DuBois’ “The Souls of Black Folk” can help reader to better understand society’s views towards the acceptance of African Americans, their right to a fair education, and the right to vote. Ultimately, integration of society in america was key in obtaining peace. Booker T. Washington describes what he believes to be the solution to integrate African Americans into a white society. He describes a situation in which a captain is ordering his crew to cast down their buckets and retrieve water, although they are in the middle of the sea. He explains that those who cast down their buckets were not disappointed.
Racism’s Impact on Reconstruction While the issue of slavery evidently contributed to the divide that resulted in the American Civil War, it is debated whether prevailing ideals of racism caused the failure of the era following the war known as Reconstruction. With the abolishment of slavery, many of the southern states had to reassemble the social, economic, and political systems instilled in their societies. The Reconstruction Era was originally led by a radical republican government that pushed to raise taxes, establish coalition governments, and deprive former confederates of superiority they might have once held. However, during this time common views were obtained that the South could recover independently and that African Americans
After the American Civil War, slavery was abolished, unleashing a vast amount of Blacks into American society. Following the Civil War was the Reconstruction Era which empowered Blacks. For example, the 14th and 15th amendment were passed which made blacks citizens with the same rights as any other slavery and gave blacks voting rights. Southern blacks begin taking control over the states as voting privilege allowed blacks to be voted into local government position and even a senator position in the U.S Congress. However, with the end of Reconstruction by the Compromise of 1877 which removed all federal troops in the south in exchange for Hayes withdrawal from the presidential election, Southern states made new constitutions to disenfranchised the blacks.
Between the 1890’s and 1920’s, the Progressive Era was described as a time of social engagement and political reform across the United States. The objective of this dreadful time period was mainly to eradicate problems caused by industrialization, urbanization, immigration, and of course, corruption in government. In this book, The Progressive Era, Rothbard mainly challenges the ideology going on during this time, including racism, which led to the cutting off of immigration, and many more. It is certainly clear that Rothbard was trying to convey and emphasize the problems and the effects it was having on these people during the hardship of what came to be known as the Progressive Era. The Progressive Era is a book that exploits the real events as well as the destructive social conflicts going on at this time.
In conclusion, throughout Boyle’s book we get a glimpse of how the Reconstruction Era was a failure through the story of Ossian Sweet. Sweet worked diligently his entire life to get where he was, and he was on a path for quite a successful life. Unfortunately, the time period of the Reconstruction Era was catered towards white individuals and not people of color. Therefore, no matter how successful one is, the color of their skin will always cement them as the subordinate race, and we saw this with Ossian. Even though he won the case, his success didn’t matter anymore.
As the Era of Reconstruction began in the latter half of the 1860s, the Union was forced to confront the following question: Who is an American? Would Southerners be rewarded for their treason, or would African Americans finally be able to bask in the glory of freedom? Following the war, the Radical Republican government made its post-war intentions clear: to reunite the country and to bestow full rights to blacks. “With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as G-d gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation 's wounds” (Lincoln). Reconstruction culminated in 1877 due to economic crisis and a lack of Northern will.
W.E.B DuBois, Civil Rights activist, journalist, and educator, in his book “Black Reconstruction”, he researched the role African Americans played during America’s Reconstruction period. DuBois targets an audience of any open-minded reader that is willing to read about history from the lens of an African American. In the chapter titled “The Propaganda of History”, as the title suggests, DuBois argues that history is intentionally mispresented in order to influence the beliefs of the generations to come. “The Propaganda of History” analysis why the post-Civil War history remains manipulated and how that affects the African American community. One of his main claims is that the history of African Americans is subjective and belittling, that it
The American dream is described as the “dream of land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity each according to ability or achievement”. In the South, the Reconstruction Era took place officially from 1865-1877. However, events still continued after 1877. As slaves were now free after the civil war, White Northerners, educated Northern Blacks, Newly Freed Slaves, and Yeoman farmers all wanted the same thing–for everyone to be equal. In the Reconstruction Era, African Americans were given many opportunities such as jobs, education, freedom, citizenship and protection of their rights.
Up From Slavery, Novel is An autobiography of Booker T Washington. He has expressed and showcased his struggles for the freedom of blacks in the society. The opening chapters deals primarily with Booker T. Washington's childhood and his atrocious days in slavery. He sets the tone for his memoir with vivid descriptions of the conditions of his domestic life, the conditions under which he lived from the time of his birth till the end of the civil war. The civil war was over and gave them happiness of being free.
The term Reconstruction is used because this was the period in time when the federal government was trying to get restore the seceded states to the Union. The Reconstruction Era was made of unique political conflict and of in-depth changes in the American government. At the national level, new laws and constitutional amendments permanently altered the federal system and the definition of citizenship. Reconstruction Era for African Americans resulted in a lack of sustenance and medical care which in effect caused a high death rate for African Americans, especially for the children. The parts of cities that African Americans where in or an entire cities would be run down and in ruins.