Dbq Essay On Reconstruction

The Reconstruction period after the Civil War was not effective. Numerous conflicts between President Johnson and Congress led to an inability to make decisions in government. Although laws were introduced by Congress to prevent slavery, Black Codes were created in the South which heavily restricted the rights of African Americans. Angry Southerners also created rebel groups in order to retaliate against the Radical Republicans. The Reconstruction was not effective as indecisiveness in government, the creation of Black Codes, and the introduction of rebel groups caused many of the problems prior to Civil War to be left unsolved.

Shortly after the civil war, the southern states were left in ruins. However, by Lincoln’s order, they started a process of recreation known as Reconstruction. Most of the southern places were rebuilt and the economy slowly recovering. Slavery is no more, but the south will not accept them as their equals. In many ways, people believe that reconstruction did help the slaves/colored, but on the other hand many believe it didn’t change the situation at all. African Americans are better off during the reconstruction era than they were before the civil war.

The Reconstruction of the United States was a time of political controversy following the civil war. Throughout 1863-1877 several plans were put into place in an effort to unify the confederate states back into the union. Part of this process was to give newly freed slaves rights as free men. Some parts of the plan were successful and others were a complete disaster.

The southern portion of the United States still depended on the actions of slavery to propel their agricultural based economy, rather than allowing industrialization to occur. Plantation life dominated the social hierarchy and the possibility of change frightened the southerners to the point of taking physical action against those who harmed their way of life. Southern frameworks (the plantation life) deeply rooted the ways of the antebellum south into each southerner, thus causing for the fall of reconstruction, and the deprivation of the south from industrializing and becoming an economic power. If the south would have released their past and progressed onward, the south would have been industrialized and in a better economic state than they are in

There were many different opinions on how Reconstruction should have been handled. Johnson’s plan was extremely lenient towards the Southerners, while the Radical Republicans’ plan punished the South greatly. Lincoln’s plan was the middle ground of the spectrum. In my opinion, I believe that Lincoln’s plan would have been the most effective plan in bringing the Union back together in a stable and fair way.

There were many political developments in the South during this time period. One of them was slavery. Slavery had been an issue for a very long time. Southern Representatives fought for slavery and this was an issue in Congress. It was hard to keep a balance of power in Congress between the North and the South due to the different populations. For

Veteran William Lloyd Garrison describes few of many changes that occurred after the Civil War, including the abolishment of slavery and the African American being granted for the first time in history the right to vote. As the civil war came to an end, the United States began to establish an undivided nation. This era known as the reconstruction era is described as “meaning literally the rebuilding of a shattered nation." (verterans of the civil movment, n.d.) Reconstruction’s main goal was to reintroduce the South into the Union and to make sure new laws coming out of the war were being followed. At this time, the country was in such a fragile state that changes needed to be made for the people to come together and form one strong nation.

As the Civil War came to a close, the United States Government, realized that they had to put this torn Country back together. The Government needed to make America even greater than it was before, thus Reconstruction was born. Reconstruction was off to a rocky start, the North and South were still at each other's throats. As this period of time went on new laws were passed, some, we still have today and others were abolished for their cruelty. Both sides, North and South had disrupted Reconstruction, but the South bears greater responsibility for the end of the reconstruction because they discriminated against, intimidated, and harmed African Americans as well as anyone who opposed them.

Before the Civil War, America interests lied in expansion, technological advances, and the economy. The North experienced industrial improvements and used railroads and new inventions to become prosperous. Meanwhile, the South continued in their use of slavery for economic means and became rich with the investing in raw materials. Of course this caused tensions between the two sections of the Union and became one of the main reasons for the secession of the South and the “War of States”. The conditions of the Antebellum South were financially stable, with the cotton as its staple crop, and the continuous battle against the North for more slave states. In the Antebellum South, six distinct classes formed depending on their economic standing, political interests, and the area in which they lived during this period.

For example, the fourteenth amendment gave African Americans citizenship, however, the document “This is a White Man’s Government,” shows a picture of a black man being stomped on by a group of white men. The way the white men in this picture stand on top of the black man shows them suppressing the average black man because they thought he did not deserve equality. The fifteenth amendment, which gave black men voting rights also resulted in violence from white men. The document, “Worse than Slavery” depicts an African American couple trembling with their child under two terrorizing men one from the Ku Klux Klan and the other from the Redeemers. In the background it shows another African American being hung by the neck from a tree which was very common for the two terrorist groups to do to African Americans who wished to vote republican. If an African American could survive the terrorizing from the KKK and the Redeemers they could be deceived back into slavery by southern farmers through

The American Civil War happened between 1861 and 1865, the ending of the Civil War didn’t mean the end of problems. There is a saying that problems come one after another, and that just happen to happen after the Civil War. It was already decided that slavery would no longer be allowed in the United States. Also that North America and South America would become one union again. Thus to make this happen Reconstruction was the answer, and Reconstruction was not going to be easy. Many problems came from it, a main problem was the fact that many African Americans were not being treated fairly regardless of the laws. It affected them political, economical and socially.

The years prior to Civil War were considered to be among the most hectic in the history of America, a time met by substantial changes which took place as America came of age. During this period, America was changed from an underdeveloped nation of just farmers and probably frontiersmen into a developed economic center. Major political fights during the pre-civil war period focused more on states’ rights. And diligently tied to the issue of states’ rights, was the dispute over slavery. Northerners did not really want social and political equivalence for black people, therefore; they sought only their liberation.

During the reconstruction of the south after the civil war, there was a lot of changes occurring through the south. Governments were stuck between the Southern Democrats who wanted the south to remain controlled by white southern leaders and Southern and Northern Republicans who were trying to help freed people gain rights, education, political positions, and open up business opportunities for Northern interests.

The civil war was between the Northern and Southern states, which were divided on the issue of slavery. The northern states didn’t want slavery to continue while the south wanted slavery to continue. This disagreement led to a five-year war from 1861-1865 leading to many social changes like the how the emancipation proclamation leading to the formation of the 13th, 14th, 15th amendments. Which allowed the African Americans to have a chance to gain their freedom not just by not having to be property but also free in ways so they are accepted in to the “other world” and guaranteed that slavery would not be an issue. Another change they faced was the political

The Civil War was the defining moment in the US history, while the Reconstruction period has finished the accomplishments of the Civil War and changes propelled by the war. In the meantime, the results of the Civil War and Reconstruction were frustrating the United states was fighting against their self. Separated itself over the argument of slavery, leading up to brutal moments of violence. The question upon the Americans is what events cause this war to erupt and separated the in two? The most critical events leading to the Civil War were Nat turner’s, The Elijah love joy, Bleeding Kansas, and John Browns Raid.