Failure Of Reconstruction Essay

After a war that claimed the lives of more men than that of all other wars combined, much of the country was left in ruins, literally and figuratively. Dozens of towns in the South had been burned to the ground. Meanwhile, the relations between the North and South had crumbled to pieces. Something needed to be done so that the country could once again be the United States of America, not the Divided States of America. The years from 1865 to 1877 were a time of rebuilding – the broken communities and the broken relations. This time period was known as Reconstruction. Reconstruction was a failure on the basis that the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments that were passed should have given protection and freedom to the African

It seemed as though black people were finally starting to be recognized as actual people. According to the article “Reconstruction” on the website ushistory.org it says, “Under federal bayonets,blacks, including those who had recently been freed, received the right to vote, hold political offices, and become judges and police chiefs.” African Americans were finally able to hold some type of power in political offices and could have jobs of importance, however, many Southerners were angered by black people having this new sense of freedom. From the same article it says, “Many Southern whites could not accept the idea that former slaves could not only vote but hold office. It was this era that the Ku Klux Klan was born.” Douglass’s dream of equality was starting to slip away with white supremacists discriminating against black people. To this day, there is still racism and discrimination among not only African Americans but all races and this goal of equality has yet to be reached and may not be achieved ever.

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

Reconstruction was the period after the Civil War. During this period, the U.S faced many challenges such as how to reunite the North and the South and put the Civil War behind us. In addition, the nation needed to address the status of four million freed slaves by granting them citizenship, and protecting their citizenship rights. As years passed, many historians went back and forth of whether or not Congress was a success for the freedmen, or a total blowout. These pieces of evidence concludes that the Congress’ Reconstruction was unfortunately a failure for the freedmen rights.

I feel that the Reconstruction failed to give African Americans equal rights. They were not able to vote in any public event and without that ability they had no voice to attain what they desired. Additionally, the Reconstruction lacked a clear structure to help African Americans develop any means to earn a living on their own. Many turned to sharecropping as a means to survive, which gain them no true independence. The African American had to continue to rely on the white southerners or large groups of one another to earn a living and it some cases just survive. The Reconstruction failed to provide a steady direction for African Americans and it did not protect them from abuse the white southerners could enact similar to slavery. For these

The Civil war was possibly the greatest tragedy that this country had ever faced. Years of constant arguing, compromises and cynical ideas about slavery pushed this so called "United Nation" into an atrocious collision between the Northern abolitionists and the Southern proslavery farmers and plantation owners. The nation suffered enormous losses economically and went into a downward spiral. The reconstruction period began with many leaders stepping up to try and fix this crippled country, but it didn't turn out like everyone hoped. Slavery was still the largest issue and the reconstruction halted because of the disagreements the people faced. After many years of

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

Almost everything that the North tried to accomplish with Reconstruction failed. The blacks were freed from slavery, but they did not receive equal rights in any sense. The Republicans tried to prevent the reestablishment of the Democratic Party in the South and once again failed. Reconstruction was marked by much corruption and unstable government and did not actually accomplish much.

The North’s victory after four years of fighting in the Civil War in 1865 allowed the 13th amendment to pass, and eventually added the 14th and 15th amendment to the constitution. These abolished slavery and attempted to create equal rights among all people. The Reconstruction Act divided the South into separate military districts and formed governments based on male suffrage. The South and North had extremely different views on how to rebuild the South and how former slaves should be incorporated into the country as freed people. The process of the Reconstruction period of rebuilding the South proposed many new challenges. The efforts to ensure equal rights to the freedmen failed because of the acts that were passed to control the labor and

The south was the main reason reconstruction was killed because they did anything to resist it from happening. Although, the North did assist the south in doing so, by often neglect,the South was the main cause.

America has gone though many political changes since its birth as a nation. Many presidents have come and gone, trying to bring about change, thus creating revolutionary moments in this country’s history. These “revolutionary movements” have created lasting impressions on the United States that helped mold the nation that it is today. One such movement was Reconstruction. Reconstruction was a time in America consisting of reuniting the country and pulling it from the economic catastrophe that stemmed from the Civil War. The reconstruction era had dealt with three separate plans: the Lincoln Plan, the Johnson Plan and the congressional Plan. These plans, each with their own unique way of unifying the country and integrating newly freed blacks into American society, came with their pros and cons.

The era of Reconstruction was supposed to be a positive turning point for the United States. The North and the Confederacy was fighting to see who was gone represented the South. After the North beat the South there were a lot of hopes of the nation moving forward together, The south didn’t agree with the plan and wasn’t corporative. These Documents shows the struggles and views for the North and South, American Horizons; Louis Hughes, "Thirty Years a Slave: From Bondage to Freedom," 1897: Letter to Colonization Society 1880: The Social Principle among a People, Reconstruction, 1875; and Equal Suffrage 1865. During, the Reconstruction era there was a failed attempt to bring the Nation together; there were some positive came from the Reconstruction and also some negative.

Granting African Americans rights, and uniting the North and South politically and socially proved to fall short of expectations, while rebuilding the Southern economy was achieved. After the Civil War ended, and the 13th amendment was passed in 1865; African American slaves were completely freed. This had given a

The Reconstruction Period was a period of great disaster for the United States. Although the goal of the Reconstruction Period was to give African Americans rights, the only thing given to the freedmen was the lack of rights. From violence without consequence towards African Americans and segregation that was so split that it couldn’t be left unnoticed. Even Congress was corrupt enough to think that segregation was a perfectly legal practice. The events of Reconstruction ended up doing more harm than good towards freedmen since they were treated as an afterthought.

Reconstruction was a time of great pain and endless questions for the United States of America. What was going to happen to the newly freed slaves? How would they be treated? Would the United States ever be one cohesive country? Many of these questions are still unanswered in today's society, but reconstruction was in place to try to rebuild the US after the devastation of the Civil war. The reconstruction era lasted from 1865-1877. During this time the United States military was stationed in the South, so that everything would run smoothly and hopefully allow for readmission of the once confederate states, back into the Union as one.