American Reconstruction after the Civil War Essay

During the time period of 1860 and 1877 many major changes occurred. From the beginning of the civil war to the fall of the reconstruction, the United States changed dramatically. Nearly one hundred years after the Declaration of Independence which declared all men equal, many social and constitutional alterations were necessary to protect the rights of all people, no matter their race. These social and constitutional developments that were made during 1860 to 1877 were so drastic it could be called a revolution.

The radical Republicans saw Reconstruction as a chance to bring change to southern society. Lincoln saw Reconstruction as an opportunity to abolish slavery and weaken the confederacy by establishing new state governments that could win support of southern whites. While the Republicans were divided on the issue of how to readmit the southern states into the Union, they enacted programs for emancipated slaves such as the Freedman’s Bureau. This Bureau provided food and clothing to former slaves and they were in charge with “supervising all the abandoned lands in the South and the control of subjects relating to refugees and freedman” (Buhle, 463).

The aftermath of the Civil War shook the nation. A new way of life was beginning for the people of America. A way of life that was beautiful and free to some and absolutely devastating to the rest. The country had changed and nobody did a better job at documenting this change than the authors. The authors used this new world to explore new and unique stories as well as capturing what it was actually like living in the post-Civil War times. This paper will examine post-Civil War Literature and its importance to documenting this period in history.

What is Reconstruction? Reconstruction is the way the North tried to get the South to join their states as a country. The north wanted them in the Union. It is a way of reconnection between the states. In 1876, Reconstruction was offered to the Southern States after the Civil War, as the aftermath. All but three Southern states refused the offer of all Reconstruction efforts. When Rutherford B. Hayes came into office as President, He agreed to move federal soldiers out of Southern states and he put an end to the very insufficient effort of the plan of Reconstruction. (citation)

Reconstruction was a period of US history which main purpose was to reunite the Union and clean up the destruction that followed the Civil War. Even prior to the conclusion of the War, current President Abraham Lincoln worked to create a plan. This plan would help solve returning the South back into the Union, as well as deal with rebuilding cities and figuring out freed slaves and their rights. Unfortunately, Lincoln was assassinated before he had the chance of Reconstruction and that was when Andrew Johnson took his place as President. During Johnson’s term, Radical Republican emerged and created their own plan for Reconstruction. Johnson’s plan was a version of Lincoln’s, although far less friendly to Blacks. The similarities and differences of the two plans will be discussed following.

Reconstruction has been brutally murdered! For a little over a decade after the Civil War, the victorious North launched a campaign of social, economic, and political recovery in the former Confederacy and to readmit the land in the former Confederacy back into the United States as states. Reconstruction yielded many benefits for African Americans. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments freed African Americans, made them citizens, and gave them the right to vote respectively. The Freedmen’s Bureau also provided African Americans and poor whites with education, jobs, and supplies. Despite this, Reconstruction was cut short in 1877. The North killed Reconstruction because of racism, negligence, and distractions.

After four years of fighting between the Union and the Confederacy in the American Civil War, it was finally decided in 1864 that the 11 southern states that seceded from the nation would be restored into the Union once again. However, the problems of reconstructing the Union were just as difficult as the war itself had been. Because most of the war was fought on Southern ground, the South had been devastated both physically and economically. Helping former slaves and making state governments loyal to the Union also presented various problems that would take years to resolve.

The Freedman’s Bureau was created after the Civil War in 1865-1877 by Congress to help the newly free slaves support themselves. The Freedmen's Bureau helped Africans Americans get cloths, food, and jobs as well as providing medical attention and education to them. This was great for the African American population during reconstruction and was a step towards better

Reconstruction is the rebuilding of a country after a largely impacted war. The US reconstructed their country after the damage of the Civil War. This lasted 12 long years. Reconstruction was not only physically rebuilding buildings, it was altering the government, the beliefs of the people, food, shelter, and homes, and much more.

     The period after the Civil War was a very difficult time in the United States’ history. This time was known as the Reconstruction period and it was a very controversial time. There were many issues that had to be addressed such as what to do with the free blacks in the south and how states would be readmitted to the Union. This era saw the rise of the Radical Republicans. The government was going through changes, southerners were going through changes, and blacks were going through changes. Whites in the south were left without people to work their plantations. Slavery was indeed a very important topic during this time. Many of the reconstruction plans that were proposed required states to prohibit slavery in

Freedom is being able to make your own decisions without input of a parent or guardian. You must be responsible for yourself as well as your actions. Before reaching freedom actions made by the child are part of the Guardian’s responsibility. All liability and blame is put on yourself for your choices.If you get in trouble with the law before you are eighteen the guardian of the child is put on the parent and they have to pay for damage done. You reach these freedoms when you become a legal adult. Before this time you need you guardian or parent to consent on decisions the child makes. Overall the child has no power unless a guardian agrees. You also gain freedom when you are able to support yourself financially.

Reconstruction was the time between 1863 and 1877 when the U.S. focused on abolishing slavery, destroying the Confederacy, and reconstructing the nation and the Constitution and is also the general history of the post-Civil War era in the U.S. between 1865 and 1877. Under Abraham Lincoln, presidential reconstruction began in each state as soon as federal troops controlled most of the state. The usual ending date is 1877, when the Compromise of 1877 saw the collapse of the last Republican state governments in the South

The reconstruction of the Union began under President Lincoln before the end of the war, and carried on by President Johnson after the assassination of President Lincoln. After Lincoln’s death, the leadership of the nation bestowed upon Andrew Johnson of Tennessee. According to A. Brinkley (pg. 375), Johnson revealed his plan for reconstruction or “Restoration”, as he preferred to call it, soon after he took office and implemented it during the summer of 1865 when Congress was in recess. Like Lincoln, he offered some form of amnesty to Southerners who would take a pledge of loyalty to the Union. In most other respect, however, his plan resembled the Wade-Davis Bill. The next phase of reconstruction, known as the Congressional Plan or

Reconstruction is the period of rebuilding the south that succeeded the Civil War (1861-1865). This period of time is set by the question now what? The Union won the war and most of the south was destroyed. Devastation, buildings turned into crumbles and lost crops. The South was drowning in poverty. To worsen the situation there were thousands of ex-slaves that were set free by the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13 Amendment. "All these ex-slaves", Dr. Susan Walens commented, "and no place to put them," The ex-slaves weren't just homeless but they had no rights, unlike white man. The government and congress had to solve the issues present in the south and the whole nation

At a time when America was trying to piece itself back together, the Reconstruction Era is one of the most important chapters in history. It is also, however, one of the most debated. After the Civil War, the South was devastated and thousands of freed slaves needed to be integrated into society. When Andrew Johnson took office, he was moderate in his views as to what should happen to restore order to the United States. However, some Republicans had other plans in mind. They wanted to impose harsher terms and used Congress to do so, justly giving them the name Radical Republicans. Opinions about this time period have