The Successes And Failures Of The Reconstruction Era

Reconstruction was the twelve years after the civil war. Those twelve years were full of readjustment fixing the ruin the United States had fallen into. The problems that had the United states in disarray were how to, rebuild the South, reunite the states, and ensure the rights and protection of the newly freed African Americans. The civil war left the South in shambles, and newly freed slaves struggled to adjust to their new freedom. Most Southerners hated reconstruction and everything else about the North. Freed slaves felt that reconstruction was going to help them so in general, they felt good about reconstruction.

Reconstruction is the time period after the Civil War, where the country attempted to improve the Union. There were many successes, but what also comes along with success is failure. During the reconstruction many failures were present; such as the lack of racial equality and blatant racism towards blacks, a failing economy in the South, and tense relations between the North and the South. This created a very intense and challenging period of time for the Union.

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). The ability to have absolute freedom is a common theme in these three documents. Freedom means more than just having the independence to make your own decisions and pursuing your own happiness. The hopes of Reconstruction were to create

Occurring between the years 1863-1877,was a period of rebuilding; in which we know of today as The Reconstruction period. In determining whether the Reconstruction was a success or failure to the freedmen, one must assess the extent in which the lives of the freedmen had been altered by the Reconstruction. The Reconstruction was a success due to it resulting in restoring the United States as a unified nation; by 1877, all of the former Confederate states had created new constitutions, as well as acknowledged the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, and pledged their loyalty to the

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

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.

Reconstruction was an attempt reconcile the country and bring it back together, however it was not the success Abraham had hoped it to be when initiated before being assassinated. The failure had many effects on African American communities in both the north on the south both negative and positive. Socially black slaves were freed but not really accepted into society. Black codes were utilized which placed pressure on African Americans about things like when to meet with friends and where they should live. Discrimination against black flourished as the Ku Klux Klan a group of people who wore robes and mask went around pretending to be the ghost of Confederate soldiers. They were had no desire for blacks to have rights and felt that they should be slaves. By attacking, burning their homes and killing blacks in the north and

After slavery, African Americans in the south were in a time of change. Though they were free from slavery, whippings, and auctions, I believe life became difficult for them even after slavery ended. Racism began to grow increasingly, as many could not accept the fact that there was no more slavery. It became stricter when the government in the South enforced laws called Black Codes. Those laws were set to grant only certain rights to people of color. Employment for black people was unfair, as they were often paid much less than their white companions. The fourteenth amendment was created in 1868 and promised African Americans the rights of equal American citizenship. Many of the African Americans were homeless and separated from their family for years, sometimes never being able to see them again.

America had just finished fighting the Civil War and we were broken. Reconstruction began in 1865 and was the time of rebuilding America after the Civil War tore apart our country. People also referred to the this time as “putting back the pieces”. Abraham Lincoln was the president during this period of time. He had thought of a blueprint for the Reconstruction; which consisted of an idea known as the Ten-Percent Plan. This plan specified that any Southern state could be readmitted into the Union as soon as 10 percent of its voters swore to an oath of allegiance to the Union. Ultimately, the Reconstruction was a success because there was peace between the North and South, but also introduced new amendments to the U.S Constitution.

The Reconstruction Era of American history was plagued by many problems. One of the most important problems being the recently released from slavery Freedmen. Freedmen were in a tricky situation in which they had just been released from their owner and had nowhere to go, but the Federal Government made many successful attempts to help them out. The Government helped alleviate all the problems Freedmen had from their finances to basic needs and rights, and in doing so, made the period of reconstruction more helpful than harmful for Freedmen. The events of reconstruction were helpful to freedmen as they were not only freed from slavery, they were given rights directly from the federal government.

During the late 1800s, because the South had been decimated by the end of the Civil War, .the Reconstruction Period was initiated to aid the South’s recovery. Although the Civil War did abolish slavery and unify the North and the South, the war not resolve racial prejudice, the South’s damage, and the African Americans’ economic instability. The Reconstruction Period was initiated in order to prevent economic instability and the structural ruin, because since slavery was abolished, and the South was completely dependent on slaves, therefore slaves could not work for the South to maintain the economy, and slaves also could not fix up the damages done to the structures done to the South during the war. By starting the Freedmen’s Bureau and passing

I guess when you ask the question, was the Reconstruction a success or a failure? It all depends how you look at it. Laws that were set up weren’t always followed correctly, but laws were still being set up to protect African Americans rights. It must have been a success because now today, they are known as citizens and have the right to vote. But then again, the rise of the Klu Klux Klan and other white supremacy groups, in combination with the Black Codes, began to intimidate freed slaves and push back their civil liberties. For me, the Reconstruction was a

There is no easy way to decide who can be held accountable for the end of the Reconstruction Era. Attempts to rebuild the South ceased to exist in 1877, just over ten years after the Confederacy surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant in Appomattox Court House, Virginia. It seemed as though everything was on the right track in 1876, the one hundred year anniversary of The United States. That was, however, until the South waged conflict against black and white citizens of The United States. While racial attitudes and “Reconstruction weariness” contributed to the collapse of Reconstruction efforts, the use of violence against whites and blacks combined with the belief in white supremacy played the

The Reconstruction Era occurred in 1865, it was was a period after the Civil War in which America was focused on rebuilding the broken South. In 1867, the Radical reconstruction gave former slaves a voice in government. During this era, formers slaves gained a platform in the government, with some blacks as Congressmen. However, not everyone supported the idea of Reconstruction. Less than a decade after the Reconstruction period, a small group composed of democratic ex-confederate veterans, white farmers and white southerners sympathetic to white supremacy joined forces together to form the Ku Klux Klan. The clan spread fear and terror towards the blacks in a systematic way. Their reign of terror was felt throughout the south. It spread fear using guerilla tactics, whipping, beating, and lynching. The Klan’s purpose

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