Abolishing Slavery: The Correlation Between Poverty And Education

I believe Reconstruction hurt the south more than it was supposed to help. The south was broke and homeless. The money they did have had no value to the United States and homes and schools were burned or damaged during the war. Reconstruction was made to reform the union, change how the south ran things, and to help the newly freed slaves come into society. Lincoln created the Ten Percent Plan. The goal was for the south. To be readmitted into the union, at least ten percent of the voting population had to keep loyalty to the U.S. After the assignation of Lincoln, President Johnson adopted the plan and had to make an agreement with the Radical Republicans in congress that the southern states needed to abolish slavery for good.

The Union Victory in the Civil War gave freedom towards slaves, however, the process of rebuilding the south introduced significant challenges. Attempts were made to rectify the inequities of slavery and to solve the problems that arose from the readmission to the union of the 11 states that have seceded. Reconstruction has been viewed more as a commendable experiment in interracial democracy, being the era of “repair” after he Civil War. Reconstruction was an era of total failure in the government’s attempt to create and reconstruct a society that was truly democratic. Although there were political and social changes during the Reconstruction Era that granted passages of freedom for the African Americans, policies such as the Black Codes and the actions of the white southerners restricted their rights and opportunities.

The aftermath of the civil war left the U.S in a terrible position; thus calling for the dawning of the Reconstruction era. The idea of Reconstruction was brought up by Pres. Abe Lincoln, but it was brought out by Andrew Johnson after President Lincoln was assassinated. The hopes for former slaves was lifted when the 13th-15th amendments were established and many rights for black men were created. While Southern state governments abolished slavery, they did nothing to alter the status of freedmen and women; to show, the rights once held by former slaves were taken away from them. Black men could not vote, they could not own property, and they were forced into sharecropping, which made debt highly likely. Slavery was still punishment for crimes, but the biggest punishment for crimes committed by blacks was lynching.

It seemed as though black people were finally starting to be recognized as actual people. According to the article “Reconstruction” on the website ushistory.org it says, “Under federal bayonets,blacks, including those who had recently been freed, received the right to vote, hold political offices, and become judges and police chiefs.” African Americans were finally able to hold some type of power in political offices and could have jobs of importance, however, many Southerners were angered by black people having this new sense of freedom. From the same article it says, “Many Southern whites could not accept the idea that former slaves could not only vote but hold office. It was this era that the Ku Klux Klan was born.” Douglass’s dream of equality was starting to slip away with white supremacists discriminating against black people. To this day, there is still racism and discrimination among not only African Americans but all races and this goal of equality has yet to be reached and may not be achieved ever.

The original purpose of Reconstruction was to restore the buildings and the economy of the south the best they could, but without the immoral element of slavery. But, reconstruction under the Johnson Presidency was a failure for a few reasons: 1) Convict Leasing, 2) Sharecropping, 3) the Ku Klux Klan, 4) Segregation in schools, even in the North, 5) Carpetbaggers/Scalawags, 6) misleading statistics, and 7) racism.

I feel that the Reconstruction failed to give African Americans equal rights. They were not able to vote in any public event and without that ability they had no voice to attain what they desired. Additionally, the Reconstruction lacked a clear structure to help African Americans develop any means to earn a living on their own. Many turned to sharecropping as a means to survive, which gain them no true independence. The African American had to continue to rely on the white southerners or large groups of one another to earn a living and it some cases just survive. The Reconstruction failed to provide a steady direction for African Americans and it did not protect them from abuse the white southerners could enact similar to slavery. For these

The Reconstruction Period which may also be known as the Radical Reconstruction took place from 1865 to 1877 (Foner, 439). Throughout this time a coherent definition for Freedom was not yet established leading to many disadvantages mainly to the African American communities. During this time political, social and economic issues affected the South. Therefore, regaining order in the Confederate state became important to the Union. By 1865 Congress established the Freedmen’s Bureau which brought a successful outcome, but was not sufficient to cure all established problems. According to Eric Foner the Freedmen’s Bureau was seen as a government experiment with the idea of establishing a sense of equality between social interactions. Not only

               Reconstruction in  American society after the Civil War, which claimed many lives and displaced numerous families, was a period of integration of the Freedmen into the society by granting them their political and civil rights. However, one may ask, did reconstruction fail or succeed due to the high rate of racism at that period? According to Historian Steven Hahn, Reconstruction failed when Freedmen lost their military support of the North which increased the rate of violence towards the freedmen. Also, David Blight a Historian argues that reconstruction failed as a result of the high rate of racism and the injustice in the American society against the African American at that time. I agree with Hahn and Blight that, Reconstruction failed as a result of  lack of injustice and racism against the African American, because the Freedmen were still being persecuted, had no equal rights to vote or own businesses like their white counterparts and also lacks the basic support of their Government. The Government's support and protection for the African American was vital for the Reconstruction movement to have succeeded, Although, the Radical Reconstruction made a tremendous effort to see that reconstruction movement was a success. However, with the compromise of the 1877, the withdrawal of the federal troops and high rate of racism towards

With the era of American Reconstruction in America during the mid to late 1800’s came a sense of opportunity and hope for its people. America was on the move as nation, railroads being built faster than ever and the freedmen looking to find their niche in society. Although in the beginning the government provided support for these new citizens, efforts toward reconstruction faded as the years passed. Those efforts faded to a point where they were all but nonexistent, and with the unwritten Compromise of 1877, what feeble efforts that were left of reconstruction were now all but dead. Politically, reconstruction failed to provide equality by pulling Federal troops from the South, allowing former Confederate officials and slave owners

The post-Civil War Reconstruction Era was a period of change. The government worked to fix the social, economic, and political issues that had evolved around the country. From analysing the Reconstruction Era, how successful was equality for former slaves? It was mostly a failure in terms of equality for African Americans. Politically, it was the most successful because of the amendments, economic wasn’t a success because of the fact that the freed slaves only could farm, and social failed the most because of the never ending racism.

There are good points supporting that the reconstruction was a success and a failure ad both sides are arguable. The point of the reconstruction was to bring the United States back together and in this the reconstruction was a success. In general, slavery died with the Civil War. There were three Constitutional amendments put in place in the years following the war to protect African American rights. The thirteenth amendment abolished slavery in all states and territories. The fourteenth

Reconstruction had failed in its tasks to properly enforce rights for blacks as promised after the Civil War. If more laws were passed to control the actions of the South in order to unite the blacks and whites, then Reconstruction could have had actually been successful in reconstructing the nation. If a tax break system in mid 1865, a Sharecropping Act of 1866, and a Diversity Law in 1880 were implemented in the South, such laws and changes could have guided Reconstruction to success.

During the time of Reconstruction, the federal government did little to help the people of America as a whole, they concentrated on bettering African American lives and “reconstructing” the South. The focus during this time period was to protect the rights of African Americans, which had long and hard been fought for. The federal government made it their priority to ensure equal rights among all black people. Also, the readmission of the Confederate states was essential to the federal

I agree with the statement that Reconstruction was a missed opportunity. Following the civil war, America missed a golden opportunity to fulfil the promise of racial equality. Although Civil Rights Bill and 14th Amendment were passed during this period, which said all citizens are equal regardless of race, by the end of reconstruction the former slaves had restricted rights and were racially segregated.

As I was reading through your response I noticed that we said similar things. One thing I did not include in my response that you included in yours was that without reconstruction slavery would still exist. I don't believe this is entirely true. I do think that without reconstruction slaves wouldn't have gained their freedom when they did, but over time slavery would have eventually been abolished. Although, I do agree that Reconstruction kick started the movement and it went from there.