Civil War And Reconstruction Analysis

Although the end of the Civil War and the beginning of the Reconstruction brought great hope to America’s four million former slaves, the efforts of Congressional Reconstruction ultimately failed to establish equal rights for the freedmen because the racist mindset still dominated American society at the time and Democratic influence steadily overcame Republican control in Congress. Despite the Union’s victory, the end of the Civil War brought many significant national problems, including an economically and culturally devastated South and the protection of the freedmen. After a period of Reconstruction under Lincoln and then under Andrew Johnson, it was Congress’s turn to determine the path of Reconstruction. While the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment and the Emancipation Proclamation were large steps in the freedmen’s road to equality, it was never going to be that easy to attain true equality for all. The Southerners’ mindset was still fixated on the idea that freedmen were naturally inferior.

The Civil war could very easily be known as one of the greatest tragedies in United States history. After the Civil War, the people of The United States had so much anger and hatred towards each other and the government that 11 Southern states seceded from the Nation and parted into two pieces. The Nation split into either the Northern abolitionist or the Southern planation farmers. The Reconstruction era was meant to be exactly how the name announces it to be. It was a time for the United States to fix the broken pieces the war had caused allowing the country to mend together and unite once again. The point of Reconstruction was to establish unity between the states and to also create and protect the civil rights of the former slaves.

Reconstruction was one of the most important periods in American history. It was a period right after the Civil War lasting from approximately from 1863 to 1877. During this time, the leaders of the country and the congress struggled with a challenge of bringing the South back into the Union politically, economically and socially. One of the key challenges they faced was how to reunite the nation and what to do with the thirteen rebellious states that broke off from the Union and joined the Confederacy. Another challenge the government was dealing with was what to do with four million former slaves who now needed housing, food, work, education along with basic civil rights such as voting and government participation. In my opinion reconstruction was more successful in bringing back the South economically and politically. Social reconstruction on the other hand, was almost an impossible task due to lack of commitment to insure equal rights for African Americans. In this essay I will examine successes and failures of presidential, congressional, and social reconstructions.

The Reconstruction happened in period following the end of the American Civil and the main goal was to reintegrate the Southern Confederate States back into the Union after they had been defeated by the Union (Northern States). As would be expected, the process was met with many challenges as the interests of both groups had to be addressed. There was debate over the terms under which the Confederate States would be allowed back into the Union, and whether it was the president or congress to set these terms. There was also the question about what rights freed slaves had and their role in the new American society. Even though the war had ended, the reconstruction presented a new battlefront for a political struggle between the North and the South. This paper analyses what reconstruction sought to achieve, and why it failed with dire long-term consequences.

After the civil war and the period of reconstruction during the 20th century, many economic, social and political conditions changed for African Americans. This new freedom and opportunities given to them were not dramatically a big change. Even though the civil war had ended African Americans still faced discrimination and didn’t get as promised. One social change that came out of the civil war and reconstruction was segregation between the two races it was the process of separating the black people from the white. As shown in document 6, we see the public drinking fountain in North Carolina are kept separate from the white.

The Civil War was the bloodiest battle the US has ever never had that reconstruction it took a very long time. 1876 was the year of the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence . 1877 the last federal troops left the South. I believe the north killed Reconstruction because they did not do anything to stop racism, they had the Panic of 1873 and public opinion shifted about reconstruction the Civil War.

After the Civil War, America was in a time of turmoil. The Civil War was a dramatic experience for the entire country that was thought to bring about significant changes, but it did not. Within one year after the war, slavery had been recreated under a new name through the creation of black codes. Although changes were being made, these changes were not valid because the Southern states were resisting change in their values and beliefs. There was lots of controversy during this period of reconstruction between the Republicans of the North and the Democrats of the South surrounding the political rights and opportunities of the newly freed slaves. The recent war had hardened both sides opinions, polarizing

1. The war in 1862 was only more than a year old and the people in both the Union and Confederate sides didn’t anticipate it would last that long, but it is going to go on. Close to the end of the summer in this same year, the Union has made huge progress in claiming confederate lands, winning some major battles. They have put the confederacy in the defensive. They have taken over New Orleans, with even black troops major on the ground of New Orleans. They have taken Missouri and are working hard to take over the Mississippi Valley and maybe even Richmond itself. Bruce Catton puts it this way in The Civil War, “Except for guerrilla activity, Kentucky and Missouri has been swept clear of armed confederates, Western Tennessee had been reclaimed, there was a Yankee army in Cumberland Gap, another one was approaching chattanooga, and a third was sprawled out from Memphis to Corinth, preparing to splice down through Mississippi and touch hands with the Union occupation forces in Baton Rouge and New Orleans” (85) So not only that they Union had taken over regions, they are advancing as well, but they did not win the way this year for some reason. Firstly, because they did not have generals and army heads capable of taking them to victory. General Halleck, chief of the Union Armies and Pope in charge of one of the Union armies in Virginia, were major examples of this.

The Reconstruction Era can be distinguished from other eras by looking at the relationships between the northern and the southern regions, along with the rights of African Americans. Having won the Civil War, the northern part of the country (anti-slavery) pushed for more rights and freedoms for those freed from slavery.

After the Civil War, the United States had a lot of rebuilding to do. The war had halted the development of the country in its tracks, and many efforts had to be made to fix the economy, the physical state of the land and satisfy the needs and wants of the people. Integration of newly emancipated slaves, known as freedmen, and their safety was a question mark in the minds of many Americans, and ideas of how to fairly pull the South back into the Union were extremely varied amongst lawmakers. Compromise played a big role in keeping every side happy to prevent slipping back into war. It was prioritized that the North and South were blended back into one, united country, and many actions were taken in expediting this process.

Many historians argue about the result of the reconstruction. By reading the sources I concluded that the American reconstruction after the war was somewhat successful. According to Frances after the civil war, the north sent many generals to the south to control territories until the land was settling. According to her augments the claims that the generals would force the people to bow down to them. People in the south considered them as tyrants. Another thing that many people in the south were angry about was the fact that most black in the south had more right to vote that some of the whites themselves. She mentions that if blacks in the north could not vote why the blacks in the south should (366). This clearly shows the high disapproval

When reading about the reconstruction era after the civil war I try to take a step back and look at their perspective and the struggles they went through. The best way to try to understand life at that time would be from the words of Houston Hartsfield Holloway, born enslaved who lived and wrote about his life at the reconstruction era "For we colored people did not know how to be free and the white people did not know how to have a free colored person about them."

The United States faced a Civil War from April 12, 1861 to April 9, 1865. The Civil War was caused by disagreements between the North and the South on certain social issues and state rights, because of this, the South decided it was its own country and left the Union. After the Civil War reconstruction had to take place. Reconstruction is a program made by the federal government from 1865-1877 to repair the damage caused by the Civil War and restore southern states back to the Union (Lapsansky-Werner, et al. 958). Problems associated with Reconstruction affected the South’s ability to industrialize after the Civil War in multiple ways. This affected the nation as a whole concerning factors such as economic development, infrastructure, labor and human rights.

War! Nobody likes it especially when it's in their own country. The union victory in the Civil war may have given 4 million slaves their freedom, but the process of re-uniting the government after the South departed from the U.S. introduced a new set of challenges. Reconstruction was America's first experiment in interracial democracy for men. It tested the central philosophies and traditions of America's society and institutions (Shmoop Editorial Team). It was also a period in U.S. history where the government tried to re-unite the southern states with the northern states.

On the other hand, in Reconstruction: North and South there are many types of oppositions. Due to the absence of Southern members, Congress decided to pass the Republican economic agenda. In order to remove Civil Rights Act doubts, joint committee proposed the 14th Amendment which had went far ahead of the Civil Right Act. Many radicals had wished for the Congress to control the Reconstitution program, but Lincoln wanted the Presidential control.