Social And Economic Challenges During The Reconstruction Era

The Reconstruction Era lasted up to 1877 from the time just after the Civil War. The Reconstruction failed to bring about social and economic equality to the former slaves due to the southern whites’ resentful and bitter outlook on the matter, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Jim Crow laws.

The Union won!This is great for the north, however what is next for the Confederate army. With slaves becoming freedmen and the south destroyed after total war, a lot was to be done after the civil war. A solution to this was Reconstruction. Reconstruction was a period in american history from 1865 to 1877 lasting twelve years (Foner). Reconstruction after the war caused many social, political, and economic changes to the newly formed union.

The reconstruction era was a time that then affected America in positive facets and negative aspects as well, and still affects America today. Thanks to the reconstruction era, there are several implementations that geared the world on the path in which it is today. Had it not been for some of the laws that were set in place African Americans may have not had many of the opportunities that were presented during the reconstruction period, therefore the years of oppression and cruelty might still be present.

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.

The United States changed dramatically during the reconstruction period. After the reconstruction period, the United Stated continued to adjust well as we see it change economically and politically. Though the adjustment continued to go well, the change that occurs after reconstruction is emphasized with industrialization and the impact that industrialization has in certain regions of the U.S and on the people. Along with the new economy came with complications that affected the improvement of conditions in work and in life.

As a country, America has gone through many political changes. Leaders have come and gone, all of them having different objectives and plans for the future. One period of time in which leaders sought change was 1865 which was the time period known as Reconstruction. Reconstruction was a time period of many different leaders, different goals and different accomplishments. Many debate whether Reconstruction was a success or failure. Success is an event which accomplishes its intended purpose, which Reconstruction did, but during this process of accomplishment, evil came about. There was many good things that came from the Reconstruction era which leads me to believe that it was a success, these accomplishments were; Reunification of the Union , more laws came about along with the protection of African Americans and the Enforcement acts, the Freedmen's Bureau was created along with an education system, and the Compromise of 1877.

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 United States was challenged with many issues after the Civil War like crop lien work contracts, segregation, and unresolved problems with the seceded states. This period was called Reconstruction.

“The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were put into the Constitution to give equality to African Americans.”(Reconstruction Amendments, n.d.) Each Amendment came after each other for different reasons: 13th Amendment was made to abolish slavery, 14th Amendment stated that everyone born in the United States is a U.S citizen, and no one can be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due of process, and equal rights to all people, and the 15th Amendment prevents the denial of a citizen’s vote by race, color, or slavery. The amendments took place during Reconstruction(1866-1877). “This occurred after the North defeated the South in the Civil War to bring the country back together.”(Reconstruction (1866-1877), n.d.) There was debate about how much should the South be punished for leaving the North. The Reconstruction Amendments were there to fix the issue. The Reconstruction Amendments are the most important amendments because they are there to fix the problems involving the North and the South, give equal rights to African Americans, and has a lot to offer in terms of rights.

The 14th amendment, amongst other things, describes exactly who and what a “citizen” is and what “citizenship” is in the U.S., something that the constitution lacks in description. For most practical purposes the

During the Civil War, President Lincoln set the stage for the abolishment of slavery. In the wake of the war, the Confederates had lost and 11 states were forced to rejoin the Union. As a result there were now a lot of freed black slaves. For this reason, Congress had the task to make their freedom official and addressing their rights. Therefore 3 amendments eventually developed called the reconstruction amendments. First up was 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery. Southern states opposed the 13th amendment and as a result the attempted to suppress the blacks by creating laws that limited the civil rights of blacks. This was their way of continuing control over their former slaves, but this was unacceptable to many. So the solution from

In 1868, the United States of America's Congress adopted the 14th Amendment to the Constitution stating that, "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State

This research paper is intended to explain in general terms some of the political, economics and social effects America dealt with during the Pre and Post Reconstruction Period.

During the time of the reconstruction era it had many effects on many different people, the whites and blacks, although it had different effects on the two races, for the blacks it coulda gone either way, good or bad, but in my opinion it did more bad than good. The Reconstruction era was the time immediately after the civil war that would let the the southern states back into the Union during the reconstruction era, the President at the time, Abraham Lincoln had appointed Military governors to bring back governments into the southern states. During all of this time the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), which is a white supremacy group, wanted the opposite to happen, they wanted all blacks to suffer and them to have no rights.The Ku Klux Klan got their start as a fraternal organization on December 24th, 1865, the KKK in the state of tennessee, with the military and freedom voting behind the KKK the became known as a political organization. Now under the Reconstruction Act the blacks became freed and because of that they began taking over the white people farms by slowly pushing them out because they began to claim land for themselves, which in my opinion probably made the whites hate the blacks even more.

Reconstruction could be considered one of the largest projects ever undertaken. The mess that was the south, left in the ruins of a bloody war, called for drastic measures. The inquisition that begs to be asked is whether or not this venture was a success. Unfortunately the answer isn't as simple as "yes" or "no". Although many promises were broken, the much-debated goals of Reconstruction are still present in the minds of today's leaders as we continue to rebuild our country.