DBQ: The Reconstruction Era

During the late 1800s, because the South had been decimated by the end of the Civil War, .the Reconstruction Period was initiated to aid the South’s recovery. Although the Civil War did abolish slavery and unify the North and the South, the war not resolve racial prejudice, the South’s damage, and the African Americans’ economic instability. The Reconstruction Period was initiated in order to prevent economic instability and the structural ruin, because since slavery was abolished, and the South was completely dependent on slaves, therefore slaves could not work for the South to maintain the economy, and slaves also could not fix up the damages done to the structures done to the South during the war. By starting the Freedmen’s Bureau and passing

The Reconstruction era was a period after the Civil War put in place by Abraham Lincoln. This plan was his attempt to bring the nation together as quickly as possible, by requiring the States new constitution prohibit slavery. On January 1865 congress proposed an amendment to the constitution, which would abolish slavery in the United States. On December 18, 1865 congress changed the Thirteenth Amendment completely abolishing slavery. Such a radically change brought an unbalance to the way of life for many people. Southern whites did not fully embrace citizenship for newly freed blacks, which made for very hostile situations.

The Reconstruction period lasted from 1865 to 1877. The thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth amendment were created during the twelve years of rebuilding the country. All of the amendments were made to protect former slaves and their rights but on paper they did not have any rights. The reconstruction period had its successes and failures.

The Reconstruction Era of American history was plagued by many problems. One of the most important problems being the recently released from slavery Freedmen. Freedmen were in a tricky situation in which they had just been released from their owner and had nowhere to go, but the Federal Government made many successful attempts to help them out. The Government helped alleviate all the problems Freedmen had from their finances to basic needs and rights, and in doing so, made the period of reconstruction more helpful than harmful for Freedmen. The events of reconstruction were helpful to freedmen as they were not only freed from slavery, they were given rights directly from the federal government.

The election of 1877 between Rutherford Hayes and Samuel Tilden led to both political parties to have the Compromise of 1877 and finish the end of reconstruction. In that year election both Democrat and Republican where fighting over the territories and who will become president. That fighting led the election results in an inconclusive results because of the disagreement between Democrats and Republicans. The states were undecided and this led to tension and issues among the election candidates. After a long fight both parties came with an agreement which led to the compromise of 1877, which caused the north to retreat all of the military occupancy in the south leading to the end of the reconstruction era and the south being more independent.

Many changes happened during the period of Reconstruction. One of the major changes was segregation. Segregation was when white and black people were forced to be separated. Many organizations made life harder for black people. Some of these organizations made freedom even harder than being a captive slave. The Klu Klux Klan and the White League were some of the groups that caused terror among colored people (Doc 5). Another major change was the South’s economy. In the South, many people, businesses, and local governments fell into debt. This dragged down the South’s economy and made it rough for those who lived there. It became so hard for families to make money after the war that many moved away (Doc 6). Also, another major change was the education. Before African Americans were freed, they

In 1865, Abraham Lincoln ended slavery in the United States. While the African Americans became free, they were still not equal. Horrible things were still happening to former slaves, even though the U.S. was trying to reconstruct the country. Reconstruction was a time where former slaves were being integrated into society. The same year slavery was abolished, The Black Codes were created. These laws oppressed black people and restricted their freedom. Because of the poor treating of African Americans and the Black Codes, The Reconstruction period was a failure.

The reconstruction era began right after one of the most significant in the US history war was ended – the American Civil War. The most dramatic of all, Civil War was the war between the states who wanted to be a part of the United States and where the slavery was legal. Eleven southern states decided to secede from the Union after Abraham Lincoln became the first republican president, who in fact was strongly oppose to slavery. The results of Civil War were catastrophic, but also brought some peace. Many people died during this time, and South was almost completely destroyed, however the positive changes in terms of ending the slavery era and creating a new amendments gave people hope for a better future. The main goal of president Lincoln

The Civil War was one of America’s most trying and troubling times. Following the Civil War was Reconstruction, which posed an important question that would affect the country forever, “What do we do with the South?” During Reconstruction, the Government was faced with a plethora of difficult questions to answer and a series of difficult situations, but the topic at hand was the same reason the Civil War started in the first place: African Americans. The statement “After the Civil War, the only way to truly enfranchise former slaves was by effectively disenfranchising their former masters” is true because white Southerners would constantly and consistently attempt to undermine African Americans.

The Reconstruction Era began in the years following the Civil War in which many African-American slaves finally achieved freedom after centuries of slavery. The Civil War brought about freedom to approximately four million slaves but also brought about a new set of challenges and struggles that the African-American community would have to face. The Reconstruction Era, also known as the Radical Reconstruction, occurred during the years of 1865 and 1877, in which many freed African Americans struggled to assimilate into society while also being faced with numerous societal and economical limitations. Both Booker T. Washington’s Up from Slavery: Chapter I: “A Slave Among Slaves” and W.E.B. DuBois’s The Souls of Black Folk: Chapter III: “Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others” depict the harsh reality of racism that many freed African-American slaves faced during the Reconstruction Era while each offering their own set of solutions to the struggles faced during that period.

A few days after the civil War ended, President Lincoln was assassinated and never had the chance to implement his Reconstruction plan. The Reconstruction Era occurred in the period of 1865 to 1877 under the reign of President Andrew Johnson who was the predecessor of President Lincoln. Congress was not scheduled to convene until December 1865, which gave Johnson eight months to pursue his own Reconstruction policies. Under his Reconstruction policies, the former Confederate states were required to join back into the Union and heal the wounds of the nation.  Although slavery had been outlawed by the Thirteenth Amendment, it continued in many southern states. In an effort to get around laws passed by Congress, southern states created black codes, which were discriminatory state laws which aimed to keep white supremacy in place. While the codes granted certain freedoms to African Americans, their primary purpose was to fulfill an important economic need in the postwar South. To maintain agricultural production, the South had relied on slaves to work the land. Black codes were restrictive laws designed to limit the freedom of African Americans and ensure their ties to the land. To work, the freed slaves were forced to sign contracts with their employer. The Mississippi and South Carolina Black Codes of 1865 required blacks to sign contracts of employment and if they left before it ended then they would be forced to pay earlier wages. Freed blacks’ status in the postwar South

The Reconstruction was a period of rebuilding relationships between the North and the South in the U.S. It was a significant period for ex-slaves (freedpeople) to seek a better life in the U.S. and one of the significant eras in the U.S. history that historians have been debating. After the end of the Civil War, about four million ex-slaves gained their freedom from the institution of slavery. But most ex-slaves struggled with the meaning of inequality and freedom during the Reconstruction. Historians have been debating about the evaluation of the Reconstruction. Was it considered a failure or success? From the view of racial inequality between white and black races, working conditions and the emancipation in the southern states. All historians

The era of reconstruction came after the civil war. People still argue that the blacks were fully free or not. African Americans were not free during the civil war.

The Reconstruction Era was the period of time after the civil war where America was being rebuilt. The United States wanted to restart the country where everyone was equal and despite the obvious privileges, where everyone was on the same track. The southern states started to integrate back into the union and slaves were being freed as well as teachers being sent to black schools in the north and south. The rights of freed slaves were in the process of being secured through the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth amendments being developed. This can be seen as an example of Values and Beliefs in the The Elements of Culture. The United States wanted to increase its standards on cultural and moral beliefs, so that everyone in the country agreed and lived in harmony. Unfortunately this Reconstruction Era was not successful as blacks were still discriminated against and given less advantages than whites in the country. As said in the concept of the elements of culture, U.S culture consists of equal opportunity, achievement and success, material comfort, progress, democracy and free enterprise, practicality and efficiency, activity and work and science. These were slowly

The Civil War was the bloodiest conflict ever on American soil. It was a complete bloodbath. There were 1,100,000 casualties. Also this war was a war fought for important rights that could end slavery.That right there makes this war one of the most important wars in American history.