The Civil War And The End Of Reconstruction

There was no clarification on what race would be considered white or what would be considered black. During this incident, “Homer Plessy, who was seven-eighths white and one-eighth African American, purchased a rail ticket for travel within Louisiana and took a seat in a car reserved for white passengers. (The state Supreme Court had ruled earlier that the law could not be applied to interstate travel.) After refusing to move to a car for African Americans, he was arrested and charged with violating the Separate Car Act.”(Duignan 2017). Judge Ferguson ruled that the separation was fair and did not violate the fourteenth amendment. The state Supreme Court also backed up this decision. The case was brought to the Supreme Court and "The law was challenged in the Supreme Court on grounds that it conflicted with the 13th and 14th Amendments. By a 7-1 vote, the Court said that a state law that “implies merely a legal distinction” between the two races did not conflict with the 13th Amendment forbidding involuntary servitude, nor did it tend to reestablish such a condition." (History.com Staff 2009). This decision set the key precedent of Separate but Equal in the United States. Racial segregation kept growing.

Plessy v. Ferguson , a very important case of 1896 in which the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the legality of racial segregation. At the time of the ruling, segregation between blacks and whites already existed in most schools, restaurants, and other public facilities in the American South. In the Plessy decision, the Supreme Court ruled that such segregation did not violate the 14th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. This amendment provides equal protection of the law to all U.S. citizens, regardless of race. The court ruled in Plessy that racial segregation was legal as long as the separate facilities for blacks and whites were “equal.”

America: “The land of the free, and the home of the brave” (Key 7-8). When our forefathers overcame the colonial reign of the British Empire, they formed the United States of America based on the premise of enlightened ideals promoting life, ownership of land, and liberty. But after the revolution, the country’s problems were far from solved. The country’s post-revolution issues sparked a Civil War, which was followed by a reconstruction. In some ways, the Civil War and Reconstruction helped the United States accomplish its original goals, but in many ways, that was not the case.

The Civil War and Reconstruction periods had many positive outcomes for America, such as the reunification of the Union, the expansion of the North and South’s economy, education for all, and much more. Although there were many positive results from these two periods, there was also an aftermath of much failure. The post Civil War, and Reconstruction period consisted of the formation of the Ku Klux Klan and the black code laws. Despite the fact that African American’s were no longer slaves, in many ways they were still not free. Furthermore, the creation of things such as the Ku Klux Klan and the black codes created high tension between the black and white races, a tension that can be argued is still present in modern day America. This essay will examine the aspects of how the post Civil War and Reconstruction period was a failure with regards to social, economic and political, and radical development for newly freed slaves.

After the devastation brought to the South from the Civil War America entered period called “Reconstruction” to help mend America. One of the most debated things to come out of Reconstruction was on whether it was a success or a failure. Many believe it was a success due to the Southern states participating in the US government again and the freedom of slaves. Others believe it was a failure due to the repression of African rights and failures to protect them both physically and financially. Reconstruction was a failure because of the restrictions of African American’s rights, the social separation/mistreatment of the races, and the continous poverty of the African American community.

1. The war in 1862 was only more than a year old and the people in both the Union and Confederate sides didn’t anticipate it would last that long, but it is going to go on. Close to the end of the summer in this same year, the Union has made huge progress in claiming confederate lands, winning some major battles. They have put the confederacy in the defensive. They have taken over New Orleans, with even black troops major on the ground of New Orleans. They have taken Missouri and are working hard to take over the Mississippi Valley and maybe even Richmond itself. Bruce Catton puts it this way in The Civil War, “Except for guerrilla activity, Kentucky and Missouri has been swept clear of armed confederates, Western Tennessee had been reclaimed, there was a Yankee army in Cumberland Gap, another one was approaching chattanooga, and a third was sprawled out from Memphis to Corinth, preparing to splice down through Mississippi and touch hands with the Union occupation forces in Baton Rouge and New Orleans” (85) So not only that they Union had taken over regions, they are advancing as well, but they did not win the way this year for some reason. Firstly, because they did not have generals and army heads capable of taking them to victory. General Halleck, chief of the Union Armies and Pope in charge of one of the Union armies in Virginia, were major examples of this.

The civil war ended in 1865 and what followed was a kerfuffle, otherwise known as “The Reconstruction.” This was a period of violence and turbulent controversy ranging from racial issues to economic problems.

In the court case of Plessy v. Ferguson, the supreme court ruled that “separate but equal” was allowed. This allowed for the continuation of racism in public industries, such as the education system (separate schools) , transportation system, and food services. This ruling brought the rise of Jim Crow laws in the South and continued to sanction segregation for 50 years. In the North, this ruling instantiated laws that required racial segregation, such as separate but equal schools. Overall, this law prolonged racism and had a very negative effect on coloreds in America in the period after its ruling.

The Reconstruction Era, between the years of 1865-1877, was the difficult time because of post-war problems. The plan for the reconstruction of the South for Lincoln was to do so during the Civil War and form as Union soldiers. The Civil War was a time of anger between the north and the south. Although the war only lasted for four years, it was concluded as the bloodiest war and most importantly the result would affect the United States as a country forever. The outcome lasted in the Union winning, which was the north.

The Civil War was a bloody time for the US, and we have been in shambles. We needed to regroup and rebuild. This era after the civil war changed into is called Reconstruction.

The Civil War left a country divided not only by property lines and borders but by beliefs as well. Not just religious beliefs, moral beliefs also. It left both sides, north and south struggling, trying to figure out what their next move towards reuniting the divided America was going to be. The period following the end of the Civil War would become known as the “Reconstruction Era.” An era that raised just as many questions as it did answers. A reconstruction of America that seems to carry on many decades later.

and in reality it was a demonstration of the failure to make a dependable political

In 1861, previous failed compromises regarding the spread of slavery to new states and territories indicated failure. This controversy over slavery ultimately resulted in war. The Civil War began in 1861 when the Confederates attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina, shortly after President Lincoln’s inauguration. The Union won the war when General Lee surrendered to General Grant. The Confederacy collapsed and the abolishment of slavery took place (Gallagher). The Reconstruction Era overlapped and followed the war. On September 22, 1862, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation stating that he, “orders and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated states, and part of states, are, and henceforward shall be free…” (“Transcript of Emancipation Proclamation (1863)”). This proposal would go into effect on January 1, 1863. During Reconstruction, African Americans were able to gain their rights back. The policies aimed at establishing political and economic equality for blacks. However, many Southerners were against these changes and wanted to restore white supremacy. The post-Civil War Reconstruction in the 1800s created a conflict between the government and white supremacists as both had opposing ideas in terms of giving rights to African Americans. This encouraged the creation of organizations like the Ku Klux Klan, which fought to reverse policies of Radical Reconstruction and resulted in many lives taken. The conflict was handled with a

Many years ago, our country was founded on the fundamental belief that all men are created equal; later evolving into separate but equal, an idea found to be constitutionally impossible. Segregation in the US has been a slap in the face to many Americans over the course of time, but two key Supreme Court decisions led many to rewrite what is constitutional. Plessy v. Ferguson was the first case to make the Supreme Court question the true meaning of discrimination. About half a century later, a similar case arose declaring separate cannot possibly be equal. Brought together, the two have since been used as strongholds in the ongoing battle for equality.

Racial segregation was very prevalent in the south after the civil war. In 1896 not only was it accepted but it was also legalized with the verdict of Plessy VS. Ferguson the Supreme Court voted that racially segregated facilities did not violate the U.S constitution so the “separate but equal” law was put into place. This segregated African Americans and whites, and ostensibly ensured equal facilities and treatment. Though segregation was alive long before Plessy, this gave the official seal of approval to all Americans. Eventually, this legislation was overturned with the ruling of Brown V. Board of education, and segregation was slowly outlawed.