After the Civil War the South was left in ruins. The Confederacy made a vast amount of changes to their governments. Therefore, their loss to the Union left the South with no dependable governments or reliable leaders. Lincoln needed to rebuild and reconstruct former Confederate states, in order for them to be re-admitted to the Union. Without reconstruction the South’s economy and productivity would have disintegrated and values for the products coming from the South would deteriorate. At first Lincoln sought his plan of reconstruction, which required only 10% of voters from Confederate states to swear allegiance to the Constitution and the Union before being re-admitted, to be the most effective way to re-admit the Confederate’s. But many
Lincoln claimed he had the authority to determine the conditions for the South’s readmission to the union. He didn’t want to punish the South, he just wanted to end the war and restore the nation quickly and painlessly. Lincoln’s plan, the Ten-Percent Plan, required that ten percent of the voters who had in the 1860 election swear an oath to the union, and accept the emancipation of slaves through the thirteenth amendment. Those ten percent would then reorganize their state government, and apply for readmission to the union. Congress’ plan differed, as the Radical Republicans in Congress viewed the southern states as conquered territory.
The post-war Reconstruction period was a time of social and political revolution, when a newly emancipated population needed to be integrated into a hostile southern society. Hahn describes how former slaves tended to live with their families, and enter into sharecropping contracts. He then describes the variety of experiences former slaves had with politics after enfranchisement: some gained political knowledge through groups like the Union League, others held seats in congress, while others still failed to even understand registration. Hahn highlights the determination with which freedmen tried to shape their destiny, and paints a very optimistic picture, which, while uplifting, is somewhat biased. The Mississippi Black Code, on the other
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.
The end of the Civil War presented a unique crossroads for the war torn United States. How would the North and South reunite? At the helm, there was a moderate politician and a reflective thinker – President Abraham Lincoln. One of the greatest statesmen of all time, Lincoln had advocated a lenient stance, envisioning a “restoration” whereby the southern states would pledge allegiance and reenter the Union under the Constitution.
By the end of 1865 all the former confederate states had complied with Johnson’s plan and were ready to reenter the union on an equal status with all other states. He wanted to be lenient on the south and would have allowed any state to reenter the union if just 10% of the population swore alliance. President Johnson also allowed Democratic southern state governments to deny freed slaves
The civil war and Reconstruction period were two pivotal moments in American history that profoundly impacted the country's development. the civil war was a conflict between the Northern and Southern states over issues of slavery and states' rights. the reconstruction period followed the civil war, and it was a time when the United States government attempted to rebuild the southern states and create a more equal society for all Americans. In this essay, I will analyze how the civil war and Reconstruction did not make significant progress toward creating a more equal society.
The North's neglect was a huge end to reconstruction. According to document C there was a panic in 1873 from corruption in Ulysses Grant's administration. In the end the North became less invested in the South and started focusing in their own political affairs (document C). “The tide of public opinions in the North began to turn against Reconstruction policies.(document C)” The Northerner also did not show respect to the free blacks.
After the Civil War, the south was left in shambles. Not only were the southern states left with the destruction and damage of the war but the economy was injured and barely stable because of the costs of war. The union began a Reconstruction movement to rebuild the broken nation. The Reconstruction was also meant to repair the broken economy and the damaged society. But the effectiveness of this system is questionable because it both succeeded and failed.
Sources Analysis Freedom During the Reconstruction era, the idea of freedom could have many different meanings. Everyday factors that we don't often think about today such as the color of our skin, where we were born, and whether or not we own land determined what limitations were placed on the ability to live our life to the fullest. To dig deeper into what freedom meant for different individuals during this time period, I analyzed three primary sources written by those who experienced this first hand. These included “Excerpts from The Black Codes of Mississippi” (1865), “Jourdan Anderson to his old master” (1865), and “Testimony on the Ku Klux Klan in Congressional Hearing” (1872).
Rebuilding the south won’t be easy when it comes to reconstruction after the Civil War I will do the following things. The three things are as follows: my first reconstruction assignment as Northern General is to rebuild hospitals for the sick and needy that was bombed during the war. This is important because hospitals are needed. The second thing is to fix on the churches that were damaged and the ones that were used as headquarters during the war for opposing sides. This is important because everyone need God on their especially during this trying time.
After the Civil war, former slaves had a glimpse of a future filled with prosperity, but Reconstruction failed due to faulty leadership in the Union and continuous outlash from the Confederacy. Lincoln planned to offer the South a pardon for their crimes against the country, and that Southern states would be reimbursed into the union if 10% its citizens voted to do so; Abraham Lincoln didn’t want to punish the South, but Congress wasn’t very pleased with Lincoln’s forgiveness. President Johnson picked up where Lincoln left off; however, instead of showing immediate mercy to the South, Andrew Johnson confiscated land from wealthy Southerners. Johnson was compliant enough to pardon ex-confederates, but if someone were worth more than 20,000 dollars
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.
The American civil war led to the reunion of the South and the North. But, its consequences led the Republicans to take the lead of reconstructing what the war had destroyed especially in the South because it contained larger numbers of newly freed slaves. Just after the civil war, America entered into what was called as the reconstruction era. Reconstruction refers to when “the federal government established the terms on which rebellious Southern states would be integrated back into the Union” (Watts 246). As a further matter, it also meant “the process of helping the 4 million freed slaves after the civil war [to] make the transition to freedom” (DeFord and Schwarz 96).
After the Union won the major battles that is when Lincoln had put the ten percent plan on the table, this plan was when ten percent of the state’s eligible voters pledge oath to US then they could join the Union. To begin with, there are a few reasons why one would say that reconstruction in the south was a failure. One of these reasons being that, even after the civil war in the South’s government passed laws to limit the rights of the free African Americans. In document C we can see this is evident where it states “No negro or freedmen shall be allowed to come within the limits of the town of Opelousas without special permission of his employers. Whoever breaks this law will go to jail and work for two days on the public streets, or pay a fine of five dollars.”
From 1865 to 1877 the process of reconstructing the Confederate States began just as the Civil War concluded. For many families the reconstruction period was a major inconvenience. For example, farmers lost their plantation workers, thus causing a huge inflation. This resulted in families losing lots of their money and struggling to buy things as simple as food, cotton, and tobacco. To politically heal, it is crucial to readmit the Southern States back into the nation politically and essentially allow African Americans the right to vote.