What Are The Problems With The Reconstruction Of America

Reconstruction was the period after the Civil War. During this period, the U.S faced many challenges such as how to reunite the North and the South and put the Civil War behind us. In addition, the nation needed to address the status of four million freed slaves by granting them citizenship, and protecting their citizenship rights. As years passed, many historians went back and forth of whether or not Congress was a success for the freedmen, or a total blowout. These pieces of evidence concludes that the Congress’ Reconstruction was unfortunately a failure for the freedmen rights.

Dubois’ summary of the Reconstruction Era is an extensive agreeable extent of black Americans finding freedom then being entrapped again. In 1865 all slaves in the USA were formally freed due to the help of President Lincoln who issued the Emancipation Proclamation stating that black Americans could no longer be owned as property and were free to leave their masters. In result, this secured them a better life and provided them with basic human rights. Despite the black americans conquering and winning the freedom of owning land, being economically stable and wining the right to vote - some of these successes were short lived. For example, white people were still superior than the blacks despite their new found freedom, they fought to keep positions

Reconstruction Common Task     Life for African Americans during the Civil War as well as into the Reconstruction era and the time prior to those events was quite difficult to say the least. After the Civil War from 1861-1865 and during the Reconstruction period which lasted from 1865-1877, African Americans were struggling to achieve complete freedom and equality. Despite the horrific lifestyle the African Americans had to endure for countless years previous to this specific time, people like the democratic southerners and white supremacists wanted to keep the blacks in the inferior state they were in before the Civil War. During the Reconstruction period it was excessively challenging for the African Americans to attain the equality they deserved, especially due to the black codes but, they were able to achieve a

“…the slave went free; stood a brief moment in the sun; then moved back again toward slavery” (W.E.B. Dubois). Reconstruction was an era, from 1863 to 1877, used to rebuilt the damage done in the South by the Civil War. Many people resisted in the South, so it was difficult to carry out the new ideas of Reconstruction. Rebuilding the United States was not an easy task, only lasted 12 years ending in 1877. The Compromise of 1877 settled the intensely disputed 1876 U.S. presidential election, which was pulled federal troops out of state in the South, and ended the Reconstruction Era. The United State come up with three Amendment to help the African Americans there are the 13th Amendment: ended slavery, 14th Amendment: gave blacks Americans citizenship and civil rights and the last one was the 15th Amendment: right to vote. Was the North or South to be blamed for ending the period of rebuilding in the United State after the Civil War? Reconstruction is the process of rebuilding or reorganizing

After four prolonged years of the Civil War that took place in America the nation transpired broken, and required much need of being rebuilt into a nation of one. The newly freed slaves, after the Civil War, moved to different cities, freed slaves built Black churches and communities; they were capable of attending school, and even became more involved in politics. With this new found freedom many documents, agencies, and associations also arose such as: the Freedmen’s Bureau, the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction, and the Black Codes. These documents and organizations played important roles during the Reconstruction Era. Arguably, the Reconstruction Era in America was extremely restrained. African Americans gained basic rights as humans, but given the bare

The Reconstruction Period was a period of great disaster for the United States. Although the goal of the Reconstruction Period was to give African Americans rights, the only thing given to the freedmen was the lack of rights. From violence without consequence towards African Americans and segregation that was so split that it couldn’t be left unnoticed. Even Congress was corrupt enough to think that segregation was a perfectly legal practice. The events of Reconstruction ended up doing more harm than good towards freedmen since they were treated as an afterthought.

There is a subject matter that is at crossroads right now. We know that Reconstruction means to rebuilt, re-gain and to improve. The Reconstruction era was in the time period of 1863-1877. To re-built from something, one has to be destroyed in some sense. That “destruction” was the Civil War of 1861 to 1865. Through these four long years, there was huge separation and debate on slaveholding. The North fought for the belief and want to free slaves while the south didn’t. In 1860 President Lincoln was elected, Abraham Lincoln believed and wanted the best for our great country. In 1862 he issued his preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, in which declared that all slaves in states in rebellion against the Union "shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.". This meant slaves in states in rebellion and authorizes the enlistment of black troops. President Lincoln's proposed plan for reconstructing the Union was to

The original purpose of Reconstruction was to restore the buildings and the economy of the south the best they could, but without the immoral element of slavery. But, reconstruction under the Johnson Presidency was a failure for a few reasons: 1) Convict Leasing, 2) Sharecropping, 3) the Ku Klux Klan, 4) Segregation in schools, even in the North, 5) Carpetbaggers/Scalawags, 6) misleading statistics, and 7) racism.

After the Civil War in America, a period of rebuilding in the South was in order. This period of rebuilding in the South is controversial even today. Reconstruction is and was controversial because there were some positive actions and ideas created in Reconstruction as well as some negative actions and ideas. The positive actions include Congress deciding to be more strict and firm with the South allowing for advancements towards equality. However, racism was definitely still alive at the time, and there were plenty of racist groups and events that took place. These unfortunate action tried to limit the rights of African Americans and other minorities. However, when the United States rose from the ashes of Reconstruction, African

Reconstruction was a period where African American were supposed to experience the rights of freedom, justice, equality, and even democracy. This is when Congress had passed three Amendments that would give Black a chance to live in a society with equality. The three Amendments were the Thirteenth, the Fourteenth, and the Fifteenth Amendments. The Thirteenth Amendment freed Black people, the Fourteenth Amendment allow Blacks to be citizens, and the Fifteenth Amendment gave Blacks the right to vote.

I am writing to inform you on the viewpoint of a Freed African American on the Reconstruction. In the beginning of the reconstruction, I was very happy, because my family and I were finally free. My family, I, and our ancestors have never known what it was like to be free, since we had never been. The reconstruction of the U.S. was supposed to bring our country together, but that wasn’t the case. Many things did change, but some also stayed the same.

The Reconstruction Period I think is a problem for the African Americans back then. They were treated unfairly during this period, when it was to being them a new started and hope of change. Don’t get me wrong there were some people who were for them to e happy, but not many. So, let start at the being; where it all happened. In January of 1865, Union General William T. Sherman issued a special field order Number 15, which temporary granted each freed family 40 acres of land off the region of Georgia in the islands and coastal area. Also the Union Army donated mules to them after the war was over. In the summer of 1865 when President Andrew Johnson was in office, his first act of Reconstruction was to give back all the federal control land back to its previous owner. When the land was giving back to the owners, freed men and women could sign a labor contracts with the planters or they could leave the land they occupied this was called Freedman’s Bureau. Soon after when the land was giving back, the former Confederate state stated “Black Codes”. Black Codes would deny African Americans to legal have equality and political rights. Also it would require then to sign yearly labor contracts with the planters. When this happen, Congress made the Reconstruction Act in the 1867, when the 14th (June 13, 1866) and the 15th (February 26, 1869, ratified on February 3, 1870) Amendments. These two amendments granted African Americans the right to vote, and equality before the law and

Southern politicians stated that they made the move from racism, saying that they now endorsed African American Rights while attacking the Republican regime in the South instead. Many African-Americans living in the South were denied by Southern politicians and courts the right to be heard in courts or serve on juries. One example of this was seen in Alabama when Caucasian Southerners beat an African American woman and was forced to raise money to have her case heard in court. Once doing so, the offenders were released with no impending charges, and the woman was forced by the courts to drop her case or thrown into jail. (Page 182) Many politicians created poll taxes, which disenfranchised the African American voters clearing the Republican vote. One such example is seen in Delaware where political officials stated that they were not bound to the amendments passed during Reconstruction created poll taxes, which eliminated African American voters. (Page 183) Many economic leaders

History helps shape the future and what we can learn from it to make sure that we do not repeat the same mistakes. During Reconstruction, the country was trying to make amends after the war was over. The country needed to find a way to mend a broken nation because it was divided. The main issue during reconstruction was the status of African Americans because they wanted their civil rights, but could not get that. The question that needs to be answered is: who did the most to aid the cause of African American during Reconstruction, and why? Many organizations and people helped African Americans, but the Freedman’s Bureau did the most.

In spite of the work of the Bureau and sharecropping, freed people still lacked what they wanted most; economic sovereignty. Democrats, Republicans, and African-Americans during the Reconstruction Era had three different perspectives of freedom, and what efforts needed to be made to make everyone in the country unite. Everyone got what he or she wanted in the end except for African-Americans. Democrats were given the industry of sharecropping, Republicans “helped” the freed people, but African- Americans were still inferior and treated as slaves. Freedmen were able to work and become citizens, but where they truly free once slavery ended.