Reconstruction Era Reconstruction

The other major race that suffered during this time was African Americans. They had previously been released from slavery, but now they were facing social injustice. Jim Crow laws, were formed, which created stereotypes about blacks being inferior to the white race once again. White bathrooms, and water fountains were constructed along with separation in schools between the races. African Americans “were denied the most basic freedom that democracy promises”(Alexander) under these laws. Everywhere people went separation was found among the whites, and blacks. By creating these laws the American government set the process for the unity of the races backwards. People did not have the opportunity to unite because they were bound by law to be separated. This era created separation of the races, from the very beginning. The government, and white Americans were only concerned about their well-being, and therefore, separated themselves from anyone, and anything that they felt would harm their success and power.

The Reconstruction Era occurred between 1866 and 1877, immediately following the Civil War between the Northern and Southern states. The Reconstruction Era brought change to not only the American economy, society, and government, but significant changes to the lives of African Americans as well. Lincoln’s assassination in April 1865 impacted conditions for African Americans in the post-war period through political and social changes in the Reconstruction Era; which ranged from a new array of rights to many new opportunities in society.

America was in disarray following the events of the Civil War. Southern economy was in shambles while congress was struggling to find a middle ground between the radical republicans and Lincoln’s lenient policies. Many Southerners faced the aftermath of uprooting their society and their way of life while thousands of newly freed slaves struggled to find a way to support themselves. The country needed a strong leader, however on the 14th of April, 1865 President Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in the Ford Theatre in Washington (Farmer). Without the man that had once held the nation together, the country now faced an enormous obstacle; reconstructing American economics, politics and social life.

The reconstruction period in American history can be described as the period in time after the American Civil War when southern states were reorganized back in the union. During this time freedom for citizens even those who were enslaved could bring up a very controversial debate. Some may say that those citizens had the right to freedom, while others may even disagree with that. In this paper many topics will be discussed, from the reconstruction period itself, to whether or not freedom can be defined differently by freed people. The topic of who actually had the power to control how freedom will be discussed as well. In this paper certain documents will be analyzed and even compared to other documents.

As the American Civil War came to a close, the United States started to revamp the country, during what became known as the Reconstruction Era. Throughout this Period of time (1865-1877), the authorities attempted to fix America politically, economically, and physically. The United States unfortunately faced struggles, when people were evidently unable to adapt themselves to the era. As a result of bringing an attempt to come back from the defeat, the result was insufficient. This clearly shows that the Reconstruction Era was certainly not a success because the changes created by the government failed to make positive changes to society.

—Henry Ford. This was the Southern optimist’s view of what the results of post Civil War Reconstruction could be. Unfortunately, once the Congressional era of Reconstruction began, this view was squandered under federal punishment of the South. This policy led to strained relations between Congress and the ex-Confederate states. The difference of opinion was over how harshly the South should be punished for leaving the Union. The South wanted to be readmitted with as little friction as possible, so they sided with the Democrats, like Robert E. Lee, and Moderate Republicans. Congress on the other hand, being mostly controlled by Radical Republicans, believed

After the Civil War came to an end and the military conflict had ended, the Reconstruction period started, which was in many ways still a war. This vital battle was waged by radical northerners who wanted to chastise the South and Southerners who badly wanted to preserve their way of life. The Reconstruction period was a time of great pain and endless questions. What was to be the place of freed blacks in the South? Did Abolition mean that black men would now enjoy the same status as white men?9 At the dawn of the 20th century, nine out of ten African Americans lived in the South. Jim Crow laws of segregation ruled the land. The Supreme Court upheld the power of the Southern states to create two "SEPARATE BUT EQUAL" societies with its 1896

By 1870, the Northerner lost interest in reconstructing the south. The north tried to reconstruct the south and change southerners attitudes about black people. Although they failed at this because many southerners were still racists and believed that the white race was superior to others, blacks were not as good as southern white men. To add to that, the Northerners lost interest in the reconstruction, which gave southerners a chance to gain control of their state governments again.

In the 1860’s there was an Era that started called the reconstruction. The main purpose for the reconstruction was to give African-American people full political and civil equality. However, it was very tough to do this, especially since most white in the south didn’t want the African-Americans to have the same rights as themselves. During this Era there were multiple good things that happened, yet, there were also many bad things that happened. For instance, during the reconstruction the 14th amendment was passed so the African-American would get equal rights, but during the Era groups such as Ku Klux Klan was created, also during this time the economic problems weren’t solved.

Established in the latter part of the 15th century, slavery was first introduced by Portuguese tradesman as an economic force based on free labor. In the course of 400 years, 600,000 slaves were brought to North America from Africa. With the adaptation of technology such as the Cotton gin became prominent in the agricultural regions of America, the slaves became an established economic factor. The market for free labor was territorial as over 90% of the total slaves were in the South. The Reconstruction period demonstrated the nation’s attempts to resolve social and political issues in postbellum America. While the Reconstruction era did contribute positively to blacks, the movement failed to bring about equality or basic human rights. Under

By 1877, reconstruction had successfully restored the United States as a unified nation. Each Confederate state had thoroughly drafted state constitutions, pledged their loyalty to the United States government, and accepted the newly Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments. However, reconstruction inevitably failed the South. The legislation of Radical Republicans failed to give protection to freed slaves from further persecution of whites; and it also failed to fundamentally refabricate the social atmosphere of the south. Once President Rutherford B. Hayes implemented the removal of all federal troops from southern states, empathizers of the late slave ideology, being leaders of the Confederacy and slaver owners, were reinstated to power.

Washington D.C.-The Civil War Reconstruction, or the Reconstruction Era, occurred on January 1, 1863. It was the process of readmitting the former Confederate states to the Union. It lasted from 1863 to 1877. The Civil War Reconstruction damaged the South and it put them to debt. Senator Benjamin Wade and Henry Davis had an alternative to Lincoln’s plan to offer southerners amnesty for all illegal acts supporting the rebellion. President Andrew Johnson had a plan for Reconstruction. The Black Codes were passed almared the citizens of America about slavery. The Thirteenth Amendment and Fifteenth Amendment were proposed during this time regarding slavery and the right to vote.

The Reconstruction-era offered numerous opportunities to African-Americans, by attempting to secure the rights for ex-slaves, but the opportunities presented even more obstacles to them. The thought of freedom intrigued the African-Americans at first, but many of them quickly changed their minds after experiencing it. Henry William Ravenel, a slaveowner, proclaimed, "When they were told they were free, some said they did not wish to be free, and they were silenced with threats of being shot (Firsthand 24)." The Reconstruction-era effected the white settlers and their crops, as well, posing yet more obstacles for the already-struggling African-Americans. The hardships endured

I believe that reconstruction in the United States of America should continue. It has come to my attention that the government is debating how we should further our country's success and to fully reunite the nation after the Civil War we need to spend more time aiding the freedmen and helping the south’s financial and social situation.

The Reconstruction era was a very impactful, but hard time for South Carolina after the Civil War. The process of rebuilding the south came with many great challenges, including the profound main conflict of racial discrimination. Although the Union had won the war, much of the Southern United States had been destroyed, including the many farms, plantations and crops. Also, due to the Union victory more than 3 million slaves were granted freedom, but still faced racial discrimation from restrictive “black codes”. Though human equality was the main goal of the Reconstruction period in the South after the Civil War, it proved to be an attempted compromise that actually created more conflicts.