What Was The Impact Of Reconstruction On African Americans

The Reconstruction, in my opinion, was a failure for it did not freed every man of color even though the Thirteen amendment formally abolished slavery; in the antebellum years and with the assassination of President Lincoln, the road to Reconstruction took a different road. Moreover, the Southern states were required to take a bow of loyalty to the Nation and abolish slavery before being readmitted to the Union. However, in the mid-west states black codes were stablished to regulate the migration of free African-Americans, while the black codes established in Southern States were an attempt to suppress the freedmen and force them into labor for low to no wages. Also, African- Americans were restricted on property ownership, business management

After the Civil War conditions were really bad because a lot of homes and personal properties were destroyed. Because of the War the Union lost 370,000 troop members and the Confederacy lost 260,000. Total 375,000 troop members were injured. Many civilians in the South died because of access to food was infrequent. I believe Reconstruction was necessary because after four long years of war they should move on from it and reunite as one.

The African Americans had a big impact on the Civil War. They had to have all of these laws and papers wrote because of the slavery deal. They had the role of the debate for slavery. They were the slaves and they wanted to have their freedom. The Declaration of Independence said that, “All men are created equal”, but the slaves were not free. They shaped the Civil War by having the Emancipation Proclamation, the fourteenth amendment, and the fifteenth amendment. The consequences would be that at first the newly freed slaves wouldn’t have a place to go, because they never had no money and they didn’t have all their rights yet.

During the Reconstruction period, the North and the South had very different ideas on how to handle all of the new problems in America regarding the freed slaves. Though the North and the South had contradictory ideas that ranged from the basic needs of the freed slaves to establishing new state governments, the Reconstruction period strived to unify the North and the South. In the Reconstruction period, freedom was a new idea for many African Americans and they aimed to establish all of their new rights, even if they were unsure of their lives after the Civil War.

Following the civil war, the south killed the reconstruction of the United States. (Reconstruction was putting the country back together after the Civil War) There are many reasons why, the south slowed down the reconstruction of the United States, the main reason was freedmen were not seen as equals to the white. The blacks were forced to vote for republicans, the blacks were looked at as free but not as equals in the south, the most powerful people lawyers, doctors and dentists who could make a difference were members of the Ku Klux Klan, who were against reconstruction. The southern leaders of the government only wanted white people in power, the north pulled out all its soldiers from the south, making it even more difficult for the freedmen to be free and equal.

Three constitutional amendments altered the nature of African American rights, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude.., shall exist in the United States…”(Section 1 Document D). “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subjected to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens,”(Section 2 Document D). “The right of citizens of the United states to vote shall not be denied,”(Section 3 Document D). Slavery was abolished, they were becoming citizens, and gained the rights to vote. Although these amendments seem great, the whites still found a way to torment free slaves. The African American males were eligible to vote now, but ended up not enjoying their citizenship and rights to vote. All African Americans were granted “The First Vote,”(Document F). They were now citizens and were allowed to vote due to the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendment. This should have been a great moment in history for the blacks, but instead whites made them feel like being a citizen was bad and they hurt and tormented them. The Reconstruction Era negatively affected the South more so than the North politically.

Although many attempts were made to prioritize freedom and equality for all, these values were undermined by racist Southerners who wouldn’t accept equality. In the end, Reconstruction had failed and former slaves endured another hardship akin to slavery. However, Reconstruction still could have prospered. There are multiple events that, if they had occurred, Reconstruction would not have failed. For example, had the government continued to fund the Freedmen’s Bureau, then the South would have legislated their discriminatory laws much later, if not at all. If the Freedmen’s Bureau had continued, African Americans and poor whites would have continued to receive support from the government as well as from other volunteers, such as carpetbaggers and scalawags. Over time, Southerners would begin to realize that former slaves were becoming equals to them, and slowly begin to accept it, especially since blacks would have the resources and people to enforce this idea. This would lead to America being the just and equal society citizens had wanted since the

The reconstruction period was a failure because African Americans, mainly males, were not treated with equality although the constitution said that the they were free and had the right to vote, be educated and had the right to liberty, life and the pursuit to happiness. Organizations, like the KKK, were created to harm freed slaves and their families. Laws were created such as the Black Codes restricting former slaves from their rights. African Americans endured a lot of violence over the years. “In Grayson, Texas, a white man and two friends murdered three former slaves because the wanted to ‘ thin the niggers out and drive them to their hole’”. They were treasted violently and like animals. They were building white supremacy. The men

This had an impact on the Reconstruction period because if Lee wouldn’t have surrendered, the reconstruction period may have not been able to start until later on.

back into two groups, White Americans and African Americans. The years after the war did not benefit freed slaves because they were denied the right to vote because they were not thought to be equal to white people, they were left to fend for themselves in an economy that was already suffering, and groups like the KKK made sure that freed slaves would not be accepted back into white society. In conclusion, Reconstruction did not benefit the newly emancipated slaves, but overall helped the country ease into the lifestyle and economy that we see

Reconstruction era, which was followed by post-civil war, was meant to unite the states back together, reconstruct properties, and most importantly, abolish slavery in the South. Although the factors such as amendments legally freed former slaves, yet

become an American citizen they had so many laws and things to stop African Americans to be equal to White citizens.

Reconstruction was a period of time dedicated to rebuilding the nation after the Civil War. The war ended with the South being defeated and their economy being devastated. Many Southerners struggled after the war with rebuilding their land and lives. The President and Congress had to decide the terms for which the former Confederate states would be permitted to join the Union. President Lincoln’s plan for reuniting the country was found in the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction. He favored a moderate policy that would conjoin the South with the Union without any punishment for treason. Many resisted Lincoln’s plan, saying it was not harsh enough while others did not know if Lincoln was being too lenient. The Radical Republicans and moderate Republicans were caught in a conflict.

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois once said, “the problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color-line.” He refers “color” as race and how race is a social category used to assign human worth and social status using whites as the superior race and the minorities as the inferior. That’s what America is facing during Reconstruction. When the Reconstruction Era transitioned into the New South Era, the lives of Freedmen changed socially, economically, and politically for the worse.

The Reconstruction proved to have many successes. Through President Lincoln’s efforts the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments were all ratified. The nearly 200 years of racism in the South had almost been completely eradicated, and many African Americans participated in organizations and jobs in the South. The confederacy had been destroyed for good and every state that had seceded was readmitted to the Union. The war made for a disaster, but in the end made the U.S. one nation together.