Difference Between Civil War And Reconstruction

During the Civil War Era and Reconstruction, there was continuous threats by the Confederacy of secession from the Union. The Confederacy was extremely hesitant to maintain relations with the Union and was willing to separate into its own territory. Secession, in Civil War terms, is the act of disassociation from the Union. The Confederacy was willing to secede from the Union for various reasons. Lincoln being elected was a red flag for the Southern states, which allowed for the issue of abolition to be a rising threat as well as create tension between the North and Southern territories.

The Reconstruction of the United States was an experiment in interracial democracy. The Civil War victory by the North brought to a close the establishment of slavery but, in turn, opened Pandora's box. The questions and answers pertaining to economical, political, and social equality for freedmen had yet to be addressed on a practical level. The Southern states, still bitter from defeat and economic stresses, strongly rejected the societal transformations thrust upon them. The Northern states' focal point remained on the necessary political powers by which to enact constitutional amendments, therefore empowering the federal government with the capabilities to enforce the principles of equal rights. On paper, slavery was abolished, but in reality, African-Americans were once again enslaved on a ship without the security or knowledge of what the next port held for them. The Civil War had not truly ended. It was still active under the guise of Reconstruction, but now coats and flags of many colors existed, and battles were merely fought on alternate battlefields. A war of ideas lacking in substantial practicality resulted in repetitious battles being won and loss. The motivating forces that set Reconstruction into motion were for the most part the North's quest for unification among states', and the emancipation of slaves. However, the primary objective of Reconstruction was to grant political, economical, and social opportunities for the freedmen. The

Shelby Foote once said “But the Civil war defined us as what we are and it opened us to being what we became, good and bad things. It was the crossroads of our being, and it was a hell of a crossroads.” In this famous phrase he states how the civil war shaped the future of generations ahead, and was the collision of our beliefs, which led to issuing many policies and the burst of many disagreements, which were later solved with violence. His statement is valid because it interprets the situation the people where in, how they felt, and how the Civil War later affected people’s actions and beliefs.

Thus the overthrow of the south’s economic system was a revolution. The Civil War also changed the political power between the North and the South greatly. The death of the “long-term sectional balance of power in the nation” was an irrepressible outcome of the war. With the secession of southern representatives and senators of congress, the Republican party stepped up and took control of the national government. This created a crucial political trend in which the North dominated most of the politics during the next half century. Equally important was the emancipation of 4 million slaves and their rise of status to the white man. Because of this, it was “one of the most radical revolutions in history.” (Clemenceau) It destroyed the “old ruling class in the south-all within the space of a half a dozen years”(McPherson 13). It renewed the American ideal of freedom and liberty and that all men are created equal.

The American Civil War claimed the lives of over 700,000 people. The war was fought from 1861-1865. The results of the war were described as; a union victory, abolishment of slavery, territorial integrity preserved and the destruction and dissolution of the Confederate States. The twelve years that followed were called the Reconstruction Era, 1865-1877. The purpose of the Reconstruction Era was to restore National Unity, strengthen the government, and guarantee rights to freed slaves. The reality of reconstruction though was; violence (260,000 dead), newly freed slaves suffered the most, and Lincoln's hopes of trust and rededication to peace were lost when he was assassinated on April 15th, 1865. It is these realities of the Reconstruction Era and beyond that this paper will address and how those realities affected the newly freed slaves. Life in post-bellum America for African - Americans was violent and filled with fear because of white supremacy, lynching, and the brutal mutilations of blacks.

From the beginning of the Civil War all the way up to the end of Reconstruction, the United States endured a similar type of revolution than it had dealt with in the previous years. In this time, many social and constitutional advancements brought about great change and discord in the country. However, some of these constitutional developments ended up causing conflict such as the civil rights bills and Emancipation Proclamation, in addition to the social developments such as the Black Codes, Ku Klux Klan, and the Freedman’s Bureau. All together, these important events helped put the country into a revolution.

Both Civil War and Reconstruction should be considered as a success because two important Civil War achievements outweighed its failures: destruction of slavery, which challenged ideas about citizenship, and openness of new doors of opportunity for women, which challenged traditional women roles and two important Reconstruction achievements that outweighed Reconstruction’s failures: the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, which produced positive changes in American political and racial relations.

During the post-civil war era, America, specifically the south, was undergoing a period of reconstruction. The general goal of reconstruction was to successfully readmit the former Confederacy back into the Union as smoothly as possible, as well as enacting specific safeguards of freedmen’s liberties. The social and constitutional developments in America between 1860 and 1877 were very minor. The lack of change between pre and post civil war status could hardly be considered a revolution.

Since the end of the Civil War, there have many revisions of the founding principles, laws, and ideas about government that have changed our society and help form it into what it is today. The Civil War was significant because it freed thousands of slaves, leading to the Reconstruction period that began to try to start rebuilding the South. The Reconstruction period inevitably caused an uproar within the Southern states; therefore, causing a lot of new difficult challenges and issues to arise within the United States as a whole. America went from having slavery, to black men being counted as three-fifths of a person, to public places being unsegregated and African Americans having more rights like being able to own property, and is still making progress even in today’s society. The end of the Civil War was the beginning of a new period in which revision of founding principles, changing  laws, and evolving ideas about government and within the government became the norm in America that led to African American people being able to make progress towards gaining equal rights and ending racial discrimination.

The American Civil War help to have the Independence and be free on our nation. The ideals of liberty and equality that Americans invoked in their struggle against British tyranny changed America society. The slavery made me stop and think, because the slavery continued to the present, with another forms to see this situation. This war made me learn for about the new republic con new age of political passion, because the adoption of the Constitution had arisen during rafitication. From that, all citizen have the opportunity to choose the President of the United States by democracy and a launching the new government. However, the war explain its popularity as a historical subject, and also indicate why the Civil War has generated such heated

As the United States began to establish itself as a country, more and more problems began to surface within the nation. A perfect example of this would be the American Civil War, which significantly affected society. This brought about many changes within America such as women’s rights movements and decisions regarding African American freedom. Also many of the problems are country had previously left unresolved were soon to be resolved too. The social changes of the American Civil War and Reconstruction Era greatly affected the years that followed it as well.

As a country, America has gone though many political changes throughout its lifetime. Leaders have come and gone, and all of them have had their own objectives and plans for the future. As history has taken its course, though, almost all of these “revolutionary movements” have come to an end. One such movement was Reconstruction. Reconstruction was a violent period that defined the defeated South’s status in the Union and the meaning of freedom for ex-slaves. Though, like many things in life, it did come to an end, and the resulting outcome has been labeled both a success and a failure.

The Civil War broke out in 1861 and left a terrible tear on American culture. Even after horrible battles like in Gettysburg, Americans could still come together in the late 1800’s to form a more unified society. Even after slaughterings of American “brothers” between the North and South, our country still had the ability to transform itself to what it is today.

The Civil War was a massive milestone in American History. This war started in 1861 and lasted four years. It was between the Union and the Confederacy over their differences and problems they created. The consequences the nation faced due to the demolition of the Civil War, was terrifying. Then the Reconstruction era was born to restore, reinstate, and unite the United States as one. During the Reconstruction of 1865 through 1867, African American lives were impacted economically because they were given few rights and their resources were limited, socially because they wanted to be given an ordinary lifestyle, and politically because they weren’t allowed to be joined or linked with the government.

In the American history, there are different types of war does this country has to faced because of issues that effected other life. After the war, the country sees huge different in the country’s economy and changes into social environment. The American Civil War, widely known in the United States as simply the Civil War as civil war fought from 1861 to 1865 to independence for the Confederacy. The Civil War of 1861 – 1865 resolved tow fundamental questions that we never did in the American History. This is tension between the Northern and Southern States on issues including states’ right and slavery right. The War between the States, as the Civil War was know as brother against brother. In the War, there are more solider killed then than