Era Of Reconstruction

The Era of Reconstruction Abraham Lincoln in his Gettysburg Address said; "Four score and seven years ago our forefathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the position that all men are created equal." The Era of Reconstruction found the United States in shambles. Hence, there was a major setback in the revival and unification of the country due to the tragic assassination of President Abraham Lincoln on April 15, 1865, by a Confederate sympathizer, John Wilkes Booth. The Succeeding president, Andrew Johnson lacked the abilities to oversee the construction, thus delaying the progress. The North and South had individual reactions regarding the revisions thrust about through union victory.

Although the initial reason for the war was to unite the nation, abolition of slavery became a major cause as well. Earlier, Lincoln attempted to end slavery through the Emancipation Proclamation Act which was supposed to free slaves in the Confederate states. Due to its failure, the Union included the slavery issue in the Civil War, although morality for the blacks did not interest them, they were loathe to the viciousness of slavery. Subsequent to the war, the North experienced major improvement in its economic status. Moreover the shift of political power from the South to the North altered the direction of American development from an agricultural nation to industrial capitalism. On the other hand; the Civil War left the South in a state of chaos. While the North experienced a large statistic in casualties, the Southern percentage of victims was much greater. Moreover, much of the Southern land was destroyed and the focus of the economy shifted to the North leaving the Confederates in a poor financial

The 14th Amendment granted citizenship to all native born or naturalized Americans. Alas, the African Americans became citizens of the United States. Moreover, Southern states presented voting rights to blacks since they feared reduced representation in Congress. In essence, the amendment protected blacks from the viciousness of the Southerners. Contrary to the South's resentment of the 14th Amendment, the North was in great favor of it. No matter the outcome the Republicans were sure to receive majority of the votes either through the addition of blacks or the omission of Southern states that prohibited black equality. At the present time, women stood up to demand female suffrage. In 1866 Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton founded the American Equal Rights Association where they lobbied for a government by the people, and the whole people; for the people and the whole people. These women argued for equal voting rights for all no matter the sex; they were mortified that blacks got rights faster than