Reconstruction was the foremost goal for many after the civil war. Yet, various individuals and political parties held a plethora of contrasting beliefs concerning how to face this reconstruction task. In terms of the Reconstruction, two ideas permeated the political field: who would have the authority to enact these changes and in what ways would national unity be accomplished. It is obvious that throughout this time the power held within the federal government would be challenged by southern state governments. The struggles reflected the inability of reaching a concurrent decision. During Johnson’s presidency Republicans did not agree with the meager actions in regards to ex-rebels. Republicans did not agree with how the government exacted demands on the southern states. They were not swift punishments or appropriate retribution. Republicans believed these simple demands only emphasized that Union soldiers died in vain. In contrast Johnson disagreed with the Republican’s idea of expanding federal control and preferred an emphasis on state’s rights. As a part of the Democratic Party, he was lenient with ex-rebels and often criticized sympathizers. One cause or series of laws within Southern states known as black codes, were used to usurp black freedom and federal control. Republicans realized their goals were seated in the 14th amendment. If blacks could vote and if southern states were punished through decreased representation in the federal government, Republicans could maintain political power. It appears that Republicans were wary of state rule and favored Congress’ right to control representation. This would definitely serve as a way to monitor various southern states. Federal support and protection of black rights worked o...
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...ut government spending and eliminate what they consider wastes federal money. In the past the Democratic Party influenced impoverished southerners by exploiting economic instability and used this strain to coerce southerners to disagree with the federal government that at the time was influenced by the Republicans. The idea of the government spending severely afflicting white farmers influenced them to join the Democratic cause. Our book states that they effectively used racial pride and social isolation to change the political scene within southern states. Without government regulation, due to what many believed as the North’s abandonment, the Democratic strategy was complete.
It appears that even though the roles have reversed, these two political parties are still at odds and remain to clash heads concerning who holds the authority to enact changes in society.
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.
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.
... The cause was forfeited not by Republicans, who welcomed the African-American votes, but to the elite North who had concluded that the formal end of slavery was all the freed man needed and their unpreparedness for the ex-slaves to participate in the Southern commonwealth was evident. Racism, severe economic depression, an exhausted North and troubled South, and a campaign of organized violence toward the freed man, overturned Reconstruction. The North withdrew the last of the federal troops with the passing of The Compromise of 1877. The freed slaves continued to practice few voting rights until 1890, but they were soon stripped of all political, social and economic powers. Not until the civil rights movement in the 1950’s and 1960’s were the freedoms that were fought for by our Republican forefathers nearly 100 years before, finally seen through to fruition.
loyalty oath. If this happened then that state could setup a new state government. Under
The reconstruction of the Union began under President Lincoln before the end of the war, and carried on by President Johnson after the assassination of President Lincoln. After Lincoln’s death, the leadership of the nation bestowed upon Andrew Johnson of Tennessee. According to A. Brinkley (pg. 375), Johnson revealed his plan for reconstruction or “Restoration”, as he preferred to call it, soon after he took office and implemented it during the summer of 1865 when Congress was in recess. Like Lincoln, he offered some form of amnesty to Southerners who would take a pledge of loyalty to the Union. In most other respect, however, his plan resembled the Wade-Davis Bill. The next phase of reconstruction, known as the Congressional Plan or "Radical" modernization had begun, which undid everything started by Presidents Lincoln and Johnson. These radicals, mostly republicans, motivated by three main factors revenge, concern for the freedmen, and political concerns. The Radicals in Congress pushed through a number of measures designed to assist the freedmen, but also demonstrate the supremacy of Congress over the president. These events included the Civil Rights Act of 1866, the 14th Amendment, the Tenure of Office Act, and the Army Appropriations Act. The Radical Republicans prepared an effort in Congress to impeach the president Johnson as a payback for resisting their platforms. The vote in the Senate was 35-19 for conviction, one vote short of the necessary two-thirds. This was in turn to a few Republicans that had crossed over and voted with the Democrats, thus refuting the ultimate retaliation to the Radicals. If the removal of President Johnson had gone thru, it might have permanently weakened the executive branch. Congr...
This book helps me understand how divided the republicans were before the Civil War because it shows how inadequate the law was during the time. The northerners who were trying to abolish slavery in the 1850’s created the Republican Party. The republic divided due to the politician discrepancies and issues. The conflicts that occurred within the government gradually led to the passion of the republican parties’ decision to abolish slavery. The matter was not settled until 1865, when the 13th amendment was
The governments established under Congressional Reconstruction made notable and lasting achievements. One positive outcome that resulted was the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which extended citizenship to African Americans and listed certain rights of all citizens such as the right to own property, bring lawsuits, and testify in court. Another major outcome was the Fifteenth Amendment, which prohibited the states from denying the right to vote because of a person’s race or because a person had been a slave. This finally granted African Americans the right to vote and marked an important change in the history of our country. A negative outcome resulted politically from congressional Reconstruction. Many of the federal laws concerning reconstruction led to the strengthening of the federal government at the expense of the states. These new laws often placed significant restrictions on state actions on the ground that the rights of national citizenship took precedence over the powers of state governments leading to an increase in sectional bitterness, an intensification of the racial issue, and the development of one-party politics in the South. Stemming from this “infringement” of states’ rights and intensified by the election of 1868 was another negative outcome. Fierce activities were stirred up by groups such as the KKK- violence became prominent, and terrorists and mobs attacked many people- mostly Republicans and blacks.
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.
Chapter sixteen begins with the reconstruction period of the civil war. From previous history classes I have learned more in depth about the war and why the North was fighting against the South, but overall I think the most important part to look at from the civil war is the end of it and what was to come after it, which was the reconstruction era. Lincoln had just released his emancipation proclamation and freed the slaves. As happy as this may seem it was actually quite the opposite. Attitudes of white southerners towards black in the south hadn 't changed a bit after the Emancipation Proclamation. In 1865 Carl Schurz was sent by President Andrew Johnson to investigate the current conditions of the confederacy after they were defeated in the civil war. While there he shared in his “Report on the Condition of the South” that southerners have a belief “so deeply rooted… that the negro will not work without physical compulsion”. Overall this just shows how the attitudes of white southerners were no different. They truly believed that the blacks weren 't able to work or function without force. Many northerners and abolitionists, such as Wendell Phillips, at this time saw this and actually said that Lincoln didn 't do enough. They wanted him to do a complete overhaul of southern society. Personally I understand where these people were coming from. They were people who really wanted all the issues to be resolved. Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was a step in the right direction, but he could have done more. Schurz even noted that “negroes who walked away from the plantations, or were found upon the roads, were shot or otherwise severely punished”. Former slaves weren ...
The presidential elections of 1860 was one of the nation’s most memorable one. The north and the south sections of country had a completely different vision of how they envision their home land. What made this worst was that their view was completely opposite of each other. The north, mostly republican supporters, want America to be free; free of slaves and free from bondages. While on the other hand, the south supporters, mostly democratic states, wanted slavery in the country, because this is what they earned their daily living and profit from.
...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.
The radical reconstruction era in the south saw the emergence of African americans in political offices, however there was no real black supremacy and the whites ultimately had the overwhelming power. The 13th, 14th and 15th ammendments to the constitution were ratified or passed during the era which saw the abolishing of slavery, civil rights granted to all people born in the United States and the right to vote to citisens of any race, colour and religion. The latter summed up by Kenneth Stamp ‘ if it was worth four years of civil war to save the union, it was worth a few years of radical reconstruction to give the American negro the ultimate promise of equal civil and political rights’.
Both sides desired a republican form of government. Each wanted a political system that would “protect the equality and liberty of the individuals from aristocratic privilege and…tyrannical power.” (404) However, the north and south differed greatly in “their perceptions of what most threatened its survival.” (404) The secession by the south was an attempt to reestablish republicanism, as they no longer found a voice in the national stage. Prior to the 1850s, this conflict had been channeled through the national political system. The collapse of the two-party system gave way to “political reorganization and realignment,” wrote Holt. The voters of the Democrats shifted their influence toward state and local elections, where they felt their concerns would be addressed. This was not exclusively an economically determined factor. It displayed the exercise of agency by individual states. Holt pointed out, “[T]he emergence of a new two-party framework in the South varied from state to state according to the conditions in them.” (406) The “Deep South” was repulsed by the “old political process,” most Southerners trusted their state to be the safeguards of republicanism. (404) They saw the presidential election of Abraham Lincoln, a member of the “the anti-Southern Republican party,” as something the old system could not
The American Civil war lasted from 1861 until 1865 and changed this nation considerably in many ways. We are all aware that the conclusion of this war determined the federal government as the leading force of the nation over the state. However, since the end of this war, there are other ways in which the federal government has also evolved. One of the major factors in how the government has emerged since then is President London B. Johnson’s “Unconditional War on Poverty”.
...ights for African Americans as well as a political rights for the people, his goal was to abolish slavery and felt that “all men created equally” should uphold for everybody, everybody that was man at least. Johnson the president, in the beginning proved to be loyal to his radicals by chastising the confederacy making sure there would be repercussions for their actions. Also his amnesty plan to reinstate the south states was far harsher than that of Lincoln's. Johnson’s sanctions deprived confederacy officers, people in high power, and anyone who owned valuable assets could be subject to confiscation. The purpose was to shift political power in south and reward it to freed blacks and white southerners who stayed neutral during the war. Hahn states in his article that, “During reconstruction, black men held political offices in every state of the former confederacy”