Why Is Reconstruction Important

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

Reconstruction is the period of rebuilding the south that succeeded the Civil War (1861-1865). This period of time is set by the question now what? The Union won the war and most of the south was destroyed. Devastation, buildings turned into crumbles and lost crops. The South was drowning in poverty. To worsen the situation there were thousands of ex-slaves that were set free by the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13 Amendment. "All these ex-slaves", Dr. Susan Walens commented, "and no place to put them," The ex-slaves weren't just homeless but they had no rights, unlike white man. The government and congress had to solve the issues present in the south and the whole nation

Despite the black codes had provided rights such as the marriage legalization and the ownership of property, they violated the free labor principle and denied the African-Americans the right to vote, and sue any white man. Foner (2014) found “In response to planter’s demands that freed people be required to work on the plantations, the Black Codes declared that those who failed to sign yearly labor contracts could be arrested and hired out to white landowners” (p. 570) . In fact, it was a totally failure of what freedom was supposed to be.

Reconstruction was a period of time after the Civil War (1865-1877) that was supposed to be the rebuilding of America. It was also the process used to readmit all the Confederate states back into the Union. There was controversy, however, on how to go about rebuilding the nation. Abraham Lincoln proposed a lenient plan. After he was assassinated, Andrew Johnson proposed a very similar plan. The Radical Republicans, a group of legislators that were in favor of freedmen’s rights, were opposed to both plans under “Presidential Reconstruction”. They initiated “Congressional Reconstruction”. Because of the conflicting views, there was little cooperation between the Executive and Legislative branches. This lead to many unsuccessful

After the Civil War, the United States had many problems to solve. The country had to figure out how to integrate newly freed slaves into society and bring the former Confederate states back into the Union. Reconstruction was period of time after the civil war in which the United States addressed these problems. Reconstruction had two different phases: Presidential Reconstruction took place from 1865 to 1867, and Congressional Reconstruction took place from 1867 to 1877. Presidential Reconstruction began with Abraham Lincoln, who proposed the Proclamation of Amnesty and the ten percent oath plan. Lincoln was focused on leniency and forgiveness; under his plan southerners would take an oath of loyalty to the Union, and after only ten percent of a state’s voters had taken this oath, the state could be readmitted. After Lincoln’s assassination, Andrew Johnson took over Reconstruction. Johnson wanted to punish landowners, but liberally handed out pardons, as he greatly enjoyed the power that he had over southerners. Under Johnson, former confederates were re-elected, and southern states discriminated blacks. Eventually, Congress took over Reconstruction. During Congressional Reconstruction, the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments were passed, and the freedman’s bureau was created. Overall, the failures of Reconstruction outweighed the failures because it took a very long time for it to achieve its goals, and the South was still able to

Today, people are still facing issues with the United States government on their freedoms. Many people view that they may not have all of the rights that the person next to them have because of their skin color, religious beliefs, and family heritage. It has been almost non-stop fighting against the government to establish the equal rights of all humans in the United States. There are still so many questions that have not been answered since the Reconstruction era. The United States government is still working on these issues attempting to help as many people as they can.

Radical Reconstruction was radical due to the North taking advantage of their power and making an attempt in completely changing the South. One act congress established in order to change the South was the Reconstruction Acts of 1867-68. This act enforced military government and rule within the South excluding Tennessee. This demanded universal manhood suffrage. There were 10 abiding states and these states were separated into 5 military districts. About 20,000 military troops forced the

The Reconstruction of the United States was an experiment in interracial democracy. The Civil War victory by the North brought to a close the establishment of slavery but, in turn, opened Pandora's box. The questions and answers pertaining to economical, political, and social equality for freedmen had yet to be addressed on a practical level. The Southern states, still bitter from defeat and economic stresses, strongly rejected the societal transformations thrust upon them. The Northern states' focal point remained on the necessary political powers by which to enact constitutional amendments, therefore empowering the federal government with the capabilities to enforce the principles of equal rights. On paper, slavery was abolished, but in reality, African-Americans were once again enslaved on a ship without the security or knowledge of what the next port held for them. The Civil War had not truly ended. It was still active under the guise of Reconstruction, but now coats and flags of many colors existed, and battles were merely fought on alternate battlefields. A war of ideas lacking in substantial practicality resulted in repetitious battles being won and loss. The motivating forces that set Reconstruction into motion were for the most part the North's quest for unification among states', and the emancipation of slaves. However, the primary objective of Reconstruction was to grant political, economical, and social opportunities for the freedmen. The

The reconstruction era ended, with the compromise of 1877 where republican candidate Rutherford B. Hayes, needed southern electoral college votes .in doing so, he abandoned reconstruction and allowed white supremacists to seize control of the democratic party, thus allowing a new ‘dark age’ for African Americans in the South.

Grant won election in 1868, and Congress became free to follow its Radical Reconstruction policies. It successfully proposed the Fourteenth and the Fifteenth Amendments. However, a major depression occurred in 1873. In addition, public attention was diverted by the graft and corruption in President Grant's cabinet. Corruption in the Grant administration weakened the political strength of the Republican Party. In addition, by the early 1870s, all but a handful former Confederates could vote again. Most of these white southern males now voted Democratic in reaction to Radical Republican Reconstruction. For most of the next century, the Democratic party would dominate voting in the South, giving rise to the term solid South. The emergence of the solid South gave the Democrats greater power in politics at the national level. In 1876, Democrats nominated Tilden, the governor of New York, to run for President against

Black codes is what the North believed to be just like slavery. They were laws put in place that limited the rights of african americans who once lived in the South. It had all occurred after the 13th amendment was established, outlawing slavery in the U.S.. Now that slavery was gone, black codes tried to make it seem as if african americans would only be used for labor. Some codes even required them to sign a year long labor contract. If they decided to refuse, the would be arrested and have to do unpaid work. It allowed plantation owners to exploit their slaves, and restricted them from ever renting land.

Black Codes were created to manage the affairs of the emancipated blacks. The Black Codes targeted to ensure a stable labor force. But it refused for blacks to serve on jury and not letting them to rent or lease land.

The 14th Amendment became law in June of 1866. This new law declared any person born in the Unites States a citizen, with rights undeniable by any state. It is this type of action Douglass desired in Congress and discusses in his article as only the beginning to the

The reconstruction of America would decide how the south would rejoin the Union, what was to become of the nearly 3 million black slaves freed, how America was going to recover from such a devastating internal war. There appears to be phases that the Reconstruction Era went through, roughly three of them. The first is that of the Presidential Reconstruction, it lead to a more radical Republican party. After such we find ourselves in what was to be known as the Radical Reconstruction. A period where the blacks found their voices being heard. Finally we lead up to the end of the Reconstruction-era. It is said that the reconstruction lasted from 1865 to 1877, however it can be said that, to this very day, some reconstruction is still ongoing.

To regulate the relationship between the owner and the slave, and to institutionalize slavery, the Slave Codes were established. These codes were laws in colonies which defined the rights of the masters and slaves, along with the legal sanctions over the black population; they generally placed harsh restrictions on a slave’s freedom and gave the owner absolute power over him/her.