The Reconstruction Era Essay

After the conclusion of America’s Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln pitched the idea of “Reconstruction,” which would bring the southern states back into the Union. President Lincoln, according to many radical Republicans, was too gentle on the south. The government was divided on how to solve the issue of readmitting the southern states back into the Union. In addition to that, the government was not certain on what rights to enumerate to the newly emancipated slaves. These issues became more difficult to solve after President Lincoln was murdered. Lincoln’s successor, Vice President Andrew Johnson, was a Tennessee Democrat that lacked respect of the Republican Congress. The legislative and executive branches of the American government

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.

After the Civil War, America was still amidst great turmoil and economic instability. During this time period, the ultimate goal for Americans was to seize the “American Dream”. This was defined by most as being able to support their family and live a comfortable life. Although some did achieve this, many faced social, political and economic hardships. Beginning with the unjust treatment of African-Americans, then the struggles of immigrants, and followed by the rise of big businesses, the challenges faced during this time of rebuilding varied among the classes.

The civil war, reconstruction, and Redemption era does serve as a unique moment in American history because it shaped what kind of nation US would become. All wars are the result of social change, talks of revolution, institution of slavery and connection to power and liberation. There are many reasons that attribute to the institution of slavery becoming a big determinant in the Civil War and in American History. A consistent reason is that the states have always been dependent upon themselves and relying on their own kind to create a sense of power. The institution of slavery gave white men a sense of power in which was stripped away from them by the government. They no longer could control and have an opinion in state nor federal government decisions. Throughout all these eras of history the enslaves Africans were never seen as equal, therefore were never treated as equal. They were always seen as the black labor workers. The focus point of this paper will be the institution of slavery. After the civil war and reconstruction, America changed drastically in defining slavery and what would become of the institution.

During the Reconstruction Era, Congress passed many laws to provide equal rights to people of color. But at the local level, specifically in the South, many Democrats took the law into their own hands. They supported the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) hoping to restore the pre-Civil War social hierarchy. The texts in Going to the Source illustrate two groups of individuals who opposed the KKK. In testimonies given by white witnesses, Republicans from the North felt the KKK posed a political and social danger in the South, but did not feel intimidated. The testimonies given by black witnesses were people who had experience of the Klan’s violence, and felt their lives were threatened. The Klan’s attacks on whites were more inclined towards social harassment, while their attacks on blacks, which consisted of voting intimidation and night rides, were violent and abusive because the KKK’s main goal was white supremacy.

Reconstruction was the time between 1863 and 1877 when the U.S. focused on abolishing slavery, destroying the Confederacy, and reconstructing the nation and the Constitution and is also the general history of the post-Civil War era in the U.S. between 1865 and 1877. Under Abraham Lincoln, presidential reconstruction began in each state as soon as federal troops controlled most of the state. The usual ending date is 1877, when the Compromise of 1877 saw the collapse of the last Republican state governments in the South

In the Civil War in 1865, many slaves got their freedom but were still being controlled by the whites and government. Black codes were being passed by Southern states to control the labor and behavior of former slaves and African Americans. The Ku Klux Klan became a structure for white southern resistance to the Republican Party’s Reconstruction. The purpose of the Reconstruction was to bring the South together to be part of the Union. The success and failures of Reconstruction negatively impacted the political, social, and economic lives of newly freed African Americans in the south. It impacted them in a negative way politically because the government wasn’t fair with the newly freed African Americans. Many families were getting separated

Strongly believing that one race was superior to another, unfocused leaders, and being condescending, all built up to Reconstruction falling apart. Although this fight was more than complicated, the North and it’s people were primarily at fault for Reconstruction not continuing any further. Termination of Reconstruction was, and is, an immensely mandatory topic for today’s youth to speak on. As a whole, we need to be able to comprehend distinct incidents that made our country what it is today. Knowledge is imperative for us to fathom steps people before us took to get to where the nations stands at the

The reconstruction period was an important time in our history, its accomplishments and failures affected who we are and how we are today. The reconstruction wanted to join all the states to the union once more and rebuild the South. There’s a question as to where the goals of the reconstruction were met or where were the goals unmet? Some of the goals for the reconstruction were met, but there were also some that weren’t met. Some of the goals weren’t completely unmet but were completely accomplished either.

With the Freedmen, Reconstruction may have helped them gain freedom and protection under the constitution, but these protections were flawed and loopholes were found. To spite the radical republicans, the south created Black Codes that had rules like, “Every Negro is required to be in the regular service of some white person, or former owner, who shall be held responsible for the conduct of said Negro” (Louisiana). These laws were in effect before the 14th amendment came and was in laymen’s terms slavery. Freedmen were known to vote Republican in the south because they gained freedom because of the Republicans. However, the South wanted no one to vote for Republicans because in their eyes it was the Republicans that ruined them. So, to ensure that Freedmen did not vote for Republicans, they invented the KKK. The KKK was a political group that wanted to stop votes for Republicans in the south. By any and all means necessary. One example is Adam Colby, who was a Freedmen and a republican. The KKK tried to bribe him to get him to stop his Radical Republican activities. When Adam didn’t rise to the bribe, they broke into his home on the 29th of October and took him to the woods where they whipped him and left him for dead (“Testimony”). Not only this, but Freedmen had a very hard time finding places to live. Many places had a “whites only” mindset and would not sell to Freedmen. An example of this type of situation is when a young Freedwoman was looking for a home with her husband. An agent told her and her husband he had just the place they were looking for but could not give it to them because “all the white people in the neighbourhood would be down on me” (“The”). Reconstruction brought an even uglier side of the

These people had worked towards a less corrupt Government, but hadn’t solved issues such as women’s rights and suffrage, and black’s rights. As seen in Sinclair Lewis’ Babbitt there was a specific mindset in this generation’s lifestyle in which they focused more on the wrongs of Governments and were conservative in how they lived with women not in the picture and an image of a smoky room. [Doc 1] Other’s took the same stance with resistance to change, but in a different aspect. In Hiram Wesley Evans’ article titled “The Klan’s Fight for Americanism” there was an obvious disapproval and even hate among the Klan’s

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 Reconstruction is defined as the period following the Civil War in which the Republican-dominated Federal government sought to reunite the Union; the measure included drastically remodeling Southern society in order to secure equality and independence for blacks through granting them various freedoms. Many historians believe that in order to fully understand the modern United States, one must understand Reconstruction. Studying it, therefore, has been a top priority amongst historians. Over the years, three main schools of thought have developed concerning Reconstruction. The Dunning School viewed the Northern Republicans as tyrannical leaders who pushed aside the governments

Many Americans and people around the world remember the Civil War for a number of reasons. Some will argue that Northern victory in the war preserved the world’s first democracy. Others argue that the Civil War did not weaken the United States; it merely exposed the flaws in government and where it could be made stronger henceforth. Often, many forget that the Civil War affected the fate of nearly four million Americans, or slaves, as they were then labeled. The leaders of the Reconstruction were tasked with piecing a nation back together while keeping the idea of justice in mind. The Reconstruction had a somewhat successful beginning but unfortunately its potential in integrating freedmen into Southern society was never fully realized. Subsequently, African Americans, specifically southern African Americans, truly lost the American Civil War. The Southern Restoration undid the work of the Reconstruction, eventually pushing African Americans to the brinks of southern politics where they would remain until the late twentieth century.

Chapter 11 delves into the racial injustices of the late 19th and early 20th centuries when reconstruction was underway in the South. During this time we still see the white race dominating the popular opinion, and remaining unchallenged as the South fights the North. The South held onto the idea that the black man should remain a slave, and the North fought for the black man’s citizenship. This task proved one of the most challenging the country had ever faced. The south did everything they could to undermine the workings of the North and keep the black man’s status as low as possible. The black codes were enforced which limited the rights of the newly freed slave. They were to have the rights of liberty and property, but not the right to vote, hold office, serve on a jury, testify in a white court, and many other rights that white people possessed. Constant tension existed amount the North and the South. Overall the North’s attempt to reconstruct the South yielded bad and good things. Public education, and women’s rights were gained, but most leaders and promoters were corrupt. Even though it had some shortcomings it still resulted in much needed reforms. During this time the KKK was formed. They were a group of people who went outside the lines of politics to make a change. They quickly turned into an aggressive group known for their aggressiveness against blacks. The struggle to admit the Southern states back into the Union continued until 1890, when the states were