“War was easy. The hard part was cleaning up afterward.” In this essay we will be talking about the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth amendments and their contents, contexts, and consequences. Also the successes and failures of the Reconstruction, lastly the election of 1876. The Reconstruction era after the Civil War had both beneficial and non beneficial happenings that helped shape our country into what it is today. Since the Thirteenth amendment abolished slavery it made it so African Americans were no longer property but they didn’t gain citizenship until the Fifteenth amendment. The farmers in the south were not happy when slavery was abolished, they were furious. Even after slavery was abolished and American Americans had citizenship, they were still discriminated against in the South. That is one of many reasons why many African Americans moved to the North. They moved into bigger cities and as a result of that Americans moved to the suburbs just outside of the big cities. The Fourteenth amendment gave citizenship to those born in the United States. …show more content…
It was a success in the fact of restoring the United States into a unified nation. All of the confederate states acknowledged the new amendments and pledged their loyalty by 1877. However, Reconstruction failed in several other ways. Radical Republican legislation failed to protect former slaves from discrimination. They also failed to engender fundamental changes to the social fabric of the South. When President Rutherford B. Hayes removed federal troops from the South, Confederate officials and former slave owners almost immediately returned to power. With the support of a conservative Supreme Court, the newly empowered southern politicians passed black codes, voter qualifications, and other anti-progressive legislation to reverse the rights African Americans had
“The best way to predict your future is to create it” (Lincoln). President states the principal of Reconstruction, where to unite the United States, there must be an authoritative action to carry it out. The Reconstruction Era (1863-1877) is a period where Lincoln sought to restore the divided nation by uniting the confederates and the union and to involve the freedmen into the American society. The main objectives were to initially restore the union, to rebuild the South and to enact progressive legislation for the rights of the freed slaves. Thus, the executive and legislature branches had enacted a series of polices to “create the future” for the United States. Although the policies tied down to the Reconstructive motive, there was controversy
It ended too soon to complete the transformation of the South. 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.
During the time of reconstruction, the 13th amendment abolished slavery. As the Nation was attempting to pick up their broken pieces and mend the brokenness of the states, former slaves were getting the opportunity to start their new, free lives. This however, created tension between the Northerners and the Southerners once again. The Southerners hated the fact that their slaves were being freed and did not belong to them anymore. The plantations were suffering without the slaves laboring and the owners were running out of solutions. This created tension between the Southern planation owners and the now freed African Americans. There were many laws throughout the North and the South that were made purposely to discriminate the African Americans.
Reconstruction failed because of the North’s and South’s inability to come together on political, economic, and cultural issues during the rebuilding process in the post-war years. Though the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments abolished slavery and permitted rights for African Americans in the South, the establishment of such laws as the Black Codes by Southern State Governments inhibited African American’s freedom. Among regulating their right to vote, marry, and own property, the codes affected African American’s ability to earn jobs, which eliminated the black workforce, so it did not pose a threat of competing with white individuals who were seeking jobs. Economic progression in the South proved to be a failure during Reconstruction, due to the inability of the two sides’ coming together to an agreement on how the South should rebuild. Industrialization in the South only progressed as a stipulation from the Compromise of 1877, in which the Federal Government agreed to take the steps to help implement the
In 1867 a 2/3 Republican Congress passes the Reconstruction Acts, which abolishes all governments, and in the elections, Republicans have the advantage thanks to black voters. In Tennessee, a radical Republican by the name of William G. Brownlow takes over, and he is a rather savage man. He is very radical and believes that those who fought for the Confederacy are traders, and he shows no mercy on returning rebel soldiers. His paper publishes the names of the soldiers, targeting them for revenge. He ratifies the 14th amendment, and while giving rights to freed slaves to vote, it also stripped former rebel soldiers of voting rights. These drastic changes of course anger many southern trying to hold on to the old ways, and in particular, it angers
Think back to when the Civil War finally ended after five terrible years of battle and a poor farmer is trying to pick up his life make a living for his family. The southern reconstruction of 1865 was suppose to aid the farmer in reestablish his life and homestead, yet the years delay postponed the inevitable. After the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, the Reconstruction Bill halted, due to the policies for President Ulysses S. Grant. When many people thought reconstruction was killed, it was actually just delayed and was later reinstated by President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1877. In the eleven years it took for the South to
Reconstruction of the nation consisted of protecting black civil rights and the distribution of land among the freedmen. Republicans were the primary people for Reconstruction. Lincoln, Johnston, and the Radical Republican were major contributors for Reconstruction. The three urged the abolition of slavery, unite as one country, and the reestablishment of loyal governments. In addition, it also led to the suffrage of African Americans. However, Reconstruction also came with disagreements between President Lincoln, Johnston, and the Radical Republicans.
It brought many problems with it causing it to fail, mainly because of the white’s resistance against the blacks. The southern whites or the “confederates” were very uncooperative with new laws passed by the blacks or the yankees. Many groups were formed to revolt against these people. The biggest group that many of us know today, the Ku Klux Klan, who emerged to maintain white dominance and intimidate black voters or any white people that supported them. As soon as the former confederates earned their right to vote again they began to undo most of the social and economic reforms through a systematic process in an effort to undo the Reconstruction and restore it to the Old South. They passed laws stating that the 14th and 15th amendments only applied for African Americans at the federal level. Although the Radical Republicans worked for years to try and restore and secure the equal rights, that changed in 1874. Under the Democratic leadership, many of the Reconstruction programs were hurt or eliminated
The Union victory after the Civil War in 1865 gave 4 million slaves their freedom, but rebuilding the South during the Reconstruction (1865-1877) created new obstacles for African Americans. Under the Presidency of Andrew Johnson in 1865 and 1866, the southern states passed ‘black codes’ to control the labour and behaviour of former slaves and other African Americans. Opposition in the North over these codes decreased support for the Presidential Reconstruction and led to the triumph of the more radical wing of the Republican Party. During Radical Reconstruction, which began in 1867, newly freed African Americans gained a voice in government for the first time in American history, winning election to southern state legislatures and even the
The Civil War was one of the most brutal battles that the United States has ever part-taken in. This was because of the fact that we are ultimately fighting ourselves. This battle was to set order and form to the newly drafted nation called The United States of America. The Reconstruction period affected ideas of American Identity, national purpose and citizenship for many reasons shown throughout the era of the mid-late 1800’s.
After four hard-fought years of the deadliest war on American soil, the Union, led by President Abraham Lincoln, defeated the Confederacy, led by President-elect Jefferson Davis. The victory of the Union resolved the matter regarding the freedom of slaves, but along came the concern of the future status of four million newly freed slaves. The United States was divided, and in response, Congress passed the Reconstruction Act of 1867. Even with the best efforts put into the Reconstruction Act of 1867, it ultimately failed in its quest and ended ten years after in 1877. What remained was the issue regarding the status of African Americans and the South’s economy.
Following the Civil War, the United States went into a period of -repair-, in attempts to unite the Northern and Southern states economically, politically, and most importantly socially. The reconstruction period was an emotional and intense time for the African-Americans ending with the assassination of president Abraham Lincoln. Andrew Johnson was inaugurated in March, 1865 which changed life drastically for the rights of African Americans. One of the freedmen testified, “the Yankees ‘tol’ us we were free, but once the army left, planters would get cruel to the slaves if they acted like they were free”. The reconstruction era was unsuccessful and was a strenuous long process which was very disappointing for the northern U.S population, especially
Laws were put into place that were meant to benefit Blacks, but so many people disobeyed these laws or created others that combatted them that may have created more racial bias. Many White Democrats would do anything in their power to prevent Blacks from achieving equality because they were seen as inferior. Once the North had withdrawn the last of their federal troops, Southern citizens attempted to return to slavery. Because so few African Americans owned property, material items or an education, they had few choices. Hate groups, such as the Klu Klux Klan, had formed and terrorized African Americans that sought equality. This efficiently scared many Blacks into cooperation. Little had changed in the Southern states during this
Reconstruction was in many ways a failed attempt at rebuilding America. The aftershocks of this era will have lasting effects on the American society for centuries to come. This period was intended to stitch America back together after the ravages of the Civil War. U.S. History describes it as: “although the military conflict had ended, Reconstruction was in many ways still a war” (“Reconstruction”). Instead of uniting again, this time period drove the North and the South further apart. The North sought liberation and equality for the former slaves, whereas the South so desperately clung to their way of life where African Americans were just the dirt on the bottom of a shoe. It has taken centuries to make everyone equal. We all may be equal
The end of the Civil War in 1865 exited a period of strife and conflict and rapidly ushered in another. At the dawn of the period of Reconstruction, the relatively new nation of America was availed of an opportunity to redefine itself based on the principles of true freedom for all of its citizens. Unfortunately, the ingrained biases, preferences, and selfishness of the human condition consigned the possibility to the gloom of unrecognized potential. Due to legislative outcomes, the attitudes of the public sphere, and the condition of the freed slaves at the end of 1877, Reconstruction should be considered a failure.