In 1865 The North was amazingly prosperous, with a booming economy and a large amount of supporters there was no way The South could keep up. The South lay in ruins and the population dwindled with the shortage of food, shelter and clothing. The Reconstruction was necessary to help rebuild and reunite the nation, the Government at the time sought out ways to help southerners and give slaves more rights. During the Reconstruction African Americans where given freedom to vote, now making up the majority of Republican voters. Some historians group the Reconstruction and “Black Supremacy” together due to the growth of African Americans serving in office. “Sixteen African Americans served in Congress during Reconstruction—including Hiram Revels and Blanche K. Bruce in the U.S. Senate—more than 600 in state legislatures, and hundreds more in local offices from sheriff to justice of the peace scattered across the South” says Eric Foner of Encyclopedia Britannica. The Reconstruction had many advancements that aided in the society we are today, as well as many failures. …show more content…
I do not want to forget pointing out some of the other successes, some still used in out modern society today. Expanded citizenry, United States Governments established the South’s first state-funded public school systems, sought to strengthen the power of plantation labourers, made taxation more equitable, and sought to make discrimination in public transportation and services outlawed. In doing so many White Voters started to feel alienated, something that many people complain about today with there being a African American President. With Advancements to public accommodations taxes had to raised and lots of corruption spawned. Many White Southerners became even more hateful and turned toward terrorists movements and the infamous group known as the Ku Klux Klan
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.
Once former confederates had their right to vote brought back, they tried hard to win public office and if they did they would try and undo most of the social and economic reforms. Their efforts were in attempt to undo Reconstruction and restore the “Old South”. Some efforts under the Democratic Leadership were successful, and government spending was cut and many Reconstruction programs were hurt or
The Reconstruction was unsuccessfull because of some important reasons. First, the South was still aracist part of the United States because they created the Jim Crow Laws, what means that the people who lived and administratedthe South were not intelligent. The second example is that Abraham Lincoln, who started and incentivated the Reconstruction, was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, so it made the Reconstruction process to be less efective. Finally, the last problem was the Solid South, it is a name that the South recieved because it was a solid white, solid racist and solid Democrat, what means that they were not able to support black people. Concluding, all of these examples shows why the Reconstruction was unsuccessfull
A few days after the civil War ended, President Lincoln was assassinated and never had the chance to implement his Reconstruction plan. The Reconstruction Era occurred in the period of 1865 to 1877 under the reign of President Andrew Johnson who was the predecessor of President Lincoln. Congress was not scheduled to convene until December 1865, which gave Johnson eight months to pursue his own Reconstruction policies. Under his Reconstruction policies, the former Confederate states were required to join back into the Union and heal the wounds of the nation.
The Civil War, from 1861-1864, was a collection of brutal battles between the North and South as a result of their sectional differences. Although the North won the military victory against the South, the South was able to keep many of its policies in place after the Civil War. During the Reconstruction Period, 1865-1877, it was evident that the South won the Civil War in many ways because of their political and social policies that they implemented or kept in place. While the 13th through 15th amendments changed social issues for a period of time in the South by allowing more opportunities and rights for former slaves, the South continued their social dominance over black people. Also, politically, near the beginning of Reconstruction and
“Reconstruction was widely viewed as a era of corruption and misgovernment…” There were many problems that faced the South, like, keeping former slaves from being used by white landowners and finding ways to provide to former slaves. However, Reconstruction was successful for African Americans, Southerners, and Northerners. The Reconstruction was successful for African Americans. On September
They were able to pass laws that protected Black Americans and let them have representation in the government at many different governmental levels. This was only effective during the reconstruction, but after that period, the amount of representation decreased a large amount until the 1960s and further, during the Civil Rights Movement. During the year 1870 when Reconstruction ended, there were around 15 African Americans elected to the U.S. Congress. This number only decreases till the 1910s when the amount of African Americans elected to Congress is 0. The Reconstruction had only been effective when radical Republicans of that time had the power to control the South with the military.
Prior to the Reconstruction Era, the Union and the Confederate states had just engaged in a war concerning slavery and the unity of the United States, which is also known as the Civil War. The damage from the war was economically, socially and politically devastating to the United States of America as a whole. The newly liberated African Americans were harassed, tormented and even killed in the communities they had developed after the Civil War. Literacy tests were implemented as a way to prevented the miseducated African American male from suffrage. Lastly, early Jim Crow laws originated during this time period.
Who killed Reconstruction: The North or South? Following the civil war, the south killed the reconstruction of the United States. (Reconstruction was putting the country back together after the Civil War) There are many reasons why, the south slowed down the reconstruction of the United States, the main reason was freedmen were not seen as equals to the white.
1. Many historians consider reconstruction to be a failure. Post Civil War, the Union had won and set to appease the southern ex-Confederacy through reconstruction. Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation and the amendments freeing the southern slaves and granting them citizenship. But after his assassination, Reconstruction plummeted.
After the civil war ended the south became virtually non-existent politically and economically. The North treated the Southern citizens and the Freemen total unfairly. Their rights were taken advantage of, in addition, they were not provided any formal education nor training, there were no laws, and their towns were completely destroyed. They were not given white collar jobs, and were not allowed to enjoy the privileges that the North had. In 1865, the
Although many attempts were made to prioritize freedom and equality for all, these values were undermined by racist Southerners who wouldn’t accept equality. In the end, Reconstruction had failed and former slaves endured another hardship akin to slavery. However, Reconstruction still could have prospered. There are multiple events that, if they had occurred, Reconstruction would not have failed. For example, had the government continued to fund the Freedmen’s Bureau, then the South would have legislated their discriminatory laws much later, if not at all.
Although there existed several drawbacks with the reconstruction of the South, there were some positive occurrences that took place. There were two new constitutional amendments instituted, an enactment of the nation’s first civil rights law, and the prohibition of slavery. The Civil Rights Act of 1875 did not allow racial discrimination in all public establishments, transportation points, places of leisure, and juries (Shultz, 2014). However, isolation in public schools was not restricted and there still remained racial discrimination in the workplace. Along with the inoperative measures of the Civil Rights Act, there were many other obstacles that would hamper a complete reconstruction.
Reconstruction was the political, social, and economic progress for blacks. Blacks people made up majority of the Southern voters. There were 265 African Americans that were elected into public office. Out of all of them, 100 of them were born slaves, 16 of them served in the US Congress, and more than 600 of them served in state legislatures. Reconstruction also established a public school system to allow everyone to have some sort of education.
According to www.history.com/topics/charles-sumner ”He saw Reconstruction as the opportunity to establish civil rights for blacks, first in the South where Congress had explicit authority and gradually in the North. In 1865 he insisted that suffrage be granted to all black males. At the time of his death, Sumner was still vainly agitating for federal legislation repealing all discriminatory laws.” Finally, there was President Andrew Johnson. After Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, just as the South surrendered in April 1865, and then Andrew Johnson inherited the problem of Reconstruction.