Chapter 16th Reconstruction

Reconstruction is during which the United States began to rebuild the Southern society after they lost to the civil war. It lasted from 1865 to 1877, and it was initiated by President Lincoln until his assassination in 1865. President Johnson continued Lincoln’s agenda to continue the Reconstruction. Throughout the process of Reconstruction, one of its main purpose was to guarantees for equal rights for all people, especially for the African Americans. Even though slavery was abolished after the civil war, many Southerners were still against the idea of equal rights for all black people, such as the Republicans.

"America 's Reconstruction: People and Politics After the Civil War. " America 's Reconstruction: People and Politics After the Civil War. Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, 2003. Web.

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.

Maceo Cardinale Kwik Reconstruction 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.

Peter Schroeder Dr. Christopher Marshall Modern United States History 2/2/17 Writing Assignment 1: The African-American Experience with Reconstruction Reconstruction among the south refers to the point in time which the United States was attempting to establish a relationship between the union and the rebels. The Union had won the civil war, so the next step was to begin to mend the broken relationship between the north and the south. Though historians cannot agree on when it began, there is merit in saying that it started before the end of the Civil War. After victory, had been solidified for the Union, attention of President Lincoln turned towards reconstruction.

The Union victory in the Civil War in 1865 may have given some 4 million slaves their freedom, but the process of rebuilding the South during the Reconstruction period (1865-1877) introduced a new set of significant challenges. Northerners assumed that martial law and the military’s role in the south would end in 1865. They expected the southerners to acknowledge defeat by treating blacks justly, rejecting Confederate leaders, and embraced southern Unionists. None of these things happened. Encouraged by President Andrew Jackson’s Reconstruction policy, which imposed no server penalties on the south, unashamed southerners elected former Confederates to state, local, and national offices, formed militia units composed of ex-soldiers, passed

Reconstruction was a period of time dedicated to rebuilding the nation after the Civil War. The war ended with the South being defeated and their economy being devastated. Many Southerners struggled after the war with rebuilding their land and lives. The President and Congress had to decide the terms for which the former Confederate states would be permitted to join the Union. President Lincoln’s plan for reuniting the country was found in the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction.

The Reconstruction period stands in sharp contrast. Although the destructive power of the war was frightful, its ultimate achievement was eliminated the plague that divided America. That plague is the moral question of slavery. Francis G. Couvares, a professor at the Amherst College and the author of Interpretations of American History Vol. I: Patterns and Perspectives argued, “The federal government had to bring the South back into the union on terms that permitted reconciliation, protect the newly freed slaves from the wrath of angry whites, and construct a biracial society of free people” One can clearly notice the difference in the tone from the previous book.

At the end of the Civil War between the North and South arose the Reconstruction era. This was a time period of the late 1800s where the united states, specifically the North started to attempt the rebuilding of the South. Abolitionists were eager to see the end of slavery and Lincoln attempted to end slavery. President Lincoln attempted to put in place the Emancipation Proclamation which stated all slaves in confederate states would be free. This was to weaken the southern states; except, the confederate states did not obey.

In addition to fresh opportunities, African Americans also gained freedom from being considered property and had the benefit of becoming citizens. This provided them with what was seemingly equal access in all different areas such as public transportation and facilities. To reassure they receive these accesses, the Civil Rights Act of 1875, hinging upon the 13th Amendment and 14th Amendment, guaranteed “to protect all citizens in their civil and legal rights” and “recognize the equality of all men before law” (Sumner). Accompanied with the act, the Freedmen’s Bureau in 1865 helped provide commodities such as food, housing, medical aid and legal assistance for freed blacks(Lincoln). This created stability and security that they lacked prior to Reconstruction, improving their living standards.

African Americans quote on quote received equal rights as White Americans, they got to go to privately own public businesses without having to deal with the harassment and discrimination from the owners also the racism from the authorities did not fully stopped but it was significant difference between how it was and how it came to be. African Americans finally got the recognition and the rights they had always

The American civil war led to the reunion of the South and the North. But, its consequences led the Republicans to take the lead of reconstructing what the war had destroyed especially in the South because it contained larger numbers of newly freed slaves. Just after the civil war, America entered into what was called as the reconstruction era. Reconstruction refers to when “the federal government established the terms on which rebellious Southern states would be integrated back into the Union” (Watts 246). As a further matter, it also meant “the process of helping the 4 million freed slaves after the civil war [to] make the transition to freedom” (DeFord and Schwarz 96).

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.

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

Reconstruction a Failure or Success? Throughout the years, America has gone through many different political changes. Many presidents selected with different plans for our future. Sadly, many of those objectives have failed or came to an end.