The Political Culture Of Reconstruction

In “Reconstruction Revisited”, Eric Foner reexamines the political, social, and economic experiences of black and white Americans in the aftermath of the Civil War. With the help of many historian works, Foner gives equal representation to both sides of the Reconstruction argument.

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.

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.

Reconstruction was a period of time that took place directly after the Civil War when the Confederacy was ruled by the Union government and military. Reconstruction is sometimes seen as a good thing because it did help out the newly freed African Americans, and the recently deprived white Southerners. However, it also created tension and resentment between Southerners and Northerners, as well as between the whites and the blacks, and, when the Reconstruction was over and the whites were back in office, they saw blacks as the enemy, and they took out the anger and injustice they felt they had received on the blacks. It brought the nation together once more, but it made the racial gap wider than ever.

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.

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.

I agree with the proposition “Reconstruction was a missed opportunity”. The period of Reconstruction was one of the biggest failure in the American history as it had affected the south both physically and economically. The south had their own pride. However, after being defeated by the north their pride was hurt. They viewed north and African- American population as the evil group. The Republican party had succeeded in ending slavery in the United States, but there was still much work to be done as the nation was separated. Lincoln’s assassination was also the main reason to the North’s failure to restore the country. After Lincoln's assassination , Andrew Jackson became the president. Jackson was not nearly as pro-Union as Lincoln, and within a short time Southerners became more active role in government and there was minimal Northern involvement

As a country, America has gone though many political changes throughout its lifetime. Leaders have come and gone, and all of them have had their own objectives and plans for the future. As history has taken its course, though, almost all of these “revolutionary movements” have come to an end. One such movement was Reconstruction. Reconstruction was a violent period that defined the defeated South’s status in the Union and the meaning of freedom for ex-slaves. Though, like many things in life, it did come to an end, and the resulting outcome has been labeled both a success and a failure.

The Reconstruction Era was a time period in America’s history that followed the end of the Civil War. The ending of the Civil War brought back the Confederate states; being that they had been defeated drug the war and ended slavery throughout the nation with the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation that was backed by the 13th amendment; thus began the road to freedom for former slaves and a lack of free labor for previous slave owners. However, there was little concern for the freedmen who had no sense of direction in where their life would take them (Costly). Congress created the Freedmen’s Bureau to establish school for freed slaves, as well as, provided food and medical care to them (Costly). The attitude of former slave owners and

The group of people most affected by the revolutions of Reconstruction was without question the newly emancipated slaves. There is no doubt that the liberation and ensuing reforms were serious improvements in the lives of black people in the United States. For the first time since they had been brought to the colony of Jamestown, blacks were allegedly granted, at least in principle, the same freedom as whites. Even though some of these new rights did not afford much real-world independence at the time, the end of the institution of slavery and its barbaric treatment of the captive blacks should not be dismissed. With the solidification of the Thirteenth Amendment, paired with Lincoln’s Freedman’s Bureau, the United States began to distribute

Following the Civil War drew to an end, however the social, political and economic conditions did not, infact it only grew within the rebellious southern states fueled discussion about the reconstruction. Social, political and economic conditions impacted the reconstruction era. The KKK impacted socially in 1865, their reign of terror was felt throughout the south. Their organization spread fear using guerilla tactics, whipping, beating, and lynching. The Klan’s purpose was to destroy the republican party as revenge for the abolishment of slavery. They wanted to destroy the republican party infrastructure and end reconstruction control in southern black population. The era of Reconstruction there were massive changes in American culture, economy,

I believe that reconstruction in the United States of America should continue. It has come to my attention that the government is debating how we should further our country's success and to fully reunite the nation after the Civil War we need to spend more time aiding the freedmen and helping the south’s financial and social situation.

The American history from the American Revolution through the Reconstruction era is a sequence of a million of different events going on as the time progressed. Starting by the Reconstruction era being a challenge to learn and understand, by being introduced in a period of tremendous political disagreement and confusion leading to intense consequences.

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

At a time when America was trying to piece itself back together, the Reconstruction Era is one of the most important chapters in history. It is also, however, one of the most debated. After the Civil War, the South was devastated and thousands of freed slaves needed to be integrated into society. When Andrew Johnson took office, he was moderate in his views as to what should happen to restore order to the United States. However, some Republicans had other plans in mind. They wanted to impose harsher terms and used Congress to do so, justly giving them the name Radical Republicans. Opinions about this time period have