Underdogs During The Reconstruction Era

The North ended the Reconstruction because they were too busy to look after the South, they were racist to African Americans, and they removed soldiers from Southern states. America was well into the Reconstruction and the nation was happy. The election of 1876 ruined the dreams of over 3 million African Americans. The winner of the election of 1876 was Rutherford B. Hayes. President Hayes was a member of the Democratic party, but actually did not win the election until later.

The treatment was very poor. They were treated inhumanly as part of property. The slaves were no different than land or food at an auction (Doc 2). Slave auctions were places where slaves were split off from family members to the highest bidders. Many families never seen each other again after being auctioned off.

It is discussed that the lives of black American did not improve significantly as racism was entrenched in governments and white Americans, especially southerners. Although amendments and acts sought out to better the lives of black Americans, it did not mean they were immediately treated as equal and given rights. Black Americans had a very difficult life post-Civil War as the rest of America was not prepared to stop depriving them of their civil rights as it was beneficial to them to have black Americans kept under oppression. The abolition of slavery cost slave owners over $2 billion in property only. This severely impacted the economy as it was in crisis and white slave owners did not have any slaves to serve them on plantations.

Reconstruction caused prejudice and inequality. To elaborate, the creation of the Ku Klux Klan and the Black Codes were both in the time period of reconstruction, which caused chaos and violence throughout the Union. One of the goals of reconstruction was to repair the economy in the South, because it depended on slavery, which was now illegal, due to the thirteenth amendment. The South’s economic system now depended on Sharecropping, which caused former slaves to be in constant debt and was unjust to the black society. The reconstruction time period, was a time of dispute between the Union.

The South would end up rejoining the Union as a crippled, angry population. This is not the outcome the Union had hoped for. Sherman’s march through the South abused the innocent in order to punish and eventually defeat the guilty. He ruined the lives of many civilians in the South and generations of southern civilians to come. This punishment of the whole population showed that Sherman had no interest in a united country.

Madison depended on slave labor to earn his income and admittedly felt financially unable to free the human beings he had legal title to. Although in Madison's personal life he was one of the top slave owners in size, he told the public he was embarrassed and felt bad about owning slaves. His actions did not follow through with his words. James Madison claimed to be unhappy with himself in being a slave owner, but he did not do anything to try and end slavery himself. Another president, Andrew Jackson was one of the elite slave owners of his time.

William Lloyd Garrison shared similar views to that of Emerson, and refused to support a Constitution that protects slavery. The Constitution promised to protect the rights of everyone in the country, but neglected to protect nearly three million held as slaves. The North did not want to be a part of a Union with Slaveholders, while the South did not want to be a part

n A The Reconstruction begin as the Civil War had ended, American had fallen apart. It was to repair and renew the North and South but it also damaged the nation. Both sides had deal with vast amounts of damage. The south had suffered the destruction of their factories, railroads, the now worthless Confederate money, and mainly their slave-worked farms. The north suffered mainly from the political turmoil that was left in the aftermath of the war.

These issues were not addressed by the document since the southern representatives wanted to continue holding slaves. Conversely, the northern representatives wanted to retain the Union and abolish slavery. For instance, Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe supported the American Colonization Society that was formed by abolitionists (Norton 211). Jefferson and Monroe also supported the unity of the Union. Conclusion The Missouri Compromise only led to a balance between slave-holding and slave-free states but failed to address the issue of slavery permanently.

Progress, greed, racism, and economic gain are the causes of much bloodshed and almost the complete destruction of a nation. Liberty is the sole reason for years of debates and compromises; two sides (North and South) with a different interpretations and a way of life. For Southerners liberty meant the right to own slaves and for slaves and most Northerners liberty meant ending