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Reconstruction Dbq Essay

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Reconstruction in the South caused a lot of controversy, and it faced many obstacles. The South was being integrated back into the union, and many people on both sides tried to obstruct Reconstruction because they did not like it, or because it did not align with their beliefs. The radicals of the North wanted citizenship and voting rights for all African Americans, while southerners believed that this went against their traditional values. The republicans were able to obtain power, with the help from former slaves and abolitionists. The republicans, once in power, passed the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments. The mixture of military controlled southern governments that allowed African Americans to vote, and loyal unionists in the North, …show more content…

They were treated poorly, especially with the introduction of the Klu Klux Klan, which included many people who killed and assaulted innocent African Americans. People with the white supremacy mindset would not allow African Americans to enjoy the rights given to them in the Civil Rights bill and the fourteenth amendment, and they were forced to live in fear. This is shown in a petition written by African Americans in Georgia, who requested federal protection as the 1867 election approached. They wrote, “Men have been knocked down and unmercifully beaten and yet the authorities do not notice it at all. We would open a school here, but are almost afraid to do so, not knowing that we have any protection for life or limb” (Document E). This shows the fear people had of doing things that seem normal. They also wrote, “We wish to do right, obey the Laws and live in peace and quietude but when we are assailed at the midnight hour, our lives threatened and the Laws fail to protect or assist us we can but defend ourselves, let the consequences be what they may. Yet we wish to avoid all such collisions” (Document E). Radical republicans and African Americans in the South hoped the federal government would continue to assist them in allowing them to practice their

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