Civil War Dbq Essay

The Civil War was a conflict fought between the Confederacy and the Union after the Confederacy succeeded from the Union because of new laws that were abolishing slavery. After the Civil war, America was severely unorganized and in need of reconstruction. Reconstruction was a series of attempts by the United States government to reconstruct society in the Southern states by adding laws that protected the rights of freedmen. As a result of the Union's victory in the war, the Confederacy was forced to rejoin and abide by its rules. The union began implementing civil rights amendments such as the right to freedom, the right to citizenship, and the right to vote for formerly enslaved African Americans to ensure equal rights and promote equality.

White supremacists were against the liberation of slaves and did everything in their power to destroy the idea of equality. Document two is an excerpt from a newspaper published in 1863 that discusses white supremacist groups in Tennessee and why they existed. The text states, “a mysterious organization known as ‘Ku Klux Klan’… its grand purpose being to establish a nucleus around which “the adherence of the late rebellion might safely rally” (Doc 2). The Ku Klux Klan was a white nationalist group that used violent tactics to scare and attack African Americans. Their message was that they had a right to rebel against the new laws since they believed it was unfair to give former slaves the same rights as they had. They were ultimately trying to restore the message that even though African Americans were no longer enslaved, they were still inferior to white people. Document four is an excerpt from another newspaper that also talks about the rising violent groups in America. This excerpt is encouraging and advertising cruel behavior. The text states, “We have submitted long enough to indignities, and it is time to meet brute force

Document one is an excerpt from a congressman who was opposed to the idea of letting freedmen vote. He states, “But it is not the complexion of the negro that degrades him…[the Negro is] a race by nature inferior and mental caliber… the Negroes are not equals of white Americans and are not entitled… participate in the government of this country…”(Doc 1). This man is saying that the reason freedmen should not be able to vote is not their skin color, but their intellectual intelligence. This man does not believe that freedmen have the same level of intelligence and understanding of the world as white men do, so therefore they should not be able to have a say in politics. The idea that white men were superior to freedmen put a detrimental decline in the hope for equality and equal rights. Congress’ attempts were undermined by the fact that freed men were not believed to be on the same level as white men. If they were not seen as equal, the laws that granted them rights would not be honored. Document three is an excerpt that tells about the rights white confederate leaders were given back. The text states, “Meanwhile southern Democrats gained strength from Congress finally removed the political disabilities from most of the prewar leadership” (Doc 3). After the war, White confederate generals and politicians got their voting and political