Causes And Failures Of The Reconstruction Era

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.

America was in disarray following the events of the Civil War. Southern economy was in shambles while congress was struggling to find a middle ground between the radical republicans and Lincoln’s lenient policies. Many Southerners faced the aftermath of uprooting their society and their way of life while thousands of newly freed slaves struggled to find a way to support themselves. The country needed a strong leader, however on the 14th of April, 1865 President Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in the Ford Theatre in Washington (Farmer). Without the man that had once held the nation together, the country now faced an enormous obstacle; reconstructing American economics, politics and social life.

In January 1st, 1863 Emancipation Proclamation freed all slaves in all states. Two years later the thirteenth Amendment was added to the constitution which abolished slavery in the United States in December 6. It initially met with some resistance by some Southern states making it hard for black people to live and work it was overcome a year later but was not the end of turmoil. 1868 July 9th, The 14th amendment was added which granted African Americans equal protection under the law. The 15th Amendment was added to the constitution on February 3rd, 1870, granting all African American males the right to vote. The third Civil rights act was passed due to many white business owners refusing service to African Americans.

The 13th amendment, which was passed in 1865, abolished slavery but did not give blacks equality, the first written law to protect African Americans came about when Congresses passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 proclaimed that all people born in the United States is a citizen, specifically defines the rights of citizenship, and states that it is unlawful to deprive anyone of these rights (Encyclopedia). This act would later be replaced with the 14th amendment, which granted citizenship and equal civil and legal rights to African Americans and slaves who were emancipated after the Civil War, known today as the “life, liberty, and property” amendment

The United States was challenged with many issues after the Civil War like crop lien work contracts, segregation, and unresolved problems with the seceded states. This period was called Reconstruction.

I agree with the proposition “Reconstruction was a missed opportunity”. The period of Reconstruction was one of the biggest failure in the American history as it had affected the south both physically and economically. The south had their own pride. However, after being defeated by the north their pride was hurt. They viewed north and African- American population as the evil group. The Republican party had succeeded in ending slavery in the United States, but there was still much work to be done as the nation was separated. Lincoln’s assassination was also the main reason to the North’s failure to restore the country. After Lincoln's assassination , Andrew Jackson became the president. Jackson was not nearly as pro-Union as Lincoln, and within a short time Southerners became more active role in government and there was minimal Northern involvement

After the end of the Civil War, the 13th Amendment was passed out the slave. The 14th Amendment provides citizens with equal protection for all under the law. The 15th Amendment protects all citizens from race discrimination on the grounds of race in the election.

Following the era of reconstruction, the political and economic white elites were successful in depriving the minorities and poor whites from voting through multiple voting restricting measures. This led Texas to become an unmistakable big player in the notorious politics of the south, known for their conservative beliefs and their emphasis on tradition. The moment Anne Richards lost her race for the governorship in 1994 to George W. Bush, the Republican party would dominate and sweep all of the major offices. As of 2016, the lone star state's recent majority party, Republican, dominates all state offices, both of the houses in the state legislature and the Texas congressional delegation.

Some major challenges that Americans faced at the end of the Civil War included that the nation entered into the Reconstruction era. And that the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution strengthened the claim of African Americans to have equal rights. This challenge took place on the farms and even plantations in the South, and former slaves were seeking to become free workers. Also, during this challenge and struggle, some white women began to join in for radical and gender equality. And their attempts for the right to vote for women were prevented, and just as for the blacks and their allies to secure radical equality. Thus, white Southerners prevailed. The Reconstruction was to give African Americans the chance for

Social and economic challenges played significant parts in drafting constitutional amendments and molding civil rights of individuals during the Reconstruction Era. The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments were recognized as the Civil War Amendments because they were put in place directly following the war. The purpose of them was to ensure the end of slavery and give recently emancipated slaves equal protections and rights. The Thirteenth Amendment was first put in place to abolish slavery and all forms of involuntary servitude except for penance of a crime.

The Thirteenth Amendment, adopted in 1865, abolishes slavery or involuntary servitude except in punishment for a crime. The Fourteenth Amendment, adopted in 1868, defines all people born in the United States as citizens, requires due process of law, and requires equal protection to all people. The Fifteenth Amendment, ratified in 1870, prevents the denial of a citizen’s vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude, (PBS, 2014)

bears that structured the Reconstruction period. It details the process by which this country sought to put itself back Southern Republicans, and therefore Reconstruction, accomplished a remarkable amount; perhaps the most obvious achievement was establishing the first state-supported schools in the South. These education systems were for both black and white students (though typically in segregated schools) and in a region whose pre-war leaders had made it illegal for slaves to learn and had done little to help poorer white children, to have more than half of the children, black and white, was a significant feat. Along with this, the Scalawag and Carpetbagger governments had pioneered civil rights legislation – making it illegal for railroads,

The Reconstruction era (1865-1877) was a period of excitement for ex-slaves because they were declared free American citizens. However, all their expectations of freedom were not fulfilled as soon they expected because of the conflict their new freedom bore between them and their former masters. In this discussion, the focus of Eric Foner on the Reconstruction will be compared with that of P. Downs and Scott Nesbitt to get a clearer understanding of the occurrences of the period using their works. The chapter “What is Freedom?: Reconstruction” by Foner focuses on what freedom meant to ex-slaves and the conflicts that resulted from the declaration of black freedom during the Reconstruction. On the other hand, the digital history project,

In 1861, previous failed compromises regarding the spread of slavery to new states and territories indicated failure. This controversy over slavery ultimately resulted in war. The Civil War began in 1861 when the Confederates attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina, shortly after President Lincoln’s inauguration. The Union won the war when General Lee surrendered to General Grant. The Confederacy collapsed and the abolishment of slavery took place (Gallagher). The Reconstruction Era overlapped and followed the war. On September 22, 1862, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation stating that he, “orders and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated states, and part of states, are, and henceforward shall be free…” (“Transcript of Emancipation Proclamation (1863)”). This proposal would go into effect on January 1, 1863. During Reconstruction, African Americans were able to gain their rights back. The policies aimed at establishing political and economic equality for blacks. However, many Southerners were against these changes and wanted to restore white supremacy. The post-Civil War Reconstruction in the 1800s created a conflict between the government and white supremacists as both had opposing ideas in terms of giving rights to African Americans. This encouraged the creation of organizations like the Ku Klux Klan, which fought to reverse policies of Radical Reconstruction and resulted in many lives taken. The conflict was handled with a

Even though African-American's rights made some progress during the Reconstruction Era, most of them were insignificant and never truly effective in their lives. The emancipation of slaves was one of the great stakes of the Civil War and the Reconstruction Era, but it was a failure as well. Many Northern leaders weren't Abolitionists but didn't want to lose the support of their electors. Even Abraham Lincoln (as well as his successor Andrew Jonshon) was arguably a white supremacist, even though he passed Abolitionist laws that benefitted slaves. But he would have rather sent them to other countries, so that they wouldn't be his problem anymore as his projects to send freedmen in colonies in Central African and Haitian colonies show. Furthermore,