The Capacity of Reconstruction Does a country ever feel guilty? To what extent will powerful individuals come together to quell their guilty conscience and their hypocrisy, or will they atone by superficial means? A country divided, the Republican president Abraham Lincoln sought to unify the United States that had become the Union States and the Confederate States. One-half of the country set on unifying the split country, abolition, and more industrial practices. The other half of the country was set on sticking to slavery and the economical gains it brought the white slave owners through agricultural income. Through the midst of the civil war, as it approaches its end with the Union States obtaining several victories, Lincoln has hope …show more content…
After the ratification of The 13th Amendment [Document A] in December 1865, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States..” Southern states put forth what was called Black Codes, which were deliberately meant to demean and beat down Black Americans. An example of a Black Code is [Document C] “It shall not be lawful for any freedman… to intermarry with any white person… and any person shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and… confined in the State penitentiary for life…” where it is considered a crime deserving of confinement for life when a Black person to marry a White person, classified as a felony. This is only one example of many other Black Codes that were made to press Black people in retaliation to the 13th …show more content…
They were able to pass laws that protected Black Americans and let them have representation in the government at many different governmental levels. This was only effective during the reconstruction, but after that period, the amount of representation decreased a large amount until the 1960s and further, during the Civil Rights Movement. During the year 1870 when Reconstruction ended, there were around 15 African Americans elected to the U.S. Congress. This number only decreases till the 1910s when the amount of African Americans elected to Congress is 0. The Reconstruction had only been effective when radical Republicans of that time had the power to control the South with the military. After Reconstruction, the changes that were made were reverted, which isn’t really a
In the article “The New View of Reconstruction,” Eric Foner writes about the difficult time that the United States go through the Reconstruction era. Also, discusses the different point of view or interpretation that Reconstruction era had over the years. The author Eric Foner describes the Reconstruction era as a difficult time after the Civil War. The Reconstruction was from the beginning and before 1960 as a time of exceptional debasement and control of the freedman.
By 1877 the congressional reconstruction plan set in motion by radical republicans ended by the compromise of 1877 in the United States of America. The congressional reconstruction plan had aimed to better the lives of freedmen in the United States of America, and essentially equal to their white counterparts, I think it was unsuccessful attempt, because of how the lives of the slaves turned out to be and how it allowed for the creation of the Black codes. The reconstruction plan had aimed to abolish slavery, Freedman's bureau to raise living standards and lastly provide voting rights. Before the 13th amendment there was no law that stated that African Americans were free, they were called freedman, and the lives of the slaves weren't dogmatic.
During the Civil War, President Lincoln and his associates began to plan the Reconstruction of the Union. Problems Lincoln faced were how to reintegrate the conquered southern states back into the Union and what was to be done with the Confederate leaders and the freed slaves. After General Lee surrendered, Lincoln was asked by one of his Generals how the defeated Confederates should be treated, and Lincoln replied, “Let em up easy.” (Thomas, 2008) In keeping with that theme, Lincoln led the moderates regarding Reconstruction policy.
After the civil war both Lincoln and the South had differing ideas for reconstruction. Although the North had won the war, tensions were still high between the two sides of the country. Lincoln wanted no persecutions, no bloody work, and to let prisoners of war go; he had no interest in continuing the killing that the civil war had brought upon the nation. Lincoln also wanted them to draft a new constitution, he did not want to punish the south, he wanted to amalgamate them with the union as fast as possible. Radical republicans however did not want to the country to reunify, they also did not agree with Lincoln’s peaceful solution to end slavery.
Lincoln expressed that if his plans were not working or benefiting his campaign to unify the states then he would “do less” Lincoln was willing to modify his strategy of reaching his main goal because the reunion of the southern and the northern states was an imperative aspect of building a strong country and remaining a global superpower. This paramount shift in goals and his display of potential revision were direct demonstrations of how Lincoln’s goals were not completely fixed from the start of the
Congress was responsible for rebuilding the nation by reuniting the former Confederate states and dealing with a solution for the more than four million freed slaves. During Reconstruction, the Radical Republican Congress passed a series of Constitutional amendments that were implemented
Slavery had been abolished in the former Confederacy by the Emancipation Proclamation, delivered by Lincoln in 1863. The ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment two years later emphasized the legitimacy of emancipation. Although many white southerners believed freedom meant the ability to control their destiny without interference from the North, the formality of the Thirteenth Amendment displayed great advances for freedom by proclaiming an entire race free from centuries of manipulation. In the immediate aftermath of the amendment’s ratification, nothing changed and the lives of many were not affected. Former slaves did not know where to go or what to do, and some plantation owners even refused to inform their slaves of what had happened.
Madison Sinkhorn Mr. Critelli APUSH 6 January 2023 Reconstruction DBQ After enduring the Civil War from 1861-1865, America was faced with the repercussions of the chaos that lead to the division of their nation. Following the secession of many states from the Union, government authorities were left to pick up the pieces by readmitting former Confederate states. Redressing the injustices of slavery remained a prominent issue, on top of the firm enforcement of proper federal government legislation to recover order throughout America. Reconstruction changed the United States society in the period from 1865 to 1900 politically and socially, significantly, due to the long-awaited integration of freed African Americans into society and the government
They also helped improve the education system and fostered industrial growth in rebuilt southern cities (SparkNotes). The Radical Republicans, knowing that the blacks would face severe racism, passed a set of laws and amendments that protected blacks’ rights under constitutional
After Lincoln’s election as America’s next president, Southern states feared the abolition of slavery despite Lincoln’s promise to only prevent the expansion of slavery. Following this fear, many Southern states seceded from the Union and created the Confederate States of America. Not surprisingly, Lincoln refused to give up the Union’s land to its traitors and enemies. Eventually, this disagreement sparked war between the two territories and countless battles followed. After hundreds of thousands of lives lost and millions of acres of land destroyed, the Union came out victorious, proved its ability to preserve itself, and freed all black people.
Spencer Fox Aspen Smith History 8-2 June 2, 2023 Reconstruction: Positives and Negatives Before I begin, it’s best I explain what reconstruction is. Reconstruction, in this context, is the process of rebuilding a country, that country is America after the Civil War. Reconstruction caused many things that may have been either positive or negative, depending on how you view certain topics.
The reconstruction period was a failure because African Americans, mainly males, were not treated with equality although the constitution said that the they were free and had the right to vote, be educated and had the right to liberty, life and the pursuit to happiness. Organizations, like the KKK, were created to harm freed slaves and their families. Laws were created such as the Black Codes restricting former slaves from their rights. African Americans endured a lot of violence over the years. “In Grayson, Texas, a white man and two friends murdered three former slaves because the wanted to ‘ thin the niggers out and drive them to their hole’”.
When Abraham Lincoln was sworn in for his second term as president in 1865, he didn’t bore his audience with a long and frivolous inaugural address. Instead, he used his speech to reunify the divided country. Our 16th president’s tone, use of repetition, allusion and syntax convinced both the north and south that they shared commonalities, because of their devotion to God and their common opinions on the prolonged Civil War. The purpose of Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address was not to rally the north to win the Civil War, or to prove to the people that he was a worthy president, but to consolidate our broken nation at the tail end of a continuous and bloody conflict.
“A house divided against itself cannot stand,” said Abraham Lincoln, as the first president in the Republican Party and supporter of the admission of states as free, he understood that the conflict had escalated to a degree that marked a seemingly separation within the country. The south wanted out, it wanted slave states and the rights to maintain the slaves that made such a significant contribution to their agricultural economy, the north had begun industrializing and slaves were not a key factor in their economic gain. Such dissimilar personal interests made the two regions feud and develop a separation that grew all a result of the expansion. With the threat of the succession of the south, the civil war became long and costly. Not only was the survival of the U.S as one nation at risk, but the ideas of liberty, equality, and justice all depended on the outcome of the
Usually thought of as a positive and motivational era, the Reconstruction period had both advantages and disadvantages. Reconstruction was an accomplishment in that it re-established the United States as a unified country. Though this separation did not last many years, the Reconstruction resulted in the nation coming together and restored what we know as the United States. Reconstruction also finally settled the states’ rights vs. federalism debate that had been an issue since the 1790s. By 1877, all of the former Confederate states had drafted new constitutions, acknowledged the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, and pledged their loyalty to the U.S. government.