In the years 1861-1865, the United States had a Civil War between the North and South. As a result, the North won, and the period after the war was called Reconstruction. It was called Reconstruction because the North’s goal was to Reconstruct the South, but there were many issues in this era. Slavery, and giving Social, Political, and Economic rights to African Americans were one of the most debated issues in this period though. Between the Radical Republicans, who wanted to give full citizenship and rights to African Americans, and Andrew Johnson, who did not want to give African Americans, there were a lot of issues that came about during this time. With all of the issues that occurred during this time, Reconstruction was not successful …show more content…
The first document that shows this is Document H, this document shows Black Codes in Louisiana. Black Codes are restrictive laws created by southern states to restrict African Americans’ freedom. There were many of these laws, such as not being able to own a house or live in a town without permission from a white owner, or that African Americans have to be in the service of a white person or former owner. This shows the failure of Reconstruction because people were finding ways to restrict African Americans’ rights, which violates the 14th Amendment, which states that all citizens born or naturalized have full rights and citizenship. Another document that shows this is Document I. This document shows what the Ku Klux Klan is. The Ku Klux Klan (or KKK) was a white supremacy group, that used violent steps to undermine the republican party and prevent equality for African Americans. This shows how Reconstruction failed because African Americans were still treated very unfairly, even when they were not …show more content…
This is first shown in Document D, which was the Freedman Bureau, an organization that provided food, housing, and more for African Americans’. This was a good idea and would’ve helped out African Americans a lot, but it didn’t work out exactly as planned. Some of the issues with this were lack of funding for all of it and persistent racism in the South. So even though people made attempts to help out African Americans’, it didn’t work out completely in their favor, proving that Reconstruction did not protect African Americans’ economic rights. Furthermore, Document F explains “The Sharecropper Cycle of Poverty.” Sharecropping was a loophole in that southern plantation owners found out how to basically have slaves again, even when it was illegal. The owners would provide food and land to the sharecropper (African American) but when it was the end of the year, the owner would tell the sharecropper that he owed more than the sharecropper could pay. And since the sharecropper had to pay his debt back, he would have to come back another year and do it all over again. This clearly breaks the 13th Amendment, which doesn’t allow people to work for free other than for punishment for a crime. This proves that Reconstruction was a failure because slavery essentially came back, just in a different
For one, Abraham Lincoln was killed, second, the Klu Klux Klan made lots of conflict during this time, and third all of the trouble brought about by the South. First of all, reconstruction was a time right after the Civil War, beginning in 1877. Essentially, the purpose of reconstruction was to rebuild the North and the South’s peace after the Civil War created conflict. On the bright side, slavery died with the war.
Although, there African Americans were technically free the former white slaveowners in the South did not agree with this and attempted to contain the Freedmen in the South. They had been successful with the practice of sharecropping. Sharecropping was where the freedman would come to an agreement with the former white slave owners, where both sides benefited; the freedman would get paid for their labor while the white former slave owner were able to continue their business. Sharecropping was corrupted and the white former slave owner would cheat the freedman and not pay them. The white former slave owners would keep track of the payments and would alter the data because they were educated, and the freedman population had no knowledge, and were illiterate because of this they were not able to keep track.
Reconstruction occurred in three period after the United States Civil War when the southern states were reorganized and reintegrated into the Union in 1865 through 1877. It may be the most controversial period in U.S. history due to many reasons. For one, the south needed to be completely rebuilt: socially, economically, politically, and physically. In order to do this, President Abraham Lincoln, President Andrew Johnson, and the Congressional Republicans put forth their very best effort to help accomplish this goal. President Lincoln’s main goal was to uphold the Constitution.
Reconstruction refers to the period that occurred directly after the Civil War from 1865 to 1877 when several United States governments chose to reconstruct society in the former Confederate states specifically by establishing and protecting the legal rights of the newly freed black population. “Historians consider Reconstruction to be a total failure as the former Confederate states did not recover economically from the devastation of the war and the Black population was reduced to second class status with limited rights enforced through violence and discrimination.” (Lloyd Sealy Library) Reconstruction began when the civil war ended; however, building up to it, Secession and war transformed the issue of the long sectional conflict from
Reconstruction is the period after the civil war in which the Unitedunited Sstates attempted to rebuild and reunite the country. This period lasted from 1865 to 1877 and was marked by significant political and social changes. One of the most important changes was the ratification the amendments were the 13th, 14th, 15th, which abolished slavery for good, granted citizenship to African Americans, and gave them the right to vote. Reconstruction was a time of progress and hope for many African Americans, who were able to gain education, own property, and participate in politics for the first time. Overall, reconstruction was a complex and important period in American history that had a lasting impact on the country.
Following this, the Civil War took on a new dimension. The Union winning would fundamentally transform the South, where the “peculiar institution” of slavery was a crucial aspect of the economy, politics, and society. Just prior to the end of the war, in April 1865, Lincoln shocked many by suggesting limited suffrage for African Americans in the South, allowing them to vote, at least to some degree. The assassination of Lincoln was soon after, and his successor, Andrew Johnson, oversaw the beginning of Reconstruction. Beginning in May of 1865, Johnson’s Reconstruction policies required former Confederate states to uphold the abolition of slavery, pay off war debt and swear loyalty to the Union.
As a result of this, political opposition was a significant factor in the failure of Reconstruction being able to create a truly equal and just society for
Despite many radical republicans, reconstruction ended without much progress in the battle of reconstruction. Many have different opinions if the reconstruction was even successful, but this is my opinion about the reconstruction. In some ways reconstruction was a success. Here are some examples: the 13th amendment was able to abolish slavery, this was a big start to the reconstruction.
The Reconstruction Era, sparked by the conclusion of the devastating Civil War, was a crucial period in American history that aimed to transition the divided nation to a more unified one. However, reformers and political figures faced significant political, social, and economic changes which they were unable to adapt to. President Lincoln’s role was replaced, after his assassination, by corrupted officers that didn’t prioritize Reconstruction. The United States government was faced with challenging dilemmas in this period that they only overcame with controversial policies. Lastly, white Southerners enforcing racist policies unforeseeably succeeded in preventing African Americans from gaining Civil Rights.
In the aftermath, the US began an era of “reconstruction” in which the conflicts from the Civil War were resolved. Former confederate states were admitted into the Union and services were provided to newly freed African Americans. Although these events came after the establishment of the US, the American Civil War and early Reconstruction period, between 1861-1870, was akin to a second American Revolution because of the ideological and political changes caused by the inception and aftermath of the war. These changes included the
During reconstruction in the south the African American community was an afterthought for some, democrats, and a main priority to others,republicans. After the North's victory in the Civil war they tried to integrate the south, fix the labor system, and create a future for the African Americans in the south. During the 1900’s the conditions that the Black community faced was racially challenging. Reconstruction viewed by the white elite in the south was perceived to fail.
When the Civil War had finally met its end in the year 1865, an “era of reconstruction” came about——all with one singular purpose: give African Americans the rights we have and see them as citizens, not as property. However, although the plans for reconstruction had good intentions, not everything went as smoothly during the “reconstruction era,” not only for America but for the very people “reconstruction” was intended for, the recently freed, freedmen and freedwomen of America. And though many parts of reconstruction were to blame for the “disastrous effects” that reconstruction had on African Americans, some of the most notable topics include Radical Reconstruction, poverty, segregation, and racially based voting laws. Firstly, during the
Reconstruction was a time period when congress created the Amendments 13 and 14 which granted African Americans access to be protected from slavery and to give African Americans the right to have equal protection of the law. The point of this was
Fortunately for the US, President Lincoln had a plan for Reconstruction. The country was unstable as a result of the flourishing North and their functioning industry, economy, and pretty much all aspects of life were going better than those in the South. The emancipation of African Americans mostly just destroyed the Southern economy and generated even more chaos as the plantation system collapsed without the cheap labor. The very broke southerners were not content with the new conditions, to say the least, and their visceral fear of change had made them unwilling to compromise. The main issue with the Reconstruction process was that it did not catalyze America’s journey to equality at the speed one might have hoped.
The Reconstruction Era The Reconstruction era was a time in American History after the Civil War of 1861-1865, and it lasted up until the Compromise of 1877. During the Reconstruction period people made attempts to rebuild the country after the bloody war. The goal was to bring former confederate states right back into the United States along with providing social, political, and economic opportunities for African Americans in the post slavery South. This freedom for ex-slaves meant that they could dress as they pleased, reconnect with their loved ones, change their names, uniting their families in a single household, women could refuse full time field work, men could take the place as the head of their families and so much more. Many Southern