Changes In The South After Reconstruction

In McPherson’s “Antebellum Southern Exceptionalism” essay, it is noted that the argument is focused on the fact that although the South was seen as different and exceptional, it was actually the North who had been changing. The South was only keeping the same values and traditions it had been following for years (McPherson 41). One instance where the North’s change is noted is when McPherson demonstrates the percentage of agricultural work in the North and South; "In 1800, 82 percent of the Southern labor force worked in agriculture compared with 68 percent in the free states. By 1860 the Northern share had dropped to 40 percent while the Southern proportion had actually increased slightly, to 84

In short, the South was a polar opposite of the North. They were engrained with a greedy, stubborn and selfish

After the Civil War, the South was in a state of political turmoil, social chaos, and economic decline. Contrary to popular belief, Northerners did not subject Southerners to unethical or inhumane punishment. The time post Civil War was filled with efforts toward reconstructing the South, yet there is the strong question if there even is a New South. Yes, there was somewhat of a New South economically. No, there was not a New South regarding race relations and social hierarchy. In the 1870’s, the South realized the world still looked at them as the ones who wanted slavery. There was a need to project a new image to the world and to stimulate

The reconstruction era was a time that then affected America in positive facets and negative aspects as well, and still affects America today. Thanks to the reconstruction era, there are several implementations that geared the world on the path in which it is today. Had it not been for some of the laws that were set in place African Americans may have not had many of the opportunities that were presented during the reconstruction period, therefore the years of oppression and cruelty might still be present.

Since the Civil War brought extensive economic change to the United States, civilians in the North and South faced many economic challenges. "In the North the arms, metalworkings, boot making, and shipbuilding industries boomed, but the scarcity of cotton caused widespread layoffs and closures in the textile industry" (Keene, 391). Even though workers' salaries rose by forty percent, prices increased even faster, resulting in inflation that averaged fifteen percent. Despite the North's economic hardships, the problems the South faced were far worse. "The Southern economy was hit hard by the cessation of trade with the North and Europe due to the Union blockade" (Keene, 391). Southern industry and agriculture were limited by persistent

The Reconstruction Era occurred between 1866 and 1877, immediately following the Civil War between the Northern and Southern states. The Reconstruction Era brought change to not only the American economy, society, and government, but significant changes to the lives of African Americans as well. Lincoln’s assassination in April 1865 impacted conditions for African Americans in the post-war period through political and social changes in the Reconstruction Era; which ranged from a new array of rights to many new opportunities in society.

The Union won!This is great for the north, however what is next for the Confederate army. With slaves becoming freedmen and the south destroyed after total war, a lot was to be done after the civil war. A solution to this was Reconstruction. Reconstruction was a period in american history from 1865 to 1877 lasting twelve years (Foner). Reconstruction after the war caused many social, political, and economic changes to the newly formed union.

America: “The land of the free, and the home of the brave” (Key 7-8). When our forefathers overcame the colonial reign of the British Empire, they formed the United States of America based on the premise of enlightened ideals promoting life, ownership of land, and liberty. But after the revolution, the country’s problems were far from solved. The country’s post-revolution issues sparked a Civil War, which was followed by a reconstruction. In some ways, the Civil War and Reconstruction helped the United States accomplish its original goals, but in many ways, that was not the case.

As a country, America has gone through many political changes. Leaders have come and gone, all of them having different objectives and plans for the future. One period of time in which leaders sought change was 1865 which was the time period known as Reconstruction. Reconstruction was a time period of many different leaders, different goals and different accomplishments. Many debate whether Reconstruction was a success or failure. Success is an event which accomplishes its intended purpose, which Reconstruction did, but during this process of accomplishment, evil came about. There was many good things that came from the Reconstruction era which leads me to believe that it was a success, these accomplishments were; Reunification of the Union , more laws came about along with the protection of African Americans and the Enforcement acts, the Freedmen's Bureau was created along with an education system, and the Compromise of 1877.

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.

Reconstruction was a time of great change for the now-unified United States. It started in 1865, coinciding with the Union win of the Civil War. Reconstruction is defined as ‘the process by which the states that had seceded were reorganized as part of the Union after the Civil War.” This means that the Northern states were given the task of trying to decide what to do with the states that left the Union before the war. Deciding what to do with these states sparked lots of debate. So much debate that it split the northern population into different groups. Radical Republicans fought for the rights of freedmen and believed that South should pay for the damage they caused. The Radicals were not interested in taking the South back with open arms. One of the Radicals’ proposed laws was to take large chunks of ex-confederate land and sharing it with freed slaves and non-wealthy whites. With that being said, the majority of the Northern population were Moderate in their stance on Reconstructing. Moderates were not for the distributing of land to African-Americans in the South because they believed that blacks would get complacent and not want to contribute to the economy in their various states. They thought that blacks would eventually become socially equal to whites given time. Moderates assumed that going strongly against what the Southern Majority wants would hinder the Reconstruction of the U.S. The Confederate ideals were

After Reconstruction the south reverted back to the way it was with slavery, plantations, and the North still in the north. The new form of slavery still looked much like the old; it just had a different name. The south said that they were doing it for the betterment of all, but they just wanted things the way they had been. Now, though, they

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.

The Civil War left a country divided not only by property lines and borders but by beliefs as well. Not just religious beliefs, moral beliefs also. It left both sides, north and south struggling, trying to figure out what their next move towards reuniting the divided America was going to be. The period following the end of the Civil War would become known as the “Reconstruction Era.” An era that raised just as many questions as it did answers. A reconstruction of America that seems to carry on many decades later.

and in reality it was a demonstration of the failure to make a dependable political