Election Of 1876 Dbq Essay

Reconstruction is the period of rebuilding the south that succeeded the Civil War (1861-1865). This period of time is set by the question now what? The Union won the war and most of the south was destroyed. Devastation, buildings turned into crumbles and lost crops. The South was drowning in poverty. To worsen the situation there were thousands of ex-slaves that were set free by the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13 Amendment. "All these ex-slaves", Dr. Susan Walens commented, "and no place to put them," The ex-slaves weren't just homeless but they had no rights, unlike white man. The government and congress had to solve the issues present in the south and the whole nation

In November of 1860, the presidential election was one of the most momentous in the history of the United States. The land was split between North and the South and was smoldering for almost a decade. The candidates for the presidential election of 1860 were Abraham Lincoln, Republican, John Breckinridge, Southern Democrat, John Bell, Constitutional Union, and Stephen Douglas, Northern Democratic. Abraham Lincoln was against the increase of slavery into the new territories. Lincoln did not receive one vote from the south, but he did win over 50% of the Electoral College votes so Lincoln won the presidency to become the 16th President of the United States. Abraham Lincoln was known as one of America’s greatest heroes because of his inconceivable impact on our nation and his unique appeal. Lincoln was a captain in the military and a lawyer all before becoming the 16th President of the United States. Lincoln was one of two U.S. presidents who was assassinated while in office. Lincoln was also the president during the roughest part of American history, the Civil War. Lincoln was heavily in favor of abolishing slavery and so most of the citizens in the northern states of the U.S... On the other hand, the south had large plantations and favored slavery because the slaves worked for free and made plantation owners and other farmers a staggering amount of profit. The slaves were not treated as human beings; therefore, the slaves were mistreated. Slave owners often beat their slaves

The truth is both sides ruined the chances of reconstruction.They are both at fault. The south and the northerners had an equal part at failing to continue the reconstruction because from the south there was an organization; a cult called the Ku klux Klan.The kkk did not accept african americans. They were so cruel and inhumane to them the kkk would slaughter , manipulate, and even taunt them till the african americans would fear them(Doc A, B)As for the North , there was a lot of corruption due to Former President grant that committed fraud and caused the “ panic of 1873 “ which caused lots of jobs to discontinue and people to worry from it.(doc C)

Reconstruction was a time that was supposed to be about healing and rebuilding the U.S.A. But instead was made into a racial division between blacks and whites like the South Carolina black codes taking away black rights. Then, there are the Luisiana black codes that take away black rights to own any thing. Finally, their are the Luisiana constitution (goes hand and hand with the black codes) that stop blacks from voting or anything else.

The election of 1800 was a fight between the democratic-republicans and the federalists party for presidency. It also became the first time in American History where there was a peaceful shift in the political party, from the federalists party to the democratic-republicans party (Jeffersonians). The election of 1800 consists of five candidates, each believing that victory by the other side would ruin their nation. The candidates were, Aaron Burr and Thomas Jefferson in the democratic-republican party, and John Adams, Charles Pinckney, and John Jay in the federalist party;

The original purpose of Reconstruction was to restore the buildings and the economy of the south the best they could, but without the immoral element of slavery. But, reconstruction under the Johnson Presidency was a failure for a few reasons: 1) Convict Leasing, 2) Sharecropping, 3) the Ku Klux Klan, 4) Segregation in schools, even in the North, 5) Carpetbaggers/Scalawags, 6) misleading statistics, and 7) racism.

When blacks were given the right to vote, it was only somewhat successful. Many blacks did use their new political power to vote as it is shown in Harper's Weekly (Document G), but whites still tried to stop them. Literacy tests, grandfather clauses, and fear caused by the Ku Klux Klan were used to keep blacks from exercising their right to vote. Another issue of reconstruction was the banking and currency system. In an attempt to uniform the currency, Senator John Sherman gave a speech saying that with "a currency and a medium of exchange, we shall have a broader and more generous nationality" (Document B). At the time many states had their own currency and a change needed to be made to unite the states. A sense of nationality was needed as the nation was in turmoil after the attempted secession of the South. Reconstruction came to an end in 1877 with the Compromise of 1877. Rutherford Hayes became president for agreeing to end federal support for Southern Republicans and building a transcontinental railroad. In this compromise he also withdrew troops from the South. This, along with the rejection of laws protecting blacks from discrimination, brought reconstruction to an end in 1877.

This nullified the Missouri Compromise, which pleased the South since there was a possibility that slavery could expand. This intensified conflict between the North and the South and angered Democrats, Whigs, and Free-Soilers (Davidson pp 393). (http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112391/kansas-nebraska_act.htm) With the election of anti-slavery President Abraham Lincoln, the South became paranoid that the North planned to change their way of life, which led many of the Southern states to secede from the Union. (http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/civil-war-overview/statesrights.html) Lincoln wouldn’t tolerate secession and offered to “pardon” to the majority of Southerners with their return to the Union and conformity to the Emancipation Proclamation. Southern blacks were given educational and voting rights and opportunities for educational and economical advancement; the Southern elites then enforced the use of “paramilitary tactics”. Racism was also a factor in the North, which led Northerners to espouse some Southern viewpoint in regards to egalitarianism. This was the end of the Reconstruction Era and allowed the South to “turn the tables” on the North. Democrats were able to regain control of the Legislative and Judicial branches of government. (http://history.ncsu.edu/projects/cwnc/exhibits/show/second-redemption/redemption-1877)

Throughout American history, the south and the north have consistently held different beliefs on how to handle some subjects. Whether it ranged from slavery, to taxing, or to business, southerners and northerners often seemed to be on opposite sides of the spectrum. It was not any different back in the 1800’s. Though intensely different, they were still part of the same country. One of the biggest issues that made the north and the south so distinct from one another was their view and perspective on slavery. The north, who was considered mostly republican, saw slavery as something that needed to be abolished for it was a great sin committed by mankind; while the south, who were mostly considered democrats, viewed it as a necessity for they considered African-Americans a race that needed to be controlled because they were less intelligent than the white man but very violent and because they were “built” for the hard labor. Over the 1800’s they had been a tension built between the two sides of the country. The tension rose to a boiling point when the 1860 election rolled around. After the elections occurred, a chain of events followed which would leave a lasting impact on the current United States. In the heart of these events was the civil war. To this day, it is very debatable that the war started because of the unsure future of slavery under new leadership.

There was a certain big change in economic and social changes in the United States since 1800. The election of 1800 was between John Adams and Andrew Jackson, which was an emotional and hard-fought campaign. Each side in this campaign thought that the opponent in which would victor, would ruin the nation. Federalists had actually attacked Jackson as an un-Christian deist because they believed his sympathy for the French Revolution would bring similar bloodshed and chaos to the U.S. Overall, the Federalists wanted strong Federal Authority to restrain the excess of popular majorities, while the Democratic-Republicans wanted to reduce national authority so the people would be able to rule through state governments.

“In a government where sectional interests and feelings may come into conflict, the sole security for permanence and peace is to be found in a Constitution whose provisions are inviolable” (Document B). But, what if the answer is not found in the Constitution? At this time there was an increasing sectional conflict between the North and the South. The problems arose mainly from the issue of slavery, and came largely after the Mexican war. Although the issue of slavery had never been fully resolved, it became a very heated subject during the 1850’s. The Constitution never took a clear stand on the issue, and the people began to see it more as source of sectional discord and tension and they ultimately began to see it as a

Reconstruction has been brutally murdered! For a little over a decade after the Civil War, the victorious North launched a campaign of social, economic, and political recovery in the former Confederacy and to readmit the land in the former Confederacy back into the United States as states. Reconstruction yielded many benefits for African Americans. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments freed African Americans, made them citizens, and gave them the right to vote respectively. The Freedmen’s Bureau also provided African Americans and poor whites with education, jobs, and supplies. Despite this, Reconstruction was cut short in 1877. The North killed Reconstruction because of racism, negligence, and distractions.

Even though the North was equal, but not fair. Even if Republicans were apathetic and just gave up... The South it the blame for the killing of reconstruction as that was their goal all along.

The Compromise of 1877 has received different opinions on whether it was right, wrong, or necessary, seeing as how some of its effects lasted decades after , but what if it had never occurred? Would the United States be where it is today if not for that crucial compromise? Nobody knows, but by the way it caused the end of reconstruction, America should be thankful it did. The reconstruction era of the United States of America started after the end of the civil war. This period of time was devoted to helping the battle worn South rebuild its broken cities, governments, and economies. Unfortunately, some southern states saw the reconstruction effort as only a way to help recently freed slaves gain equal rights, of which most whites disapproved.

After the Civil War finished the US had to reintegrate a previous slave population and a disobedient population into the country. Lincoln’s post war idea was to enable reunification and reconciliation and Johnson’s guiding reconstruction principle was that the South was never permitted to separate. Johnson was also from the south and disliked all the leaders in the South who had disregarded him. He was also a racist and who didn’t think that blacks should not have a part in the reconstruction. The federal government orders who can vote and who is and isn’t a citizen. To most slaves, getting land for them was the key to independence and many felt that they were guaranteed land by the Union Army. President Johnson ordered all land and returned to its original owners. The south continued largely cultivated and in conclusion he ended up with sharecropping. Sharecropping substituted slavery in the south and landowners provided housings and also tools and seed. The sharecroppers would get a portion of the crops and in the 1860’s poor white farmers also were into sharecropping, by the Great Depression a lot of the sharecroppers where white. In 1876, there were doubtful electoral votes in South Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana. There was a constitutional establishment that talks about the congress determining on the winner but they presented unable to achieve something. So they prearranged a 15 man Electoral Commission called the “Super-Committee” where there were 8 Republicans and 7 Democrats. Lastly, there were about 2000 African Americans who detained office throughout