Effects Of The Reconstruction Era

The resulting outcome of Reconstruction has been labeled as both a success and a failure. At the end of the four-year Civil War, and nearly 250 years of slavery, President Lincoln’s intentions were to unify a shattered nation. Thus, began the Reconstruction era. Reconstruction succeeded in the installation of the 13th Amendment outlawing slavery, the 14th Amendment defining citizenship and protecting all Americans under the law and extending suffrage to all men in the 15th Amendment. The Freedman’s Bureau and Civil Rights Act also sought to help African Americans to participate equally in government, in society and in the economy. Black men were elected to political office in every level of government and all Southern states drafted new constitutions and ratified Reconstruction amendments.

The Reconstruction Era lasted up to 1877 from the time just after the Civil War. The Reconstruction failed to bring about social and economic equality to the former slaves due to the southern whites’ resentful and bitter outlook on the matter, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Jim Crow laws.

Arguably one of the greatest contributions during the reconstruction era was the thirteenth amendment. This is the amendment that formally abolished the cruel and unjust acts of slavery in 1865. The thirteenth amendment states “"Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction" (Primary documents in American History). “The ratification came eight months after the end of the war, but it represented the culmination of the struggle against slavery. When the war began, some in the North were against fighting what they saw as a crusade to end slavery. Although many northern Democrats and conservative Republicans were opposed to slavery 's expansion, they were ambivalent about outlawing the institution entirely” (13th amendment ratified). This statement is proof that although the North was opposed to slavery they were not

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.

At the end of the Civil War slavery was outlawed by the 13th Amendment to the Constitution and the blacks was finally free. In the South there was a sense of anger and shame in losing the war. The Reconstruction era was put into effect by Congress in 1866 and lasted until 1877. Reconstruction was aimed at reorganizing the Southern states after the Civil War. The reconstruction plan granted the means for readmitting the southern states into the Union, and tried to come up with the methods by which whites and blacks could live together in a non-slave society. However during reconstruction the United States government took actions to protect freedman and with each action the south countered with actions that would try to eradicate the laws put in place by the winning northern forces for example, the infamous Jim Crow Laws. The law segregated the whites and the blacks, thus can be commonly heard as “separate is not equal.” The Reconstruction was still seen as a success towards the United States as a whole in many ways as it unified the nations.

The United States changed dramatically during the reconstruction period. After the reconstruction period, the United Stated continued to adjust well as we see it change economically and politically. Though the adjustment continued to go well, the change that occurs after reconstruction is emphasized with industrialization and the impact that industrialization has in certain regions of the U.S and on the people. Along with the new economy came with complications that affected the improvement of conditions in work and in life.

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 affected American society through the creation of Anti- African American and Republican hate groups, economically due to the rise of sharecropping, and politically when it came to freedmen holding office. Union’s pursuit for social reform in the South involved the passing of new amendments guaranteeing freedom for blacks and the Freedmen’s Bureau, which caused the upheaval of opposition for black rights. The Fourteenth Amendment gave African Americans equal rights and the creation of the Freedmen's Bureau aimed to educate freedmen. Many Southerners were infuriated with the rights former slaves were gaining, and the Ku Klux Klan arose from the hatred. Reconstruction also changed the nation’s economy with the abolishment of slavery, and it prompted the granting of land to freedmen, which turned into the development of sharecropping. The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery and land was given to the former slaves. Sharecropping soon became an essential part of the Southern economy. Reconstruction affected Southern politics by the passing of amendments and military power, but it triggered aggression toward African American leaders and voters, which eventually lead to the discriminative South. The Fifteenth Amendment gave African American the right to vote, but Southern government issued literacy and property qualifications for voter in hopes of blocking black vote. In the 1876 election, blacks were prohibited from voting in the south with armed force. The Presidency was decided after Rutherford B. Hayes promised to remove federal troops from the South. This move guaranteed white supremacy in the South for the coming years. Due to the aforementioned, Reconstruction undoubtedly changed

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.

In Appomattox Court House, 1865, the Civil War concluded, ushering in the Reconstruction Era. Approximately one week after, John Wilkes Booth, a radical southerner, assassinated President Lincoln. The Reconstruction Era, which ended when Rutherford B Hayes ceased its enforcement to keep the peace, was a time for the country to consolidate and forgive the wrongs of the past. This Reconstruction period included many lasting effects on the governing of America. However, it shattered the welfare of southerners, Freedmen, and the general public. Additionally, discrimination ran rampant in the newly reunited country. Reconstruction was successful in the government, but not fiscally nor with public unity.

The reconstruction era was a time that shaped the United States into what it is today. Politics played a major role in this time period because of the tension between the north and the south. The reconstruction era started one of the biggest civil rights movements in United States history. Looking at the events of reconstruction, I will discuss the 13th, Amendment, the leaders that contributed to the civil rights movement and Plessy vs. Ferguson. All these events had to take place in order for the civil right movements to take a step forward, although some these actions regressed the process of these movements.

The reconstruction era was a difficult time for the African American slaves from 1865 to 1877 because the slaves were freed and there were no jobs for them, had very little or no education, and had very limited opportunity in the south. Reconstruction was one of the most critical periods in American History. The Civil War changed the nation tremendously, and most importantly by bringing an end to slavery. Reconstruction was a period of great promise, hope, and progress for African Americans, and a period of resentment and resistance for many white

The Reconstruction era was put into effect by Congress in 1866 and lasted until 1877. Reconstruction was aimed at reorganizing the Southern states after the Civil War. The reconstruction plan granted the means for readmitting the southern states into the Union, and tried to come up with the methods by which whites and blacks could live together in a non-slave society. America's position as a country was established on principles of freedom but those beliefs were weakened by slavery. At the end of the Civil War, many blacks felt that they were entitled to start collecting the benefits that had been denied for so many years. Being able to vote, own land and have a voice in political affairs were all goals that they believed were reachable.

The reconstruction of America would decide how the south would rejoin the Union, what was to become of the nearly 3 million black slaves freed, how America was going to recover from such a devastating internal war. There appears to be phases that the Reconstruction Era went through, roughly three of them. The first is that of the Presidential Reconstruction, it lead to a more radical Republican party. After such we find ourselves in what was to be known as the Radical Reconstruction. A period where the blacks found their voices being heard. Finally we lead up to the end of the Reconstruction-era. It is said that the reconstruction lasted from 1865 to 1877, however it can be said that, to this very day, some reconstruction is still ongoing.

The Supreme Court decision Dred Scot v. Sandford was issued on March 6, 1857 and it declared