What Is The Significance Of The Reconstruction Act

Reconstruction is the act of rebuilding something that has been damaged or destroyed. In this case reconstruction refers to the period of time following the civil war to help rebuild the United States (Reconstruction [ushistory.org]. (n.d.)). The reconstruction period started in 1865 and ended in 1877. During this time period the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth amendments known as the Reconstruction Amendments were adopted. These amendments were important in enforcing the reconstruction of the southern areas in America after the war. The Thirteenth amendment abolished slavery, the Fourteenth amendment addresses citizenship rights and equal protection of the laws for everyone, and the Fifteenth amendment prohibits discrimination in voting rights of citizenship (Reconstruction Amendments. (n.d.)). All three of these amendments are historically significant.

Congress comes in to play in December 1865. The Congress was made up mostly of Republicans and they refused to let past Confederates to take their seats in Congress at this time. This marked the beginning of Radical Reconstruction or sometimes known as Congressional Reconstruction. The president and the congress did not agree on many issues. Congress overrode President Johnson on the Civil Rights Act of 1866, The Fourteenth Amendment, and the Freedmen’s Bureau Bill. The Fourteenth Amendment spelled out rights of both black and white citizens as equal. It prolonged Federal powers for the enforcement of civil rights. States that approved the Fourteenth Amendment were considered reconstructed, and Tennessee did so. President Johnson advised other southern states to oppose doing this. Congress passed many laws to limit President Johnson’s powers. They passed the Reconstruction Acts of 1867 which set new

In 1866, the president’s vetoes to nullify the Civil rights act and Freedmen’s bureau we overridden because they felt that it was wrong to deny a U.S. citizen of their freedom, “all persons born or naturalized in the United States.” In the 1866 elections, the Republicans took power, and made certain that the fourteenth amendment would be passed so that African Americans could gain their rights.

In 1866 the U.S. congress passed The civil rights act which allowed all black males the same citizenship no matter if they were a former slave or not as the white citizens of America. By passing this law it created tension in the south because African Americans had the same constitutional rights that white americans had. Some white people of the south resorted to lynching freed African Americans accused of crimes. Lynching is when a person would be murdered mainly by hanging and without the accused having the due process of the law. The victims did not receive a fair trial and their rights were not upheld what these people were doing was unconstitutional.

in February 1869, the Fifteenth Amendment gave black men the right to vote. Ultimately, the push to secure

The First Reconstruction Act, also known as the Military Reconstruction Act, passed into law on March 2, 1867 over the veto of President Andrew Johnson. The act applied to all the ex-Confederate states in the South, except Tennessee who had already ratified the Fourteenth Amendment. The failure of Reconstruction brought social and economic equality of opportunity to the former slaves in 1865-1877. Due to the after effects of the Reconstruction, America was weak and as time passed, riots and violence occurred in place.

In the year of 1866, the Civil Rights Act made it to where anybody that was born in the United States were considered citizens and the Act was supposed to grant full equality to African Americans. In addition to the Civil Rights Act of 1866 being passed, spanning from 1865 to 1875,

Racial segregation although seemed to be a point of the past stood strong when civil rights laws were attempting to be passed after the Civil War, especially when Buffalo soldiers served in the army during the Spanish American War, and ideals clashed when Booker T Washington and W.E.B. DuBois disagreed and disputed about the black community. After the American Civil War, many laws went into place to ensure the citizenship of our brothers and sisters. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 was a proceeding of the 15th Amendment that was passed on February 3, 1870. The Civil Rights Act granted citizenship to all males in the United States of America and did not discriminate against “race or color, or previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude”, rather than giving voting rights to citizens.

During this time northerners were very against Johnson's ideals and were working towards impeachment while also denying any policies he tried to pass. The reconstruction acts focused heavily on military, dividing the south into five military controlled districts. The three ideas of focus were described as the Command of Army Act, Military Reconstruction, and Tenure of office. By the 1870s many of the states and people in power had moved on to more current issues and the battles of reconstruction began to wind down. The events by many are seen as lost attempts at helping the African American community and regaining control over the south. During this time carpetbaggers and scalawags patrol the south, the fifteenth amendment is passed, and the Klu Klux Klan begins to develop and protest. Reconstruction was finally ended and moved past with the compromise of

The Reconstruction “fixed” the United States after the civil war. It gave the Blacks more freedom then they ever had, it reunited the sides, and it proved to the other countries that United States could provide for itself without the assistance of others. Most importantly, it gave the country hope for the

The most ground-shaking changes in the country coming from the government were the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments. Although they faced resistance, the amendments began the integration of Freedmen in society. The thirteenth amendment freed slaves, making African Americans real people with free will, open to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Further expanding African American rights, the fourteenth amendment officially made them US citizens with rights equal to their white neighbors. Finally the fifteenth amendment allowed African Americans to vote. In addition, Lincoln’s Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction pardoned the former confederate states if ten percent of the state pledged allegiance to the United States. Without this merciful

Civil Rights Bill 1866: The Civil Rights Bill of 1866 was an act established to enforce everyone was born equal no matter one’s race, or if they were previously a slave.

Congressional Reconstruction was what happened after the election of 1866. The congress had many people in power from the south that shouldn’t have been in power yet. The congress passed a tenure of Office Act which prohibited the president from removing federal officials or military commanders without the Senate’s approval. While Andrew Johnson was President, he got rid of most of the officials that were against the south, and put in Southerners against the Senate’s approval.

The Reconstruction era was a hard time for African Americans. Dealing with harassment and rude comments from other people, and hoping that they will get the right to vote. During this time some laws were passed, a few of them were the 1st amendment, voting rights, and equal rights. These goals were partially achieved and were not one hundred percent successful.

In 1867, congress overturned president Jackson’s vetoed bills and formed three significant laws known as Congressional reconstruction: the Command of the Army Act, the Military Reconstruction Act, and the Tenure of Office Act. The Military Reconstruction Act used federal troops to reorganize governments in the south and to enforce civil rights for blacks. It also abolished all new governments within the rebel states under president Jackson’s reconstruction policies. Congress regained military control of ten out of the eleven previous rebel states. The Military Reconstruction Act ordered each state to create a new constitution that guaranteed the right for all men to vote; no matter of race, social status or if they owned property.