Essay On End Of Reconstruction

Reconstruction was the time period following the Civil War, which lasted from 1865 to 1877, in which the United States began to rebuild. The term can also refer to the process the federal government used to readmit the defeated Confederate states to the Union. While all aspects of Reconstruction were not successful, the main goal of the time period was carried out, making Reconstruction over all successful. During this time, the Confederate states were readmitted to the Union, the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments were ratified, and African Americans were freed from slavery and able to start new lives.

After the conclusion of America’s Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln pitched the idea of “Reconstruction,” which would bring the southern states back into the Union. President Lincoln, according to many radical Republicans, was too gentle on the south. The government was divided on how to solve the issue of readmitting the southern states back into the Union. In addition to that, the government was not certain on what rights to enumerate to the newly emancipated slaves. These issues became more difficult to solve after President Lincoln was murdered. Lincoln’s successor, Vice President Andrew Johnson, was a Tennessee Democrat that lacked respect of the Republican Congress. The legislative and executive branches of the American government

In “Reconstruction Revisited”, Eric Foner reexamines the political, social, and economic experiences of black and white Americans in the aftermath of the Civil War. With the help of many historian works, Foner gives equal representation to both sides of the Reconstruction argument.

Reconstruction was a period of time after the Civil War (1865-1877) that was supposed to be the rebuilding of America. It was also the process used to readmit all the Confederate states back into the Union. There was controversy, however, on how to go about rebuilding the nation. Abraham Lincoln proposed a lenient plan. After he was assassinated, Andrew Johnson proposed a very similar plan. The Radical Republicans, a group of legislators that were in favor of freedmen’s rights, were opposed to both plans under “Presidential Reconstruction”. They initiated “Congressional Reconstruction”. Because of the conflicting views, there was little cooperation between the Executive and Legislative branches. This lead to many unsuccessful

After the Civil War, America was still amidst great turmoil and economic instability. During this time period, the ultimate goal for Americans was to seize the “American Dream”. This was defined by most as being able to support their family and live a comfortable life. Although some did achieve this, many faced social, political and economic hardships. Beginning with the unjust treatment of African-Americans, then the struggles of immigrants, and followed by the rise of big businesses, the challenges faced during this time of rebuilding varied among the classes.

Reconstruction was a time period of major change in the United States of America for both African Americans and White citizens. After the Civil War, the reconstruction process started out as a failure, but over the years turned into a huge success because of how African Americans were able to live normal lives. Overall, Reconstruction was a success because freedom and growth of equality for African Americans was increased greatly.

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.

Freedom is defined as the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement. It is the power to determine action without restraint and the exemption from external control, interference, and regulation. Americans, these days, commonly regard their society as the freest and the best in the world. Their understanding of freedom has been shaped and based upon the founding fathers’ belief that all people are equal and that the role of the government is to protect each person’s basic “inalienable” rights. The United States Constitution’s Bill of Rights assures individual rights including freedom of speech, press, and religion. America has changed dramatically from the country our founding fathers discovered. Some could even argue that

Reconstruction was the time between 1863 and 1877 when the U.S. focused on abolishing slavery, destroying the Confederacy, and reconstructing the nation and the Constitution and is also the general history of the post-Civil War era in the U.S. between 1865 and 1877. Under Abraham Lincoln, presidential reconstruction began in each state as soon as federal troops controlled most of the state. The usual ending date is 1877, when the Compromise of 1877 saw the collapse of the last Republican state governments in the South

Due to the gradual elimination of African-American rights and the withdrawal of Federal troops from the South to enforce such rights, the end of Reconstruction surfaced in 1877. In the eyes of blacks, Reconstruction was a point in history where they could see their civil rights expanding before their very own eyes. On the contrary, whites were deeply disturbed at the way their once “white supremacy” government was dwindling in the rear-view mirror behind them. This fourteen year period known as Reconstruction houses the memories of temporary freedom, scandal, backdoor deals, and the unresolved social, political, and economical issues of our country.

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.

“In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, it is perhaps not surprising that historians turned renewed attention to home-grown American terrorism. Recent books on Reconstruction…have infused their subjects with drama by focusing on violent confrontations,” Eric Foner notes in the introduction of the updated edition to his 1988 publication Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877. Up until now, Foner’s revisionist historiography of Reconstruction was the only alternative offered to the Dunning School’s account of the important historical era. In recent years a neo-revisionist interpretation of Reconstruction has emerged in works by a younger generation of historians such as Gregory Downs, Carole Emberton, Hannah Rosen, Megan Kate Nelson and Jim downs. This new scholarship pays close attention to violence, the body, language, and gender—how these important themes directly relate to power, struggle, and political status of freedpeople in the postbellum nation—and either rethink or are completely uninterested in Foner’s revisionist narrative of Reconstruction.

After the Civil War there was nothing for the soldiers to do so they went back home. In doing so Lincoln announced his Reconstruction plan called the Ten Percent Plan, which needed ten percent of the Southern states to take an Oath of Loyalty in order to be admitted back into the Union. This aroused some disagreement between the Republicans and the President. The North wanted Lincoln to punish the South severely for their acts but he denied them and said that he was going to forgive and forget and acted like they never had seceded from the Union. The Republicans were angered when they heard that the South basically got off free without a punishment and wanted the South to have to do more than just take an Oath in order to be part of the Union

“ Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in our bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it once was like in the United States where men were free” -Ronald Reagan. I agree with this statement because in order for the people to be free, now, later, and always, we must fight for it. We do this in many ways. For example, we fight in the military, army, and navy. In return, we receive freedom. If we decided we weren’t going to fight for what we believe in and what we want, it could all disappear. It is up to us.

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same -Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the Terran Nation "United States of America"