Redemption : The Last Battle Of The Civil War

“…the slave went free; stood a brief moment in the sun; then moved back again toward slavery” (W.E.B. Dubois). Reconstruction was an era, from 1863 to 1877, used to rebuilt the damage done in the South by the Civil War. Many people resisted in the South, so it was difficult to carry out the new ideas of Reconstruction. Rebuilding the United States was not an easy task, only lasted 12 years ending in 1877. The Compromise of 1877 settled the intensely disputed 1876 U.S. presidential election, which was pulled federal troops out of state in the South, and ended the Reconstruction Era. The United State come up with three Amendment to help the African Americans there are the 13th Amendment: ended slavery, 14th Amendment: gave blacks Americans citizenship and civil rights and the last one was the 15th Amendment: right to vote. Was the North or South to be blamed for ending the period of rebuilding in the United State after the Civil War? Reconstruction is the process of rebuilding or reorganizing

The American Civil War has become a point of controversy and argument when discussing key events in shaping America. The arguments that arise when discussing the war tend to focus on whether the Confederate was constitutionally justified in seceding, or whether the North had the right to prevent the secession. However, when discussing the America Civil War and the idea of separation, it is important to be mindful that separation did not simply end at the state level. Letters written by Jesse Rolston, Jr. and Jedediah Hotchkiss portray two significantly different attitudes toward the war, despite the fact that the writers both fought for the Confederate States and give accounts of the same battle, one of which ended in the Confederate’s favor. When examining the documents, both writers express different viewpoints on life on and off the battlefield. This significant difference represents a division amongst the Confederate army.

The South ended reconstruction by non-violent racism. Non- violent racism is words that bring down African Americans of and other race. This helped end reconstruction because racism was a big problem as a result of African Americans gaining more rights from new amendment and laws. In Document D, it states "arguing that “the blacks, as a people, are unfitted for the proper exercise of political duties". This is evidence that's whites viewed African Americans as 'uncivilized' and or not good enough to be in a government

Although the reconstruction did unify the United States and passed the 14th and 15th amendments, reconstruction failed on many other vital issues. The radical republican legislation that promised freedom and equality for all was far from a reality for black Americans. Legislation failed to protect former slaves from white supremacy, and persecution. The entire social and cultural backbone of the south needed reform in order for African Americans to enjoy the freedom and equality that this nation promised, unfortunately this change did not come during the reconstruction. In 1877 president Hayes removed federal troops from the south, almost immediately former confederates and slave owners returned

In Nicholas Lemann’s narrative, Redemption: The Last Battle of the Civil War, the Reconstruction era in the south is portrayed in a different perspective. In contrast to the glamourized displays one normally sees in textbooks or films, this story is as aggressive and gruesome as the war prior to it. The story illustrates how Reconstruction collapsed as a movement. One would assume it failed due to the lack of strength from the Republican Party; however it was caused by the hash intimidation and unnerving if not tactics white southerners developed. These tactics were later on used by the Democratic Party during the time elections. Not only that, Lemann also describes the horrid bloodlust the Whites endured as they engaged the African-American

To properly explain the failure that is Reconstruction, one must begin with the President leading the era, Andrew Johnson. Johnson’s plans for reconstruction seemed to have purposely oppressed African Americans. As seen in Doc F, Johnson even went so far as to veto the Civil Rights Act, claiming that as a result of protecting the rights of African Americans whites would be the subject of discrimination. However, congress had done something never seen before in American history, congress had overrode the veto with a 2/3rds majority and the civil rights act became law. This only added to the list of positive changes happening to the African American population as they also received access to education and aid from the government thanks to the Freedmen’s Bureau. All the positive changes affecting the former slave population was, to no one’s surprise, short lived. Legally, all former slaves were now free, as seen in the 13th amendment, and they retained all the rights reserved for US citizens, supported by not only the 14th amendment but also the Civil Rights Act. But socially, they were discriminated against when it came to jobs and

From 1865 to 1877, the United States flourished with opportunity and innovation. Railroads were built at an astounding rate and millions of immigrants arrived to pursue better lives and find happiness. However, many African Americans were frustrated to get secure rights and become equal as everyone else. There was also reconstruction happening which was to bring the former states of the Confederacy back to the Union. The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendment goal was to abolish slavery, allow citizenship for everyone, and let everyone vote no matter what race you are. At the end, many people still ponder over the fact who is responsible for the end of reconstruction: North or South? The North is responsible for ending reconstruction by not taking

There were still acts in place to limit rights and a corrupt government. Some southern states set up black codes to restrict rights against the African Americans. Under these laws, no African American can own or rent a home, carry a weapon, and all must work for white (document A). These laws go around the 13th and 14th amendment of abolishing slavery and all have citizenship. White Americans believe that African Americans will bring disarray to the government. The freedoms of the African Americans were still confined during the reconstruction. African Americans are apparent to argue and be aggressive in the picture (document G). This shows that African Americans were unfit for government and were not capable to be a part of it. Restricting the

Not only was Reconstruction ineffective to black people, it made their lives worse and took away their freedom. The Thirteenth Amendment does state that slavery shall no longer exist but the creation of the Black Codes and The Jim Crow Laws limited the lives of blacks even more than before. The removal of slavery was to give the former slaves a free life, but with these new laws, they had found a different way to abolish their freedom. They were separated from restaurants, homes, jobs, or any public place all because of their skin color. Congress and other whites believed that the newly freedmen were less than everyone else and did not deserve the same rights. The Black Codes were the first restrictions that were put on blacks. This included

The reconstruction era ended, with the compromise of 1877 where republican candidate Rutherford B. Hayes, needed southern electoral college votes .in doing so, he abandoned reconstruction and allowed white supremacists to seize control of the democratic party, thus allowing a new ‘dark age’ for African Americans in the South.

Reconstruction has been brutally murdered! For a little over a decade after the Civil War, the victorious North launched a campaign of social, economic, and political recovery in the former Confederacy and to readmit the land in the former Confederacy back into the United States as states. Reconstruction yielded many benefits for African Americans. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments freed African Americans, made them citizens, and gave them the right to vote respectively. The Freedmen’s Bureau also provided African Americans and poor whites with education, jobs, and supplies. Despite this, Reconstruction was cut short in 1877. The North killed Reconstruction because of racism, negligence, and distractions.

This battle, fought on April, 9, 1865. It was one of the last battles fought in

Reconstruction was the time period after the Civil War, from 1865 to 1877. The main purpose of Reconstruction was to restore the Union as quickly as possible. The Union, however, felt that the South should be punished because they defended slavery and caused the war. In order to be readmitted, Southern states had to abolish slavery, ratify the 14th amendment, and write new state constitutions. Reconstruction was a failure because African-Americans were unable to exercise their rights, the formation of hate groups increased in the South, and the economy fell due to sharecropping. During Reconstruction, African-Americans were unable to exercise their rights because of segregation and discrimination. Originally, the main goal of the Radical Republicans was to make sure the newly freed African-Americans gained their rights as US citizens. However, Southern lawmakers did everything in their power to restrict these rights. They created and enforced Black Codes, which were a list of laws created to limit what African-Americans could do. An example of some laws are found in a list of Black Codes from Louisiana during 1865. “Sec. 7 … No negro who is not in the military service shall be allowed to carry firearms, or any kind of weapons, within the parish, without the special written permission of his employers…” (Document D). Laws, such as the one stated in the quote, placed harsh restrictions on African-Americans. Although they were not slaves, they still had to obey these laws, or

In 1865, the United States government implemented what was known as Reconstruction. Its’ purpose was to remove slavery from the south, and give African-American’s the freedom in which they deserved. However, the freedom that they deserved was not the freedom that they received. With documents like The Black Codes restricting them from numerous privileges that white people had and the terroristic organization known as the Klu Klux Klan attacking and killing them, African-American’s were still being oppressed by their government as well as their fellow man. Slavery may have been abolished, but African-American’s were not yet given the freedom and rights that their white counterparts took for granted.

In 1866, Congress passed The Civil Rights Act of 1866 which allowed them to be genuine citizens and thus granted them federal protection under the law. Score for the blacks. Furthermore, the South was placed under military rule to ensure that this act was being enforced. During this tremendous time of freedom, blacks were allowed to vote and hold office – something that finally extended a voice and position in our country to their community. Meanwhile, whites were growing tired of all the nonsense. They wanted their beloved Old South back. Many refused to attend the integrated Reconstruction-era state constitutional conventions. Southern whites would use highly exaggerated and publicized incidences of “social injustices” to protect their claims of being thrown over to so-called negro domination. Any action was necessary that could help clinch their argument and overturn the Reconstruction