Keith Weldon Medley's Analysis

After the Civil War, the South was in a state of political turmoil, social chaos, and economic decline. Contrary to popular belief, Northerners did not subject Southerners to unethical or inhumane punishment. The time post Civil War was filled with efforts toward reconstructing the South, yet there is the strong question if there even is a New South. Yes, there was somewhat of a New South economically. No, there was not a New South regarding race relations and social hierarchy. In the 1870’s, the South realized the world still looked at them as the ones who wanted slavery. There was a need to project a new image to the world and to stimulate

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.

While many have described the civil war as simply the war between the States, Bruce Levine in his book “Half Slave and Half Free: The Roots of Civil War” has put together an 80 year survey from around 1773 the pre-revolutionary era to the Civil War with well documented evidence of the social, cultural and political idealisms of our once divided nation. This book review will emphasize points on each of the book’s chapters which are put chronologically and particularly comparing the southern slave labor system to the free labor system in the north. Levine’s thesis statement on page four of his book reads as follows, “What impelled so many-rich, middling, and poor; white and black; native-born and immigrant- to risk and sacrifice so much? To answer such questions, this book reexamines the antebellum political history in the light of the broader economic, social, cultural, and ideological developments that shaped the lives of the American people”. (p. 4) Clearly the author of the book has researched numerous historical papers and has placed them in the direction his thesis will be provided with hard evidence from the founding fathers’ letters, written memos and of course the laws put into the United States constitution.

Throughout history, racial conflict and segregation have impacted African Americans in many ways. The end of the civil war led to African Americans gaining their freedom. Unfortunately, racial conflict and discrimination continued long after the Civil War. What was the difference in treatment between the South and West in regards to racial conflict and segregation? People in the South were firm believers in African Americans having little to no freedom. Many efforts were made to fight racial conflict and discrimination. Looking at racial conflict, let’s compare and contrast the South versus the North’s treatment of African Americans.

When Confederate states wanted to join the Union after Civil war, they were required to undertake “Civil War” Amendments. The Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments were developed, with each supporting equality within the states. However, these Amendments proved to be insufficient in the provision of equal rights to African American citizens (Medley,2003). In the late 19th Century, laws limiting civil rights of the Blacks swept through state legislatures. Segregation then became a requirement in both Southern and Northern states.

In the late 19th Century, Congress approved of three amendments to the Constitution: the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. The 13th Amendment ended slavery, the 14th granted citizenship to black people, and the 15th gave them the right to vote. At the same time, multiple Southern state legislatures passed Black Codes. These Black Codes prohibited blacks from renting or buying land, testifying in court, voting in some cases, and made a form of semibondage. Furthermore, these Codes directly violated the newly made amendments to the Constitution. This depicts how the South and their government leaders refused to follow the new amendments that they did not agree with hence revealing that their political views still haven’t changed since the Civil War. Additionally, the Plessy vs Ferguson Supreme Court Case legalized segregation as separate but equal. This showed the unwillingness of the South the fully accept the new amendments, especially the 13th and 14th amendments, and the legalization of blacks into citizens of the state. Michigan Senator Zachariah Chandler complained about this and more particularly Southern representation in Congress. He was outraged that there were 36 members of Congress from the South. He believed that this was against the 14th Amendment, since the South was disenfranchised. He also

In the article “The Central Theme of Southern Slavery” Ulrich B. Phillips asserts that among several other motives that served as a drive for white Southerners to support slavery, the predominant one was their desire to preserve white supremacy in the South. He claims that all of the states in the US are similar except for the opinion about slavery. Phillips emphasizes that the idea of slavery in the South was important and perceived by southerners as heritage and a tradition. He also claims that the institution wasn’t merely economic, but also a system of social order. In addition, the white southerners saw abolition as a major threat to their economic freedom. According to Phillips, some Southerners saw deportation of african-american citizens as another solution to the slavery crisis in the United States. However,

In 1866, Congress passed The Civil Rights Act of 1866 which allowed them to be genuine citizens and thus granted them federal protection under the law. Score for the blacks. Furthermore, the South was placed under military rule to ensure that this act was being enforced. During this tremendous time of freedom, blacks were allowed to vote and hold office – something that finally extended a voice and position in our country to their community. Meanwhile, whites were growing tired of all the nonsense. They wanted their beloved Old South back. Many refused to attend the integrated Reconstruction-era state constitutional conventions. Southern whites would use highly exaggerated and publicized incidences of “social injustices” to protect their claims of being thrown over to so-called negro domination. Any action was necessary that could help clinch their argument and overturn the Reconstruction

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

After years in the court system the Justices, in a 7-2 vote, finally concluded four major points that would effect the nation in the years leading up to the Civil War. First, the Supreme Court found that African Americans were not citizens. Chief Justice Roger Taney, from Maryland, and a former slaveowner who eventually emancipated his slaves wrote that slaves were “to be bought and sold and treated as an ordinary article of merchandise and traffic, whenever profit could be made by it.” In other words Scott was not a citizen and therefore didn’t even have the right to have his case heard in a court of law.2 This finding was in direct opposition of some northern states, who’s constitutions had declared free black men citizens. Secondly, since slaves are property, the property owner has the right to move their property to or through free states and territories.

In 1865, the United States government implemented what was known as Reconstruction. Its’ purpose was to remove slavery from the south, and give African-American’s the freedom in which they deserved. However, the freedom that they deserved was not the freedom that they received. With documents like The Black Codes restricting them from numerous privileges that white people had and the terroristic organization known as the Klu Klux Klan attacking and killing them, African-American’s were still being oppressed by their government as well as their fellow man. Slavery may have been abolished, but African-American’s were not yet given the freedom and rights that their white counterparts took for granted.

There was enormous resistance from forces in the South throughout these years, these reforms were not easily instituted; yet, the movement toward real equality ended in 1870. In that year, Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts introduced a bill which, had it been passed unchanged, would have abolished racial discrimination and segregation in “public schools, cemeteries, railroads...inns..and the exclusion of citizens from jury service on the basis of race.” Unfortunately, this final triumph of the Reconstruction met with defeat.8

The decline of slavery in the upper South in the early 19th century can be identified as a profound change which would contribute to the eventual division of the nation. After 1830, the pattern of regional slavery in the South experienced great variations, such that the upper South gradually declined ties with slavery while the lower South distinctively became identified with it. This profound change was brought on by a shift in utilizing free labor rather than slavery to drive economic production in the upper South (Goldfield et. al, p. 285). The climate and geography in states of the upper South overtime proved less

* The ways that the south reinvented itself was through attempts in rebuilding their farms and negotiating new labor agreements with their former slaves. This method failed by the majority of southern land owners being to prideful or greedy to pay decent wages of the time. The south also became known for their railway system and is now the standard for development. The railway system brought urban life to the south through city growth and the growth of the iron industry. The southern people used their iron industry as their main competing industry with the northern. In these industries it was uncommon for black southerners to be allowed to work in the factories. Poor whites would be hired over blacks in the rail yards as well. The south being as picky to who they hired only bettered their communities rather than those of both black and white communities. These changes brought our country into an era of segregation. With segregation starting in the following years after the civil war it kept the south from truly catching up to the northern culture and industry because of their hate. If southern people would have been willing to bend more with their own losses after the war and been more willing to give equality to their former slaves things would have turned out

Although the conclusion of the Civil War during the mid-1860s demolished the official practice of slavery, the oppression and exploitation of African Americans has continued. Although the rights and opportunities of African Americans were greatly improved during Reconstruction, cases such a 1896’s Plessy v. Ferguson, which served as the legal basis for segregation, continue to diminish the recognized humanity of African Americans as equal people. Furthermore, the practice of the sharecropping system impoverished unemployed African Americans, recreating slavery. As economic and social conditions worsened, the civil rights movement began to emerge as the oppressed responded to their conditions, searching for equality and protected