How Successful Was The Reconstruction Unsuccessful

So, where did Reconstruction fail? Rather than a single event, the downfall of reconstruction was caused by a series of poor policies and decisions. The first attempt at Reconstruction was driven by the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln believed that it was his responsibility, and his responsibility alone, to lead the reunification of the United States. In order to understand his plans, one must understand his motivations as well. Many believe that Lincoln fought the Civil War to end slavery and start the movement for racial equality, but Lincoln, being a moderate republican, mainly fought the Civil War in order to maintain a stable economy and protect the union. The Republican party was founded on the idea of good business and maintaining a stable economy, therefore all of their interests rooted back to improving business situations in order to gain wealth and prosper. In an interview with the New York Tribune, Lincoln is quoted saying “My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or destroy slavery” (“Lincoln’s Constitutional Dilemma”). Later on, Lincoln shifted his viewpoint when he realized, or he was forced to realize, that the United States needed to abolish slavery in order to protect the Union. This realization came only after “almost daily visits from Radical Republicans or humanitarian groups demanding abolition” (“Lincoln’s Constitutional Dilemma”). Since Lincoln’s main motivation was

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.

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.

The process of rebuilding America after the Civil War from 1865 to 1877, known as the Reconstruction, fell very short of its expectations because of the negative effect it had on relationships within the country. President Lincoln came up with plans for reconstruction, however, Congress believed it was too lenient. After Lincoln’s death and events following regarding Johnson, Congress dominated the government and came up with their own plan that sets the nation up for further disagreement. The plan for Reconstruction as Congress made it, was a failure because of how it divided the government, turned the races against each other, and set up freed slaves for poverty.

After the Civil War, the radical Republicans attempted to reconstruct the nation by binding the tear between the two different sections of America while also attempting to give freed slaves the rights that they deserved. Although their intentions were good, the reconstruction ultimately failed. The ratification of the 13th and the 14th amendment successfully ended slavery, but it did not help freedmen conform to society. Slaves who were freed as a result often had no money and would have to work under white employers anyways. Moreover, freedmen would have to get resources loaned to them by their white employers, which would lead the freedmen to develop severe debt instead of making an income. Even though the 14th amendment stated that every

The Reconstruction era was a period of time after the civil war of 1865-1877. The President and later the Congress would both put forth ideas and initiatives. Legislative responses and shifts in political power would mark this era with moderate success but in the end, a failure.

True success is only accredited to the Civil Rights Movement while Reconstruction is considered a failure. This is from a multitude of reasons. First, Reconstruction was controlled by the federal government, not by the people. That meant less support and less passion. The Civil Rights Movement, on the other hand, was unofficial, but backed mainly by the people. This led to success as supporters were passionate and would persevere, unlike the government, Next, where the strength lay in both movements was different. In Reconstruction, the North/Republicans had military might, which wasn’t as effective as the force of reason and logic, used during the Civil Rights Movement. The ideals were stronger than any military could be. Lastly, the Civil Rights Movement wasn’t a deliberate push, a last stand, but rather a careful, planned movement, unlike Reconstruction, which was hastily done. This led to a great contrast in

With the death of the leader of the country, Lincoln, and the incompetence of his successor, Johnson, the Reconstruction was made more difficult. This coupled with the overall difficulty of enforcing the Reconstruction meant that it was destined to fail. However, these are not the only factors that went into its failure. There are countless reasons for its failure, three of the most prevalent being the continuing belief of the inferiority of African Americans, the formation of white leagues set out to keep slavery and discrimination alive, and the weakening of the government on Reconstruction policies. Reconstruction was built on hope and good ideas.

The American Civil War left the nation broken and split apart. After the Civil War the South felt ashamed and ruined due to their loss and had to pay for all repairs for the nation. The Reconstruction was necessary because the nation was torn apart and needed to be one to succeed as a nation. The nation knew that they needed to rebuild their country.

Southern politicians stated that they made the move from racism, saying that they now endorsed African American Rights while attacking the Republican regime in the South instead. Many African-Americans living in the South were denied by Southern politicians and courts the right to be heard in courts or serve on juries. One example of this was seen in Alabama when Caucasian Southerners beat an African American woman and was forced to raise money to have her case heard in court. Once doing so, the offenders were released with no impending charges, and the woman was forced by the courts to drop her case or thrown into jail. (Page 182) Many politicians created poll taxes, which disenfranchised the African American voters clearing the Republican vote. One such example is seen in Delaware where political officials stated that they were not bound to the amendments passed during Reconstruction created poll taxes, which eliminated African American voters. (Page 183) Many economic leaders

Reconstruction brought forth good leaders and laws but ultimately failed at its goal during its time period. If certain parts of reconstruction are looked at, some good did come out of it. Some were the rejoining of black families, the Amendments, and inspiring political leaders. Much of the reconstruction was spent with blacks rebuilding up their families and finding what unity they could. With the addition of the 14th and 15th Amendments, more freedoms was offered to all men regardless of race. Many Radical Republican leaders helped make many of the changes. We can look to many now for inspiration. One was Thaddeus Stevens who wanted to take power away from planters and give rights back to the slaves. Unfortunately, all of these points aren’t

The Reconstruction had many good and bad qualities and many different people had separate views on whether it was a success or a failure. During the Reconstruction process, a lot of violence and issues erupted. This caused many problems for the US government. However,I believe that in the long run, Reconstruction has been more of a success than a failure, and has overall made the United States a better country. To begin on a positive note, the successes America gained were many.

One of the most famous wars in U.S History must be the Civil War. This was a conflict (1861–1865) between the Northern states (also called the Union) and the Southern states (also called the Confederacy. Several southern states seceded from the Union and formed the Confederacy in reaction to Lincoln's Emancipation. Conflict between the North and the South were growing with every single minute of debate over slavery, economy and politics during the first part of the 1800s and this eventually resulted in a war. After a war lasting 4 years. The Union emerged victorious and the freedom of 4 million slaves was imminent. The war was over and all but the process of rebuilding the South (Reconstruction) after the civil war introduced a new set of problems. I believe that the Reconstruction was not successful in solving the problems caused by slavery and the civil war.

One of the biggest ways the reconstruction efforts failed was with giving equal rights to the black community. Although the slaves were freed it was very conditional freedom. The creation of Black codes made it seem like they were free. These codes made it possible for black families to remain intact. It also gave blacks the right to sue in court, and own property. This seems like progressive thinking at the time. The big problem with these codes is what they denied blacks. Blacks could not testify against whites. They could not own guns, or travel without permits. Although slavery had ended blacks were still being controlled. Without slaves to work in the fields the plantation owners needed workers. A lot of them would rent out their land to newly freed blacks. In exchange these poor blacks would have to give up 2/3 of their crop.3 The rest would be used to pay off their debts. This would