Reconstruction Goals Reconstruction started in 1865 after the war was coming to an end and completed in 1877. It Is the process by which federal government controlled the former Confederate states and the conditions for their readmission to the union. Abraham Lincoln was our president at the time and could not form a treaty with the defeated government. After the emancipation, thousands of freedmen left their plantation to find a new life without being owned and forced to work. This began the political, social, and economic goals for reconstruction regarding African Americans. There were many different approaches of political goals set for reconstruction. Republicans dealt with the political control. Conservatives within the party …show more content…
Congress then passed the bill in 1864 to which Lincoln vetoed it; this infuriated Radicals. Lincoln, then, accepted some of the Radical demands to stop the disagreements and conflict. Another view of Reconstruction was Johnson’s “Restoration” plan. This plan was very similar to to Lincolns and the Wade-Davis Bill. Southerners who took an oath of allegiance were offered forgiveness. The new president appointed a provisional governor in each state and charged him with inviting qualified voters to elect delegates to a constitutional convention. To win readmission to Congress, a state had to revoke its ordinance of secession, abolish slavery and ratify the Thirteenth Amendment, and repudiate Confederate and state war debts. This plan was implemented in 1865 when Congress was in recess. By the end on 1865, all seceded states underwent new governments following either Lincoln’s or Johnson’s plan. The North became irritated with the South’s reluctance to abolishing slavery which resulted with them becoming harsher towards this situation. Although this plan worked for a short amount of time, it ended in December of 1865 hence starting “congressional” or “radical” reconstruction. There were many social plans implemented during the period of reconstruction. Some of these plans included Jim Crow Laws, Black Codes, the Fourteenth Amendment, and the Freedmen’s Bureau. Jim Crow Laws created a hierarchy reaching into almost every area of southern life. Blacks and whites could not
The radical Republicans saw Reconstruction as a chance to bring change to southern society. Lincoln saw Reconstruction as an opportunity to abolish slavery and weaken the confederacy by establishing new state governments that could win support of southern whites. While the Republicans were divided on the issue of how to readmit the southern states into the Union, they enacted programs for emancipated slaves such as the Freedman’s Bureau. This Bureau provided food and clothing to former slaves and they were in charge with “supervising all the abandoned lands in the South and the control of subjects relating to refugees and freedman” (Buhle, 463).
The reconstruction was an era when African Americans tried to fit in and to rebuild the South. The reconstruction started in 1876. Some troops started to leave the South. The KKK was also starting to rebel against the government. The North took their focus of reconstruction and focused on scandals. This essay is trustworthy because I used primary sources. The South was the cause for the end of the reconstruction because the KKK was killing people, KKK was forcing people to vote democratic ticket, and South did nothing about the KKK.
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
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
After the Civil War there were still many changes that had to take place within the United States. The period of Congressional Reconstruction took place from 1865 through 1877. Although the outcome of the Civil War greatly affected things there were still various problems that had to be solved. This period of time after the Civil War was the reconstruction of congress. Congressional reconstruction was a very crucial time in American history, it changed the way of life in the South, the president caused difficulties with it, and Radical Republicans took over in congress. The goal of Congressional Reconstruction was to reunite the South with the Union. The outcome of Congressional Reconstruction resulted in a better
The effort to rebuild the southern states and restore the Union was known as Reconstruction, a period that lasted from 1865 to 1877. Several different plans for Reconstruction emerged during and after the war. Much debate about differing plans centered on who would control Reconstruction -- the President or Congress.
After the Civil War, there were two major paths of reconstruction–presidential reconstruction and radical reconstruction. Presidential reconstruction was headed by President Andrew Johnson, who believed that the southern states had never given up their rights to govern themselves, and failed to institute any sort of voting requirements. Aside from having to take an oath of allegiance to the Union and pay off war debt, the South was free to do what they like. This leniency led to the instillation of Black Codes and the continuation of wrongful treatment of African Americans. This caused the Republicans in Congress to take control of Reconstruction in the South after Johnson’s
Unfortunately, Lincoln was assassinated at Ford’s Theatre on April 14th, 1865, before he could put his plan to the test. After his death, several other political leaders emerged with plans in hand. These men were of the Republican Party, and they called themselves Radicals. The Radical Republicans that emerged in the political spotlight after Lincoln’s death had two main objectives to their cause. First, they were mad at the south, blaming them for the Civil War that had just ended. Ergo, they wanted to punish them and make them pay. Secondly, they wanted to help all of the near four million slaves who were now free men after the war. They felt these “men” needed protection, and it was their job to do so. There were three main Radical Republican leaders. These men were Thaddeus Stevens, Charles Sumner, and the formally inaugurated president Andrew Johnson.
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.
The South being readmitted into the Union was one main goal of Reconstruction. Another main goal was for the American society to define the status of freedom. Establishing order, securing the rights of each man, and readmit America into a nation again are tasks of Reconstruction. There were three main Reconstruction Plans: Lincoln’s, Johnson’s and Congress, which applied a plan to unify the nation.
Reconstruction was a period of time after the Civil War (1865-1877) that was supposed to be the rebuilding of America. It was also the process used to readmit all the Confederate states back into the Union. There was controversy, however, on how to go about rebuilding the nation. Abraham Lincoln proposed a lenient plan. After he was assassinated, Andrew Johnson proposed a very similar plan. The Radical Republicans, a group of legislators that were in favor of freedmen’s rights, were opposed to both plans under “Presidential Reconstruction”. They initiated “Congressional Reconstruction”. Because of the conflicting views, there was little cooperation between the Executive and Legislative branches. This lead to many unsuccessful
Though both Presidents and Congress agreed on ideas for the Reconstruction, the Radical Republicans didn’t feel the same. Shortly after welcoming Johnson, they quickly turned against him and created The Joint Committee of Reconstruction (source 5). Unlike Johnson’s Plan, the Radical Republicans wanted to see immediate change, starting with granting all rights to free men (source 6). The Radicals believed blacks were entitled to the same political rights and opportunities as whites as well as Confederate leaders being punished for their roles in the Civil War (source 7). In hopes to achieve all their goals, the Radicals created America’s first relief organization known as the Freedman’s Bureau. The Freedman’s Bureau offered general welfare for newly freed slaves, as well as foods, clothing, and medicine (source 6 & 8). The Bureau also assumed custody of confiscated lands or property in former Confederate States, border states, District of
The reconstruction of America would decide how the south would rejoin the Union, what was to become of the nearly 3 million black slaves freed, how America was going to recover from such a devastating internal war. There appears to be phases that the Reconstruction Era went through, roughly three of them. The first is that of the Presidential Reconstruction, it lead to a more radical Republican party. After such we find ourselves in what was to be known as the Radical Reconstruction. A period where the blacks found their voices being heard. Finally we lead up to the end of the Reconstruction-era. It is said that the reconstruction lasted from 1865 to 1877, however it can be said that, to this very day, some reconstruction is still ongoing.
Reconstruction was the time period following the Civil War, which lasted from 1865 to 1877, in which the United States began to rebuild. The term can also refer to the process the federal government used to readmit the defeated Confederate states to the Union. While all aspects of Reconstruction were not successful, the main goal of the time period was carried out, making Reconstruction over all successful. During this time, the Confederate states were readmitted to the Union, the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments were ratified, and African Americans were freed from slavery and able to start new lives.
Throughout the reconstruction period, Congress also made plans to benefit the country. From 1865-1877, Congress established three new amendments: The thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth. The thirteenth amendment officially abolished slavery in 1865. In 1868, the fourteenth amendment was ratified, declaring every person a citizen if born in the U.S., limiting a state's power to enforce laws that harm the privileges of citizens, or deprive them of freedom, and attempted to force Southern states to allow voting to blacks. The fifteenth amendment was ratified in 1870, which “forbade all states to deny the vote to anyone on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” Another plan that was advantageous towards the U.S. was the last Reconstruction Act created by Congress. Ultimately, this law, through some revisions, enabled black southerners to vote. The most important plan that Congress created was the Compromise of 1877, which ended reconstruction. After twelve long years of tension in the U.S., the Compromise of 1877 was ratified, signaling a better and brighter future for every state, every citizen, and the country as a whole. Even though Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, and Congress all made plans that had its advantages, some of those plans and others had a fair amount of disadvantages.