The Civil War was an inevitable event in American history due to the vast differences and conflicts that had arisen between the North and South since the beginning of the nation. The forefront of these differences was the issue of slavery. To the South slavery was an essential need for the agricultural economy and was deeply engraved into the culture and their way of life. The North, however, didn’t require slavery due to their predisposition to more industrial modes of economy. This along with several other sectional differences and the Decade of Crisis opened the floodgate of the Civil War. The War ultimately led to the Union victory over the the confederacy along with the abolishment of slavery with the issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation …show more content…
These Black codes were used to bypass the Reconstruction amendments to try and prevent african americans from accessing their basic rights. Black codes were typically centered around restricting the african americans civil rights such as forcing them into labor contracts with white masters by using vagrancy laws, apprenticeship for black males up to age 21 and black females up to 18 which could be forced if needed, blacks punishments in courts were harsher than a white man’s, and the Grandfather clause or poll taxes which restricted freedmen's ability to vote and political activity. Due to the Black codes the change in the rights of african americans from before the civil war to after were minimal, in that, the only difference was that they were no longer enslaved, however, they still enjoyed very few rights as freedmen. Aside from the Black codes another major inhibitor of african americans civil rights was the Ku Klux Klan. The KKK was a widespread white supremacist group, founded by Nathan Forrest, who took it upon themselves to try and prevent blacks from exercising their rights. They accomplished their goal by organizing lynchings and using intimidation tactics to frighten freedmen. The Freedmen's Bureau, which was created to aid freedman after the civil war, reported that the KKK was responsible for over 300 deaths of african americans.The KKK would also position members …show more content…
After the assassination of Lincoln, Andrew Johnson took over the presidency. During his term, Johnson employed his plan for reconstruction, which was less lenient for the south than Lincoln's. At first Johnson seemed to be what the radical republicans wanted as he would indict prominent Confederate generals for treason, but he quickly began to lose popularity with them as he believed Reconstruction was the executive’s issue over the legislative. This led to anger of the moderate and radical republicans who later took into their hands to handle Reconstruction by passing the first Reconstruction act which would require southern states to ratify the fourteenth amendment. This along with other acts like the Tenure of Office Act, began a weakening of the federal government that was only weakened during the presidency of Ulysses S Grant. Grant and his administration helped to weaken federal power in two ways: The most important was the how riddled his administration was with scandals and the second was how Grant wasn’t well versed in politics and typically favored legislative power. One such scandal was the Whiskey Ring scandal where whiskey distilleries were bribing government officials to avoid federal taxes. The scandals negatively affected the public
However, this was not good enough for Congress, which at the time was dominated by Radical Republicans who fervently called for social and economic change in the south, specifically the rights of blacks. They were especially concerned with guaranteeing black civil and voting rights, and criticized Lincoln for excluding this in the original plan for Reconstruction. After Lincoln’s death in 1865, Andrew Johnson turned Reconstruction on its head. He made several changes to the Reconstruction policy, nearly cutting Congress completely off from the process. Johnson began putting white supremacists in power of the Reconstruction government.
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...
Over the course of the 1860’s the hostility between the North and the South grew into an insipid relationship that only dragged on until the succession of North Carolina in 1860. The main disagreements that led to the Civil War grew over political differences. The issue of Federal versus State rights, stirred the question over how much power the government should possess, similarly the abolition movement clashed with the expansion of slavery in the South and after the elections that would inaugurate President Lincoln without one vote from a single southern state in 1861 the South was fully aware over the balance of power that was not present withi...
The Republicans nominated Civil War General Ulysses S. Grant, he was a great soldier but no political experience.
Despite the war being over there was still tension, and the nation was as divided as ever. The southern democrats saw a lot of policies as a way to punish the south. The southern states were still economically crushed from the war which embittered them further after their loss.
The Civil War left Texas in ruins with slavery being abolished and African Americans being given rights. This changed the entire political and social structure. Farmers who relied on free labor as their main income suffered greatly. Since most of the battles were not in Texas they did not have to rebuild their infrastructure like other states.
This was only just the beginning of what is turning out to be a long and tough road. It seemed like fights and protests were breaking out all of the time. If it wasn’t about the lack of freedom that they had because they couldn’t make decisions for themselves, then it was about the new laws that were being made. One particular that angered them was the act that imposed a tax on anything that was printed. From what I heard many of the colonists felt as if they shouldn’t have to pay extra money on something just because the British needed more money. Not only that but they had no choice in the matter because Parliament overruled any decision that Americans made. It was on a weekly trip into town with Mrs. Smith to pick up some groceries and supplies
There are numerous explanations for the “impending crisis” that led to the Civil War. Van Buren Administration’s unpopularity formed an aim at Presidency causing a nomination between Clay and Webster. They chose William Henry Harrison. John Tyler became a vice president nominee. Harrison won the election, but died a month later. Tyler was more extreme than Jackson, isolating him from his own party, and his proposal of the Texas annexation treaty was crushed. Whigs spurned Tyler, nominating Clay and Democrats put up James K. Polk. The Liberty Party, explicitly antislavery, which added another party to the presidential race drawing votes away.
The Ku Klux Klan used violence to strike fear in black voters. The clan members didn’t believe that blacks were equal to the superior white people. The Ku Klux Klan targeted any black farmers, businessmen, politicians, and all other African Americans in their wake. They attacked schoolteachers that taught blacks and would often attack black students going to and from school. They would also attack any white people that were supporting black rights (Morales1).For instance, the Ku Klux Klan murdered and hung a state senator at court house as an example. The members killed him because they wanted to ward people off from voting for equality for African Americans. Freedom for slavery was a bumpy, hazardous path that had many rough edges which was a huge delay (McCardell296). Another way the clan tried to deter the political world was the abducted a George State Legislature from his home and viciously beat him because he would not forfeit his morals about the freedom for blacks. They bribed him with lots money to persuade him to leave his office but he stayed true to his beliefs. The Ku Klux Klan killed or injured thousands of African Americans and supports (Morales1). At this time of the reconstruction, the Ku Klux Klan was at a down fall. They’re main intentions were to discourage blacks and black supporters. But as the Reconstruction era progressed, people, both black and white,
...t also compromises with the South in certain aspects. Although this plan seemed to be a good one, Andrew Johnson lost power before he can enforce them. So the last plan was Congresses, this plan ratified the Fourteenth Amendment. It’s goal was to protect the civil rights of all Americans, no matter what race you are. It also created the Military Reconstruction Act of 1867, which divided the South into five military districts. It also passed the Fifteenth Amendment, which forbid any State from denying suffrage due to race. This amendment was aimed directly to eradicate the Black Codes in the South. All these revisions angered the South, but no one was more angry than the Klan.
In the 19th century, The United States was experiencing a profound era of reform. Along with the development of the nation, sectionalism began to intensify as well. Thus, the northern and southern states began to acknowledge a divide in America. The differences that manifested between the two groups largely concerned economic and political interests. Both the north and south sought to protect their own stability and promote the welfare of their own systems. Eventually, the growing tension would result in southern secession and a war. The Civil War would be fought for many dynamic reasons, however, three causes include the following: the northern usurpation on the stability of the South’s economy, the north disregarding the Dred-Scott versus
The tension between the North and the South before the Civil War was momentous. Much of this stemmed from their vast differences not only geographically but economically as well. Slavery was one of the major forces that drove the North and South to declare war. The South was abundantly more dependent upon slavery than the North was. It came as no surprise when Lincoln was elected as president in 1860 that it wasn’t long after in 1861 the war began with the battle of Fort Sumter. Although the South won the first battle, the North won the war as a result of their industrialization. The South’s geography allowed them to have an economy that mainly consisted of smaller farms and large plantations, while the Northern geography didn’t adequately
In 1783, 13 states joined together to make “ a better union”. This alarmed Sam Houston because he believed that the Civil War would be a tragedy to the nation and a disaster to the South. Still, Texas became the seventh state to secede from the Union. The question is why did Texans fight in the Civil War? Why would they risk everything to protect their state? Texans fought in the Civil War because of their love for their state and family, to have state rights, and to preserve slavery.
As mentioned above, first and foremost the war was about the issue and institution of slavery. The southern states depended on slave labor to support and sustain their vast economy. Without slave labor (as immigrants from other countries simply did not migrate to the southern states as such was the case with the industrialized north) the southern economy was essentially lost. The southern plantation owners used slaves to produce crops such as cotton. Cotton became not only the largest source of trade and income for the southern states, but accounted for approximately half of the export industry within the United States as a whole. This fact serves to illustrate the obvious reliance and importance of slave labor for the southern plantation owners. It is important to note however, that although slavery within the northern states was declared illegal, there were in reality, few who opposed it. Although some northerners...
Hate groups are another attempt to restrain blacks from integrating into society. Although the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments were designed to provide freedom for the slaves, they were still denied their freedom by specific obstacles. Although the Thirteenth Amendment outlawed slavery, whites kept their supremacy by finding legal ways to control blacks. Many white Southerners were not in favor of the 13th Amendment. So many Southern states enforced Black Codes, which basically returned blacks to slavery without calling it slavery.