What Happened During The Post-Reconstruction Era

1778 Words4 Pages

Sabeena Jagdeo Wealth, Superiority, and Segregation The post-reconstruction period in the United States was a time of advancement, and modernization. Industrialization, imperialism, and the progressive era were taking place, along with some more negative issues like, Jim Crow laws, and the continuing Native American conflict. It was a time where wealth and superiority were segregating the American people. The superior Americans, and the government were taking advantage of their fellow Americans, and were doing what was best for them, not what was best for all in the American community. The country was advancing, and was “destined soon to out-distance all others in the race”(Carnegie) in the eyes of the world, but in the American communities, …show more content…

However, this was not the only case of segregation during this era. Segregation also occurred in the Native American, and immigrant communities, and as well, within the growing American business world. Segregation in United States history has always centered around whites, and African Americans, but the truth is segregation was occurring amongst many different groups in American society during the post-Reconstruction period. One of the groups who were continuing to separate rather than unite during this period was the Native and the whites. White Americans, and the government forced the Native Americans to leave their societies, and live on reservations, instead of being a part of the main American community, so …show more content…

The progressive era in America was a time of fear and conservatism. Progressives wanted to conserve what was already in place, by changing it a little so that, the previous values would remain in place. By trying to do this, progressives created issues such as poor working conditions and child labor, during industrialization, along with, racism, classism, and many other things during all aspects of the period. The progressive era had many other issues, but these are a few which impacted the segregation of the American people the most. The progressives essentially created all the issues between the different groups in American society. They progressed to the idea of racism, forcing the blacks to continue to be segregated from the whites, and were also anti-immigrant, creating problems with American imperialism in order to preserve the ideas of the past. Progressives also enforced the idea of classicism, which again affected industrialization, and the different races in the American community. The gap between rich and poor started to widen during this time as business owners became wealthier, and most others were “struggling to get by as wage laborers” (Bacon). The progressives helped segregate the American community during this time, in order to preserve the American values already put in place by their

More about What Happened During The Post-Reconstruction Era

Open Document