Pros And Cons Of The Reconstruction Period Of 1865-1877

After the Civil War, the United States had many problems to solve. The country had to figure out how to integrate newly freed slaves into society and bring the former Confederate states back into the Union. Reconstruction was period of time after the civil war in which the United States addressed these problems. Reconstruction had two different phases: Presidential Reconstruction took place from 1865 to 1867, and Congressional Reconstruction took place from 1867 to 1877. Presidential Reconstruction began with Abraham Lincoln, who proposed the Proclamation of Amnesty and the ten percent oath plan. Lincoln was focused on leniency and forgiveness; under his plan southerners would take an oath of loyalty to the Union, and after only ten percent of a state’s voters had taken this oath, the state could be readmitted. After Lincoln’s assassination, Andrew Johnson took over Reconstruction. Johnson wanted to punish landowners, but liberally handed out pardons, as he greatly enjoyed the power that he had over southerners. Under Johnson, former confederates were re-elected, and southern states discriminated blacks. Eventually, Congress took over Reconstruction. During Congressional Reconstruction, the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments were passed, and the freedman’s bureau was created. Overall, the failures of Reconstruction outweighed the failures because it took a very long time for it to achieve its goals, and the South was still able to

Freedmen’s Bureau that helped distribute food, supplies, and land to the freed slaves, this remained a positive throughout the reconstruction. Furthermore positives added to the redevelopment of the south including Lincoln’s Ten-Percent Plan and the 13th and 15th amendment, which remained perserved. Lincoln’s plan agreed to allow each secessionist state to rejoin only after a new constitution was reestablished on their behalf. The majority of the Civil War reconstruction was a failure but there were few positives that kept hope alive for former slaves.

Reconstruction (1867-1877) under Congress was a fast tightening of a noose in the South. Congress no longer trusted Andrew Johnson’s loose plan for Reconstruction, so they began closing in on their plans. Radical Republicans made many lasting impacts in this period. Under Congress, the 14th and 15th Amendment was created, guaranteeing rights to African Americans. A newly created Freedmen’s Bureau help create many schools and colleges, lasting up to modern times. African Americans held power in office, although they were quickly brought down by the Ku Klux Klan’s terrorism. The main path Reconstruction took was based on the government’s plans. There

Reconstruction was one of the most important periods in American history. It was a period right after the Civil War lasting from approximately from 1863 to 1877. During this time, the leaders of the country and the congress struggled with a challenge of bringing the South back into the Union politically, economically and socially. One of the key challenges they faced was how to reunite the nation and what to do with the thirteen rebellious states that broke off from the Union and joined the Confederacy. Another challenge the government was dealing with was what to do with four million former slaves who now needed housing, food, work, education along with basic civil rights such as voting and government participation. In my opinion reconstruction was more successful in bringing back the South economically and politically. Social reconstruction on the other hand, was almost an impossible task due to lack of commitment to insure equal rights for African Americans. In this essay I will examine successes and failures of presidential, congressional, and social reconstructions.

Lincoln’s plan in 1863 involved issuing Ten- Percent Plan, to offer amnesty to any southerner if they would proclaim their loyalty to the Union and also supported the emancipation of the slaves. If ten percent of the state’s voters in the election of 1860 took this oath to the United States only then could they develop a new state government required to abolish slavery. After this then the state could reenter into the Union with complete privileges such as crucial apportionment to the Senate and House of Representatives (Schultz, n.d). However Republicans within Congress wanted to punish the South so they passed the Wade-Davis Bill which required fifty percent instead of ten percent taking an oath of loyalty. Also if southerners wanted to serve in the constitutional convention or earn the right to vote they would also have to take a second oath called the iron-clad oath which stated they had never

After the Civil War, between 1865 and 1877, was a period known as Reconstruction which was a time of rebuilding the United States. Reconstruction was a failure for three main reasons, segregation became more prominent, slaves were still unprotected, and economical obstacles became a substantial problem. Reconstruction was meant to be a time period of rebuilding and unifying the North and South into one undivided nation of compromise. There were many goals of this period such as reorganizing the Southern states, readmitting them into the Union, and setting rules against slavery so blacks and whites could live in an equal society.

After the war presidents were under Northern pressure to let the South suffer for their actions. With this taken into account, Lincoln formed the 10% reconstruction plan in 1863. The plan stated that states could be accepted back into the Union once 10% of the voters in the 1860 election

The Ten Percent Plan had offered an intermission to those in rebellion in the hope of turning Confederates into Unionists. If this plan works then it could potentially ended the war immediately. The Ten Percent Plan required each southern state to have ten percent of its voters swear an oath of allegiance to the Union for their redemption or rejoining of the Union. The plan formed part of President Lincoln's Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction.

As a nation, America has gone through many things including war and political changes. People in the United States went through much throughout history. The people that once lead this country had different intentions and targets. One moment in history that was very important and very influential today is the Reconstruction Era. The Reconstruction Era was a time period that contains many accomplishments, failures, leaders, and aims. There were many events in this era which made people call it a failure and a success. In the year of 1865, right after the Civil War, Reconstruction began. The Reconstruction Era was known as the time of “repair” after the civil war. At that time, the leader of the nation was Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln wanted the south to join the Union so he freed the African Americans. When looking at the Reconstruction Era, there are many events that make up this era such as the reconstruction amendments, the freedman’s bureau, and the Ku Klux Klan.

In December of 1863, Abraham Lincoln proposed the 10 Percent Plan as the first plan for Reconstruction. In the plan, a Confederate state would be readmitted to the Union, with a new government created, once ten percent of the state's voters had declared loyalty to the United States. These people were also required to uphold emancipation. Lincoln said that it would be "a cruel and an astounding breach of faith" for anyone to not abide by the laws of emancipation (qtd. in Goodwin 588). Anyone who took this oath received a full pardon unless they had been a Confederate official. Lincoln also thought that the entire abolition of slavery, not just in Confederate states, should be made by a Constitutional amendment. However, this plan was more of a way to try to diminish the power of the Confederacy during the Civil War than a plan to be enacted after the war was over. It was officially put into motion in some parts of Union-held territory in the South, but it was never truly supported by locals and Congress didn't recognize is it.

The United States was challenged with many issues after the Civil War like crop lien work contracts, segregation, and unresolved problems with the seceded states. This period was called Reconstruction.

In Appomattox Court House, 1865, the Civil War concluded, ushering in the Reconstruction Era. Approximately one week after, John Wilkes Booth, a radical southerner, assassinated President Lincoln. The Reconstruction Era, which ended when Rutherford B Hayes ceased its enforcement to keep the peace, was a time for the country to consolidate and forgive the wrongs of the past. This Reconstruction period included many lasting effects on the governing of America. However, it shattered the welfare of southerners, Freedmen, and the general public. Additionally, discrimination ran rampant in the newly reunited country. Reconstruction was successful in the government, but not fiscally nor with public unity.

President Lincoln proposed a lenient plan to bring the defeated Confederate states to join the Union, which was known as the Ten Percent Plan. He believed that being more lenient to Confederate states would convince them to surrender sooner, and would speed up the healing process, which he thought was needed for a solid reconstruction of the Union. The plan consisted of forgiving all Southerners, except the high-ranking officers and officials, who would pledge loyalty to the Union, and as soon as 10% of the state’s voters would pledge oath to the Union, the state could call a convention and as a result could form a government and apply for federal recognition.

The Reconstruction Act started on March, 1867, dividing the Confederate States as reconstruction started after the civil war to guarantee the freedmen’s rights. The Thirteenth Amendment was passed in December, 1865 to abolish slavery, establish civil rights and countering the restrictive black codes. The fourteenth Amendment is to guarantee the negro the right, legislation sanctioning the freedmen’s Bureau and the fifteenth to guarantee the negro the right to vote. Formerly, after the Union the victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg, Abraham Lincoln delivered the proclamation of Amnesty a reconstruction, which the plan stipulated that each secessionist State had to change its reconstruction and come back to the union, only after ten percent

African Americans were not even close to free during reconstruction. They have to face prejudice racism, the KKK, and maybe worse of all black codes. There were thousands of instances when they were killed just because of the twisted beliefs of others.