How Did Southerners Cause Resistance To Reconstruction

Following the ending of the Civil War in 1865, America was in an era known as the Reconstruction. The Reconstruction lasted until 1877. Citizens were attempting to rebuild our nation following one of the deadliest war in American History. In this time, the Fourteenth Amendment and Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution were ratified. Although slaves were freed, African Americans still faced intense racial prejudice and discrimination. This led to continued to tensions between not only the north and south but also the blacks and the whites in America. According to The Unfinished Nation, the per capita income of African Americans increase from about one-quarter to about one-half of the per capita income of White citizens (365). Sadly certain

“The slave went free: stood a brief moment in the sun; then moved back into slavery.” This quote by Web Dubois refers to a period in American history called reconstruction in which the South was rebuilt and remitted into the union after the civil war. During this time African Americans gained many rights including citizenship and suffrage. However, many of those rights were lost after the compromise of 1877 brought an end to reconstruction. The south was solely responsible for killing reconstruction through its use of intimidation tactics by scalawags and carpetbaggers, the purposeful reversal of reconstruction policies, and the refusal to work together.

Although, the North is often portrayed as the “good guys” when it comes to the fall of Reconstruction but in actuality they were equally as guilty as the south was. According to Document C In the 1870s, the people of the north were beginning to grow indifferent to the events happening in the south because their focus shifted to the scandals going on around them, such as the Panic of 1873.The government at this time in the North was ran by “carpetbaggers” or a political candidate who sought election in an area they had no local connections to. The North began to grow tired of this type of government and they also began to become tired of fighting against discrimination in the south because of this. Increased anger about government corruption lead to less interest in Reconstruction. Racism still existed in the North and contributed to the fall as well, for example many people believed that people of color were unfit to be government officials.

The passage of Reconstruction legislation, namely the Freemen’s Bureau Act, the Civil Rights Bill, the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, and the First Reconstruction Act of 1867, gave African Americans greater economic and political rights, ultimately contributing to the Klan’s formation. First, as John Faragher stated, the establishment of the Freedmen’s Bureau in March 1865 entitled former slaves to benefits such as “food, clothing, and fuel.” (Out of Many, p. 364) Then in 1866, with the passing of the Civil Rights Bill and Fourteenth Amendment, “full citizenship rights” were granted to former slaves, according to Faragher. (Out of Many, p. 362) In addition, Congress expanded the Freedmen’s Bureau to establish education and courts that would help ensure civil rights protection.

With the Civil War finally over, the United states can now introduce the Southern citizens back into their society. 1876 just so happened to be the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Sixteen African-American politicians were elected into Congress which is a huge step from where they were a less than a year ago. However, Reconstruction was killed by the North because Grant was too wrapped up in his reputation, racism towards blacks, and the Panic of 1873.

”We have but one flag, one country; let us stand together. We may differ in color, but not in sentiment.” -Nathan Bedford Forrest said in July 1875 during his speech to the black southerners of the Independent Order of Pole-Bearers Association. This was his last public appearance before his death and was considered a “friendly speech. This turned out to be one of the more controversial quotes Nathan Bedford Forrest ever stated. He claims that blacks are no different than us yet he is the first leader of the KKK (Grand Wizard) and has no problem putting black men in fields and working them to death. The Ku Klux Klan was formed in 1866 in Tennessee as a social group by a group of Confederate war veterans. They all wanted this group to be

“... the slave went free; stood a brief moment in the sun; then moved back toward slavery” (Dubois 505). “1876 was an exciting year for America” ( Background Essay 505). 1876 was the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. The first college football game happened a couple year before and a year later in 1877 a easter egg hunt was on the White house lawn. It looked like there would be enough opportunities that every American could pursue their hopes, but it was the election of 1876 that would crush the dreams for millions of black Americans in the South. The South killed Reconstruction because of the terrorist organization known as the Ku Klux Klan, the lawlessness and fear and the South, and that the North was weary of the complaints

The KKK attacked black stores and church and intimidated black voters and lynched and killed politically active black people and the result of this conflict lead to the enforcement acts protected blacks right for 14th and 15th amendment.

The KKK terrorized African Americans, as described in Document 1. The KKK physically attacked blacks, burned their churches and schools and also tried to prevent them from exercising their right to vote. The KKK and other white power groups tried to prevent blacks from being able to protest and whites from helping them through intimidation and fear. The KKK was

Numerous Confederate soldiers joined the KKK; therefore, they soon dressed as the Ghost of Confederate Soldiers. At first, they would patrol the roads and crash parties. They eventually realized that the freed black people were terrified of them and used this to control their behavior. They started seeing themselves as a law enforcers rather than law breakers. Their law enforcement was traveling at night and randomly beating people who didn't like the klan. Blacks were beaten, as well as White Republicans who pushed for equality.

Watching “13th” was a confirmation of what I already knew. The institutionalization of black men is another form of slavery; it’s just the legal way to do it. Black men were perceived as dangerous and criminals from the moment they were “freed” slaves. They were targeted, feared and lied on as the years went on. A major example of this was the story of Emmet Till. Emmet Till was a 14-year-old black boy from Mississippi. He was lynched in 1955 over an accusation of whistling at a white woman named Carolyn Bryant Donham. 62 years later, Donham recently admitted that her accusations against Emmet Till were false. Although there wasn't any proof to begin with in this case, Till was wrongfully killed because of his skin color.

The KKK was founded in 1886 by old Confederate soldiers who did not believe the Reconstruction act of the Civil War. The clan demised slightly, then resurfaced in 1915. Prior to the 1920’s, the clan only focused on Africa-Americans. But during the twenties they not only focused on the hatred of African-Americans, but they also began to focus on the hatred of Catholics, Jews, and immigrants. (6) The leaders were, white Protestant, and you were not welcomed to the Klan if you did not believe in their beliefs. During the peak of the reemergence of the clan, it reached up to 4 million Klan members nationwide (6). The Klan burned crosses in front yards of houses to scare the people that they hated. The cross also represented the Klan’s religious views. The Klan used “lynching” to show the African-Americans what will happen to them if they do something wrong. The term lynching was the hanging of a black male and hung in public area where everyone could see. After the peak of the Klan in1925, the Klan began to decline in

The status/treatment of African Americans can be seen through the 1930’s in Jim Crow laws, the Great depression, and people.The Jim Crow laws create conflict between African Americans and white Americans. The Great Depression also made it worse for them because they lost many things and money. Finally certain people affected them in good and bad ways.

Aggressive. Extreme. Racist. These are three words to describe the South during the time after the Civil war called reconstruction. In order to not only rebuild the South but to help welcome freedmen after the war, the country had to come together in order to help heal the nation. However,

Another conflicting issues happened in the 1920’s were the racial conflict between the Ku Klux Klan and the blacks. Clashes always happened between Ku Klux Klan and blacks in America history and it was not an exception in the 1920’s. At that time, a new Ku Klux Klan, which was also pro-White Anglo Saxon Protestant, was formed and it was a racist group that targeted on foreigners, Catholicism, blacks, Jewish, Communist and etc. Among the groups that Ku Klux Klan targeted, the blacks were attacked the most. The Ku Klux Klan hated the blacks a lot because many blacks received their rights after the Reconstruction Amendments were passed and they had experienced great economic prosperity during the 1920’s. Therefore, the Ku Klux Klan decided to