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Was Reconstruction A Success Or Failure Essay

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Reconstruction refers to the period that occurred directly after the Civil War from 1865 to 1877 when several United States governments chose to reconstruct society in the former Confederate states specifically by establishing and protecting the legal rights of the newly freed black population. “Historians consider Reconstruction to be a total failure as the former Confederate states did not recover economically from the devastation of the war and the Black population was reduced to second class status with limited rights enforced through violence and discrimination.” (Lloyd Sealy Library) Reconstruction began when the civil war ended; however, building up to it, Secession and war transformed the issue of the long sectional conflict from …show more content…

Johnson offered a pardon to all Southern whites that were not leaders during the Confederacy and were not wealthy plantation owners (although most of these subsequently received individual pardons) which restored their political rights and all property except for their slaves which were now freed. “He also outlined how new state governments would be created. Apart from the requirement that they abolish slavery, repudiate secession, and abrogate the Confederate debt, these governments were granted a free hand in managing their affairs.” (Eric Foner 3) The Southern people responded by enacting the Black codes, which were laws that required African Americans to sign yearly labor contracts and in other ways sought to limit the freedmen’s economic options and reestablish plantation discipline, or in other words, return them to slavery using loopholes in the legal system. African Americans strongly resisted the implementation of these measures, and they seriously undermined Northern support for Johnson’s policies. This caused the North to begin to cease their support for President …show more content…

Following his assassination in April 1865, Andrew Johnson became president and began the period of Presidential Reconstruction and the rebuilding of society in the South which also influenced them to make the Black Codes. After the resistance of the Black Codes the South began to create Jim Crow laws which targeted a loophole in the 13th Amendment which allowed them to sentence black people to slavery in prison for doing normal things such as staying in a place too long.(Loitering) Due to the many failures of this Reconstruction, it was mostly considered a failure, however the few successful things created by it were a step in the right direction and eventually led to a successful version of Reconstruction. Work Cited Foner, Eric. "Reconstruction". Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Aug. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/event/Reconstruction-United-States-history. Accessed 19 April 2023. April 3, 2023 McPherson, James. “Out of War, a New Nation” Vol. 42 No. 1 Spring 2010 Accessed April 3, 2023

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