The Foundations Of Racial Capitalism, Imperialism And Colonialism Essay

The aftermath of the civil war left the U.S in a terrible position; thus calling for the dawning of the Reconstruction era. The idea of Reconstruction was brought up by Pres. Abe Lincoln, but it was brought out by Andrew Johnson after President Lincoln was assassinated. The hopes for former slaves was lifted when the 13th-15th amendments were established and many rights for black men were created. While Southern state governments abolished slavery, they did nothing to alter the status of freedmen and women; to show, the rights once held by former slaves were taken away from them. Black men could not vote, they could not own property, and they were forced into sharecropping, which made debt highly likely. Slavery was still punishment for crimes, but the biggest punishment for crimes committed by blacks was lynching.

With the end of the Civil war, many blacks felt that they would start reaping the benefits that had been denied from them for years. Being able to vote, own land, have a voice in political affairs were all goals that they felt were reachable. The era of Reconstruction was the "miracle" they had been searching for. But the South wasn't going down without a fight and blacks would have to wait at least 100 years for Freedom Summer to arrive to receive the "miracle" they wanted. 100 years it took for equality to become more than just a word but a way of life for blacks. But they did enjoy some privileges that weren't available to them.

The American Civil War claimed the lives of over 700,000 people. The war was fought from 1861-1865. The results of the war were described as; a union victory, abolishment of slavery, territorial integrity preserved and the destruction and dissolution of the Confederate States. The twelve years that followed were called the Reconstruction Era, 1865-1877. The purpose of the Reconstruction Era was to restore National Unity, strengthen the government, and guarantee rights to freed slaves. The reality of reconstruction though was; violence (260,000 dead), newly freed slaves suffered the most, and Lincoln's hopes of trust and rededication to peace were lost when he was assassinated on April 15th, 1865. It is these realities of the Reconstruction Era and beyond that this paper will address and how those realities affected the newly freed slaves. Life in post-bellum America for African - Americans was violent and filled with fear because of white supremacy, lynching, and the brutal mutilations of blacks.

The post-Civil War Reconstruction Era was a period of change. The government worked to fix the social, economic, and political issues that had evolved around the country. From analysing the Reconstruction Era, how successful was equality for former slaves? It was mostly a failure in terms of equality for African Americans. Politically, it was the most successful because of the amendments, economic wasn’t a success because of the fact that the freed slaves only could farm, and social failed the most because of the never ending racism.

The reconstruction era was a pivotal time period that shaped how the newly freed black slaves would be seen by the government of the United States. The Northern States were already tolerant of free black men that had rights however, in the south many were scared that those black men would be put in charge of them and ultimately suppress the white race. Eric Foner stated that “most white southerners insisted that blacks must remain a dependent plantation workforce in a laboring situation not very different from slavery (1998, p. 103).” In the south many people believed that their future relied solely on the exploited labor of blacks and they felt that this future was being threatened by the freedom of the blacks.

Although the purpose of Reconstruction was to help the country back on track and assist in getting rights for black Americans, it ended with the country in turmoil and all the rights given, stripped away again. The Civil War ended and there was much promise for freedom and equality. These hopes were dashed by the new laws restricting these black Americans from living how they please. The rights were given and taken, not given back for years. The voting laws passed in the south took away a constitutional right from citizens of America. The Jim Crow Laws segregated an entire society over the shade of the skin.

After the Civil War, Reconstruction was supposed to begin and fix the racism and inequality, while newly freed African Americans were given more rights, they remained quite oppressed and suffered through different things during Reconstruction. Reconstruction happened after the Civil War in an attempt to have the rebellious south agree to the terms which the North (Union) demanded they agree to in order to once again be a whole nation. Slavery was among one of the many demands which the Union demanded the south to give up. The south would no longer be part of congress or even allowed to vote for quite some time, however after a while they were allowed to vote and become part of the government once again. Reconstruction was a time immediately

There was a transformation period after the Civil War called the reconstruction during the years 1863 to 1877. The reconstruction was the rebuilding of the United States, mainly in the South. There were three major types of reconstruction, which were political, physical, and social. The political reconstruction allowed some African Americans to vote; however, they had to be literate in order to take the Oath test. Not many African Americans knew how to read and write, because they were slaves and never had the opportunity to be educated. There was the Physical reconstruction, which was the building of sea ports, farming, and railroads, railroads being a major part of the reconstruction. Social Reconstruction was the most important step during the reconstruction, because many families were reunited after being separated from each other at birth, or after years of living together. By being reunited with their families the former slaves had already won the ‘battle’.

There were a million of slaves that had obtained their freedom at the start of the reconstruction era. African American had also gained a voice in government for the first time in American history. These were just some of the many benefits of reconstruction era.

Reconstruction is a time period in U.S history, the era (1865-1877) that followed the American Civil War. The intent was to rebuild the infrastructure in the former Confederacy and reintegrate the South into the Union. During the Reconstruction era, The U.S government faced many social, political and constitutional problems. First, the most significant outcomes of this period which addressed the issue about the access to citizenship and voting rights were the three constitutional amendments, including the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments that freed slaves and guaranteed the vote to all men regardless of race. Secondly, in 1865, Congress established the Freedmen’s Bureau to provide assistance to former slaves and poor white in the South. It provided

The Civil War and Reconstruction brought a variety of significant changes to the United States and its citizens. Once under servitude and suffering abuse, Reconstruction brought African Americans new freedoms, rights and opportunities. It was the first time in American history that the Government took full responsibility in defending and protecting its citizen’s basic human rights. Once politically powerless, Reconstruction policies opened new doors for African Americans throughout the United States. During the years of Reconstruction, African Americans in the United States searched for the true meaning of freedom while leaving their first legacies of success on the world.

This idea has taken on many different forms over the past century and a half, and its discourse has evolved alongside the major works of prominent figures like W.E.B. Du Bois, Martin Delany, and Marcus Garvey. A common theme among these thinkers is the notion of historicizing the development of black culture relative to diasporic movements in the preceding centuries. However, they differ significantly in their visions and aspirations for the culture at large, as well as in their interpretations of how peoples of African descent should behave with respect to the dominant (primarily white) societies in which they live and function. In particular, earlier scholars like Du Bois tended to “sustain their faith in a partnership with white allies, wagering that [their] commitments to ‘civilization building’ ... would hasten the day when they and their race would be respected as equal partners” (Ewing 16). In contrast, Garvey, a contemporary of Locke, supported a radical agenda for African independence, and a mass migration to bring peoples of African descent back to Africa (Ewing 76).

The black nationalism and transformationalism are two major ideologies or themes portrayed throughout the history of Africans. However, these two ideologies often appeared to be conflicting instead of complimenting each other. Even from the beginning, various organizations, people, and approaches were separated by these ideologies. In this section of We Shall Overcome: The Reconstruction, many great figures like Martin Luther King, Newton, Gary and various organizations explicitly conveyed how exactly these ideologies appeared as a conflict to each other. In other words, this section of the text specifically demonstrates how these ideologies intersected by the various people and organizations.

The Reconstruction Era was a time of incorporation between the northern and southern states in the United States after the Civil War. Since the northern states won the Civil War, they sought freedom for the blacks from slavery; although the northern states sought freedom for the blacks, the blacks were still oppressed by special laws for them and they lacked many living necessities. During the Reconstruction Era, blacks were free by law, but no resources and racism kept blacks in slavery.

     In one of his most famous poems, Rudyard Kipling said, "Take up the white man's burden!" (146). He was only one of many who believed in the virtues of imperialism in the late nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. During that period, imperialism was on the rise, and Africa was being swallowed up by competing European nations. The imperialists had many arguments supporting imperialism. They said it was beneficial and, in some cases, essential. Their arguments did not satisfy everyone, but that did not bother them. The justifications ranged from economics to social services, while touching on everything else in between (Hayes 222-3).