes that contributed more directly to the beginning of the secession of the southern states and, eventually, the start of the war. Those three causes included economic and social divergence amongst the North and South, state versus national rights, and the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Dred Scott case. Each of these causes involved slavery in some way, but were not exclusively based upon slavery.
It created a political situation tantamount to slavery and it also placed the same southerners in political power who had power before the war (6)! Radical Republicans attempted to developed political equality for freedmen by the passage of Reconstruction Amendments: 13th- ended slavery, 14th gave equal protection under the law and 15th gave blacks right to vote. Unfortunately South, where most slaves were located, refused to ratify 14th amendment, altogether it was passed after the first Reconstruction Act as states were mandated to ratify it in order to be readmitted to the Union. At the end of the Reconstruction blacks still suffered from the political inequality in one way or the
Aside from the presidential reconstruction, the Congressional Reconstruction was also taking place. The Congressman disagreed with both Lincoln and Johnson’s plans for Reconstruction. Their main two goals was to integrate African Americans into society by granting them citizenship and the right to vote, and the second goal was to destroy the political powers that former slaveholders had in the South. They first implemented these ideas by passing the Civil Rights Act of 1866. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 gave African Americans citizenship and forbade states from passing discriminatory laws. Although the black codes came about and Andrew Johnson vetoed the bill, Congress had the power to override his veto. This shows that even though the President is the leader of the nation, the Constitution guarantees that Congress has some measure of influence over the President and may chose to block his procedures, Check and Balances. With success, Congress passed the Fourteenth Amendment, which states that all persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens of the country. All citizens were entitled to equal protection under law and be given their rights. The Congress agreed that if the Confederate states ratified the Fourteenth Amendment they could come back into the Union. Having not followed the Congress request, Congressed passed the Reconstruction Act of 1867. This forced the Confederate states to undergo Reconstruction as the Congress wanted. To ensure that Southerners could not change their state constitution in the future, they passed the Fifteenth Amendment and the last congressional Reconstruction law, another Civil Rights
Immediately following the Civil War the actions of Radical Republicans led to many changes in the South. Leading the way to Radical Reconstruction was Congressmen Charles Sumner and Thadeus Stevens. Their were many goals and motives the Radicals hoped to obtain. The first and main goal of the Radicals was to punish the South. The Radicals also hoped to retain Republican power by taking advantage of the South any way they could. Going along with taking advantage of the South, the Radicals wanted to protect industrial growth in the North and benefit economically from the situation. Another very important goal of the radicals was to aid the freed slaves. Equality for blacks was a hope the Radicals hoped to obtain, but it was also an effective way to retain Republican power. If the Radicals help Blacks, then Blacks will become Republican, thus increasing republican power. Using Legislature, the Radicals hoped to acquire all these things.
Between 1870 and 1900 (The Gilded Age), the economy had a major boom. The United States went from “Lincoln’s America- a world centered on the small farm and artisan workshop- to a mature industrial society.” By 1913, America produced about one- third of the world’s industrial productivity. With the new upgrades, like the railroad and the industrial companies the economy was flourishing with the growing supply of labor, immigrants. The new industrial economy came with a price. The politics was ill equipped to handle the problems that came with the rapid growth of the economy. The Democrats were not for high tariff but the party remained closely linked to New York bankers and having nothing to do with the debt-ridden agricultural areas. While on the other hand, the Republicans favored the eastern industrialist and bankers also putting the farmer in the Southwest at a disadvantage.
Gordon S. Wood, in The Radicalism of the American Revolution, discusses what it means to be truly revolutionary. In this work, Wood shares his thoughts on the Revolutionary War and whether or not it was a movement radical enough to be considered an honest revolution. Wood discusses the reasoning behind the views of those in favor of the war being considered radical, as well as the views of those who believe the American Revolution to be unfortunately misnamed. He claims that “the Revolution was the most radical and most far- reaching event in American history.” Wood’s work is a valuable source for those studying the revolution because it redefines what it means to be radical, but the piece is also limited by the lack of primary information
They were a key factor in preventing African Americans from voting, and even helped to sustain segregation. They terrified activists to the point where anyone was afraid to help African Americans. Many law enforcement officials refused to take action against the Klan in areas where violence was most common, as they were afraid of being victimized. If they did try to accuse a Klan member, it was almost impossible to find anyone to testify against them. Eventually, their terrorism became so common, so brutal, and so publicised, that the government, alongside many citizens, realised it was time to step in. The government had tried to intervene in 1871, when Ulysses S. Grant passed the Ku Klux Act, which imposed heavy penalties on any terrorist organization, though there were not many at the time. It also used military force to try to suppress the Ku Klux Klan. This Act was soon declared unconstitutional, and the Ku Klux Klan was back to terrorizing everyone whom they did not like. The Ku Klux Klan has never been fully eradicated, because they were so prominent, and there was no way to stop them without violating the