Reconstruction Era Research Paper

The aftermath of the civil war left the U.S in a terrible position; thus calling for the dawning of the Reconstruction era. The idea of Reconstruction was brought up by Pres. Abe Lincoln, but it was brought out by Andrew Johnson after President Lincoln was assassinated. The hopes for former slaves was lifted when the 13th-15th amendments were established and many rights for black men were created. While Southern state governments abolished slavery, they did nothing to alter the status of freedmen and women; to show, the rights once held by former slaves were taken away from them. Black men could not vote, they could not own property, and they were forced into sharecropping, which made debt highly likely. Slavery was still punishment for crimes, but the biggest punishment for crimes committed by blacks was lynching.

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

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.

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.

President Johnson opposed many new laws including the 14th amendment, making the moderate political group shift to being more Republican because of some of the Democratic decisions he made. He is a strong example of how personal beliefs and opinions almost always trump laws. One of the first steps within reconstruction that involved emancipation of the former slaves was the Civil Rights Act of 1866. This act was enacted April 9, 1866, and was the first United States nationwide law to ensure that the law equally protects all citizens. It was intended to protect the civil rights of African Americans during the Civil War. These rules were first established by Congress in 1865. Unfortunately, this legislation was rejected and vetoed by President Andrew Johnson upsetting loads of people. Eventually, this legislation became law. President Andrew Johnson’s terrible decision of vetoing the act turned the moderate political group against

The thirteenth amendment has been ratified in 1865, which stated the abolition of slavery in United States; it was also the first reconstruction amendment. It followed by fourteenth amendment, prohibits states from denying due process of law and equal protection under law in 1868, and in 1870, the fifteenth amendment which guarantees the right to vote regardless of “race, color or previous conditions of servitude.” The Reconstruction ended when the Compromise of 1877 took place during the Presidential election of Rutherford Hayes, republican, verses Samuel Tilden, democrat. Tilden won the election but the democrats agreed to announce Hayes, the winner if he would remove the last U.S. military troops from South. Everyone knew that if the troops were removed from South then they would obviously return to their “Home Rule”, something that is much more like slavery. But still republicans agreed to the offer and that’s what led to the end of the reconstruction in 1877. Because there were no troops in south now, they started to follow their own rules and regulations, which also involved no pity for poor African-Americans.

After the Civil War, the United States had a lot of rebuilding to do. The war had halted the development of the country in its tracks, and many efforts had to be made to fix the economy, the physical state of the land and satisfy the needs and wants of the people. Integration of newly emancipated slaves, known as freedmen, and their safety was a question mark in the minds of many Americans, and ideas of how to fairly pull the South back into the Union were extremely varied amongst lawmakers. Compromise played a big role in keeping every side happy to prevent slipping back into war. It was prioritized that the North and South were blended back into one, united country, and many actions were taken in expediting this process.

In late 1863, shortly after major union victories at the battles of Gettysburg, congress alongside President Abraham Lincoln began to consider plans of reuniting the north with the south. This sparked the start of the reconstruction era. The goal of this era was to ultimately readmit the south into the Union and grant the slaves emancipation. Lincoln’s strategy for reconstruction included the Ten Percent Plan. This plan specified that southern states could be readmitted into the Union, if 10 percent of the eligible voters from the voter rolls in the 1860 election pledged their allegiance to the Union and support the emancipation of the slaves.

The Reconstructive period was considered the period after the Civil War, which was 1865-1877. Abraham Lincoln had started to prepare for the reconstruction of the South during the Civil War while Union soldiers were occupying huge areas of the South. Abraham Lincoln wanted to bring the Nation back together as quickly as he possibly could and by December of 1863 he offered his plan for Reconstruction which required that the state’s new constitutions prohibited slavery.

Lincoln had been trying to reunite the union, and move forward for all groups of people in those six days. He had started the Freedmen’s Bureau, in hopes of helping poor white Southerners and African Americans to move past the civil war, and start a new era of prosperity and equality. It says in “The Freedmen’s Bureau,” that this organization “supervised all relief and educational activities relating to refugees and freedmen, including issuing rations, clothing and medicine.” This shows that their goal was to help poor Southerners and newly freed African Americans. Furthermore, he established the thirteenth amendment, along with the “Ten Percent Plan.” These new plans/rules helped the nation progress in terms of freeing slaves (the thirteenth amendment declared them free) and moving forward (the “Ten-Percent Plan” allowed the rebellious states to be eventually be readmitted if 10% of eligible voters swore allegiance to the union). However, with the end of his presidency (and life), Andrew Johnson was next to be inaugurated into office. President Johnson was a southerner who had caused many issues. According to “How did the assassination of Abraham Lincoln affect Reconstruction?,” Southern States had “passed numerous laws restricting the rights of blacks. They were known as the ‘Black codes’. Mississippi, for example, barred interracial marriages. The punishment for such an act was death.” This implies that Johnson

In the 1860 – 1877 decade, it mainly focuses on the Civil War and the Reconstruction of the United States. Many social changes were made during this decade that benefited the United States despite some of the problems it encounters. The United States continues to follow their American dream, which is to let every individual to own property that also allows the United States to expand their territory. The road to the Civil War brought disunity among the states of America which Abraham Lincoln was terrified of; however, the end of Civil War brought unity to the states again and finally called for reconstruction of the nation that was destroyed. The reconstruction of the United States will bring brighter things to the future that awaits it.

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.

During the Reconstruction Abraham Lincoln was one of the presidents who was not in favor of slavery. He introduced the Emancipation Proclamation, which did not free slaves but did offer a pardon. The slaves had to pass a literacy test or they had to escape and go to the north in order to become free. Abraham Lincolns plan was to get voting rights for blacks; however, only those who helped fight in the war and the most intelligent or literate ones could vote. The thirteenth amendment abolished slavery. The African

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

Lincoln’s plan for presidential reconstruction was to restore relations between the North and South. He wanted to pardon all Confederate states and promised to protect private property rights. He saw that states seceding from the Union was hurting America’s economy. He proposed his “10 Percent” plan that required only 10% of votes of Congress in order for the state to be re admitted back into the Union. He also wanted to establish the Freeman’s Bureau in order to provide land and aid the freed slaves.