Reconstruction And The Rights Of Former Slaves. In The

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

After the Civil War between 1865 and 1877, the country went into Reconstruction. They had to rebuild the south because of Sherman’s plan of total war. In Sherman’s plan, his army took food and burned property, destroying everything that could be used by the Confederates during the war. President Lincoln helped by giving amnesty for Confederate soldiers and a plan for readmission to the Union of the Southern states. He also proposed the Ten Percent Plan. The plan allowed states to be readmitted to the Union if ten percent of its voters swore a loyalty oath to the Union and agreed to the end of slavery. President Johnson took office once Lincoln got assassinated, this changed the course of Reconstruction because he was a southerner and a democrat. He had more sympathy for southerners and many former Confederates assumed political office as soon as their state was readmitted to the Union.

Government had brought the seceded Southern states back into the Union, and they ended slavery and they tried their best to protect newly emancipated the slaves. But they rebuilt the nation after a lot more four years of fighting. The reconstruction occurred in 2 phases, the Presidential Reconstruction was very lenient in order Southern states to rejoin the Union quickly, this was initiated by President Lincoln but was carried out by President Andrew Johnson. The Congressional Reconstruction was stricter and protected rights from former slaves and they kept Confederate leaders from regaining power. But, before the Civil War Lincoln proposed his 10% Plan, which was lenient and allowed the Confederate states could re-enter the Union when, 10% of their population had sworn an Oath of Loyalty and they ratified the 13th Amendment ending all slavery. But, the Radicals in Congress had rejected his plan because, it did not protect ex-slaves and didn’t keep them from regaining power, they also wanted to have 50% of the population to swear to an oath of loyalty. But, the states could come back once they ratified the 13th amendment. But, the southern passed black codes in order to keep African- Americans from getting any land, jobs, voting rights, and also protection under the law. Finally, in 1865, the Freedmen's Bureau had been established and offered assistance to former slaves and to protect their new

As a country, America has gone through many political changes. Leaders have come and gone, all of them having different objectives and plans for the future. One period of time in which leaders sought change was 1865 which was the time period known as Reconstruction. Reconstruction was a time period of many different leaders, different goals and different accomplishments. Many debate whether Reconstruction was a success or failure. Success is an event which accomplishes its intended purpose, which Reconstruction did, but during this process of accomplishment, evil came about. There was many good things that came from the Reconstruction era which leads me to believe that it was a success, these accomplishments were; Reunification of the Union , more laws came about along with the protection of African Americans and the Enforcement acts, the Freedmen's Bureau was created along with an education system, and the Compromise of 1877.

During the period of Reconstruction, the African Americans secured many meaningful liberties which consisted of the right to vote, due process of law, protection of private property and the opportunity to run for elected office. However by the year 1910, African Americans could no longer claim many of these rights. At the close of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, race relations between the whites and the blacks also underwent many changes and it changed for the worse and finally it paved way for mass movement for Civil Rights.

In 1863 Lincoln’s Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction plan was created for a rapid forgiving restoration of a broken union therefore granting Southern states political power, create new constitutions, organize new government, and create new legislatures within each state. In the beginning this sounded great for all parties but in reality the South encountered difficult circumstances before it was effective. In 1865 Andrew Johnson became president he supported white supremacy and defender 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

In the 1870s, after the civil war, somehow, America was still at war. Americans disagreed over the topic of letting former slaves become citizens and reuniting a divided North and south. This was called reconstruction. When Andrew Johnson was in office in 1865 , congress passed an amendment declaring all the slaves in America free. The 13th amendment was disputed by many and a lot of people were extremely angry about it. The American government had a plan in include african americans in society. After the civil was, a lot of the American lands were literally in ruins. Farms and plantations and were trampled and destroyed. Also, Southerners were in despair because their currency was now useless after the Southern government was demolished.

With the assassination of Abraham Lincoln on April 14th, 1865 and the end of the American Civil War, America was left broken and in shambles. The United States was stuck with the task of integrating the former slave population and the former rebellious population back into the nation. This era, called Reconstruction, lasted from 1865 to 1877 and was a failure considering all the freedoms and rights it failed to bring to African Americans. Although, objectively, it seemed as if former slaves were beginning to receive equality due to the creation of things such as the three new amendments, the freedmen's bureau, and 40 acres and a Mule this is not the case. These justices repaid did in fact help former slaves but they didn’t last long until either

Lincoln was the person who came up with the Reconstruction plan. As the leader of this newly reunited nation, Lincoln sought a very specific plan for reconstructing the South and solving all the issues they are facing. Lincoln’s ultimate goals were to reunify the states and ensure equality for all, including freed slaves. After all the rearrangement, all freedmen are allowed to vote, freedmen are now can be educated, and the South is known as a state that holds the most slavery, but now the South has changed into the state filled with impressive varieties. Lincoln was very passion about freed slaves and made every citizens in United State, especially the South has equal treating to everyone including voting.

The reconstruction era was a pivotal time period that shaped how the newly freed black slaves would be seen by the government of the United States. The Northern States were already tolerant of free black men that had rights however, in the south many were scared that those black men would be put in charge of them and ultimately suppress the white race. Eric Foner stated that “most white southerners insisted that blacks must remain a dependent plantation workforce in a laboring situation not very different from slavery (1998, p. 103).” In the south many people believed that their future relied solely on the exploited labor of blacks and they felt that this future was being threatened by the freedom of the blacks.

After the civil war and the period of reconstruction during the 20th century, many economic, social and political conditions changed for African Americans. This new freedom and opportunities given to them were not dramatically a big change. Even though the civil war had ended African Americans still faced discrimination and didn’t get as promised. One social change that came out of the civil war and reconstruction was segregation between the two races it was the process of separating the black people from the white. As shown in document 6, we see the public drinking fountain in North Carolina are kept separate from the white.

During the time of Reconstruction, the federal government did little to help the people of America as a whole, they concentrated on bettering African American lives and “reconstructing” the South. The focus during this time period was to protect the rights of African Americans, which had long and hard been fought for. The federal government made it their priority to ensure equal rights among all black people. Also, the readmission of the Confederate states was essential to the federal

Alouth the plan of Reconstruction had many goals, there were also some backfires from the south who weren't too fond of the reconstruction to begin with. Despite all of the accomplishments that It gave American there were horrible things coming to our way throughout the whole process which were; black codes, The Ku Klux Klan and riots. Black codes were to resist African American, American privileges. The KKK( Ku Klux Klan's) was an club were to scare African Americans basically to death in a sense. The riots always ended with numerous African Americans died because of the rebellion of the Whites of the Americans who weren't ok with this great change. But overall what matters the most is that the goals were not only accomplished but also put into play to which our country now

The Reconstruction era was put into effect by Congress in 1866 and lasted until 1877. Reconstruction was aimed at reorganizing the Southern states after the Civil War. The reconstruction plan granted the means for readmitting the southern states into the Union, and tried to come up with the methods by which whites and blacks could live together in a non-slave society. America's position as a country was established on principles of freedom but those beliefs were weakened by slavery. At the end of the Civil War, many blacks felt that they were entitled to start collecting the benefits that had been denied for so many years. Being able to vote, own land and have a voice in political affairs were all goals that they believed were reachable.