The Reconstruction Era was a developmental time in the advancement of the American Nation. While the founding fathers original institution for the country was ahead in its time, it was flawed and began to show in the Reconstruction period. Before the Civil War had began a group of Radical Republicans formed another political party who were intent on fighting for the political, social and basic human rights of African Americans. They stood against the socially controversially gains of the capitalist society that was devoted to glorifying those based on the whiteness of their skin. After the Civil War ended the United States had to reintegrate a formally slave population back into the country which proved to be excessively difficult. The Radical Republicans took it upon themselves to push and pry at every political door in order to secure these inevitable rights for the blacks. When the Founding Fathers began piecing together this nation their opinions on certain socially controversial subjects were overall extremely flawed. As time went on their opinions on these controversial aspects of their culture, that were currently acceptable, began to change and evolve. But the Founding Fathers had done little in the beginning to enable change further on as their government …show more content…
The first thing to accomplish was passing the Civil Rights Bill of 1866 which stated that people born in the United States of America were considered citizens and then established nationwide equality regardless of race. Andrew Johnson very quickly vetoed the law and claimed that in trying secure the rights of African Americans that white men were being discriminated against; this enraged the Republicans. Then Congress did something it had not done ever in the history of America; they overrode the presidential veto with a two-thirds majority
They weren’t taking no for an answer. In March 1867, congress overturned Johnson’s state government and initiated military rule in the south. The military reconstruction act basically forced the southern states to begin to accept that black people had equal rights as they did. Apart of the act was getting blacks the right to vote. Once this happened republicans believed that the voting power of ex-slaves would bring up a revolution in the south, which is a part of the constitutional
Reconstruction is known as the period following the Civil War of rebuilding the United States. Every political question was a debate and they were many questions and statements and speeches. In the Reconstruction era the United States began to rebuild the South after the Civil War which lasted from 1865-1877. The federal government put forward many plans to readmit the defeated Confederate states to the Union. The Reconstruction Era left many legacies such as the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments
A few days after the civil War ended, President Lincoln was assassinated and never had the chance to implement his Reconstruction plan. The Reconstruction Era occurred in the period of 1865 to 1877 under the reign of President Andrew Johnson who was the predecessor of President Lincoln. Congress was not scheduled to convene until December 1865, which gave Johnson eight months to pursue his own Reconstruction policies. Under his Reconstruction policies, the former Confederate states were required to join back into the Union and heal the wounds of the nation.
In contrast of that, radicals republicans also grew in power and they tried to overcome the president Johnson decision, which resulted in passing two bills. One of them was the Civil Rights Bill, which gave Freedman the status of citizenship. The new Amendments that were passed and became a part of the US Constitution gave many people hope for a brighter future. After when the 13th Amendment was passed which ended slavery, the 14th Amendment which guaranteed that all the American citizens regardless of the race, color have a protection of the American Government was also passed. Following, the 15th Amendment that was passed gave the people right to vote.
America has gone through their fair share of political changes, but the reconstruction era was one of the more difficult of these changes. The Civil War was over and the U.S. had to somehow reintegrate the country and inforce new laws, while figuring out how to deal with the four million newly freed slaves. The reconstruction era was the time when the United States was trying to put itself back together as a stronger more united nation. While eventually many politicians gave up and moved on to other problems, the era did see many achievements as well as
The Civil War and the period of Reconstruction engendered significant political, social, and economic changes in American society, with many effects of these changes continuing to influence the United States in the twentieth century. Following the end of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln and Congress were determined to rebuild and reunify the nation. Lincoln wanted to restore the United States by readmitting the southern states into the Union, as well as provide newly-freed African Americans with more rights and opportunities. The Reconstruction period aimed to improve life for all individuals, with an emphasis on African Americans. However, it had an opposite effect and adversely impacted the lives of many.
Reconstruction, one of the most controversial eras in the history of the United States, focused on rebuilding and reuniting the United States after the Civil War; a war that decided the fate of slavery. One key part in doing so was to free the slaves and make their lives better. After rejecting the Reconstruction plan of President Andrew Johnson, the Republican Congress enacted laws and Constitutional Amendments that empowered the federal government to enforce the principle of equal rights. They also gave black Southerners the right to vote and hold office. However, groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and state laws in the South confronted Reconstruction.
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
Sources Analysis Freedom During the Reconstruction era, the idea of freedom could have many different meanings. Everyday factors that we don't often think about today such as the color of our skin, where we were born, and whether or not we own land determined what limitations were placed on the ability to live our life to the fullest. To dig deeper into what freedom meant for different individuals during this time period, I analyzed three primary sources written by those who experienced this first hand. These included “Excerpts from The Black Codes of Mississippi” (1865), “Jourdan Anderson to his old master” (1865), and “Testimony on the Ku Klux Klan in Congressional Hearing” (1872).
24 November 2015 The Real Death of Reconstruction There is no easy way to decide who can be held accountable for the end of the Reconstruction Era. Attempts to rebuild the South ceased to exist in 1877, just over ten years after the Confederacy surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant in Appomattox Court House, Virginia. It seemed as though everything was on the right track in 1876, the one hundred year anniversary of The United States. That was, however, until the South waged conflict against black and white citizens of The United States.
But, when these officials were elected to Congress, they passed the “black codes” and thus the relations between the president and legislators became worst (Schriefer, Sivell and Arch R1). These so called “Black Codes” were “a series of laws to deprive blacks of their constitutional rights” that they were enacted mainly by Deep South legislatures. Black Codes differ from a state to another but they were stricter in the Deep South as they were sometimes irrationally austere. (Hazen 30) Furthermore, with the emergence of organizations such as the Red Shirts and the White League with the rise of the Conservative White Democrats’ power, efforts to prevent Black Americans from voting were escalating (Watts 247), even if the Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S constitution that gave the Blacks the right to vote had been ratified in 1870.
The Reconstruction Era occurred in 1865, it was was a period after the Civil War in which America was focused on rebuilding the broken South. In 1867, the Radical reconstruction gave former slaves a voice in government. During this era, formers slaves gained a platform in the government, with some blacks as Congressmen. However, not everyone supported the idea of Reconstruction. Less than a decade after the Reconstruction period, a small group composed of democratic ex-confederate veterans, white farmers and white southerners sympathetic to white supremacy joined forces together to form the Ku Klux Klan.
Reconstruction is the time period after the Civil War, where the country attempted to improve the Union. There were many successes, but what also comes along with success is failure. During the reconstruction many failures were present; such as the lack of racial equality and blatant racism towards blacks, a failing economy in the South, and tense relations between the North and the South. This created a very intense and challenging period of time for the Union.
The Reconstruction period lasted from 1865 to 1877. The thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth amendment were created during the twelve years of rebuilding the country. All of the amendments were made to protect former slaves and their rights but on paper they did not have any rights. The reconstruction period had its successes and failures.
Racism’s Impact on Reconstruction While the issue of slavery evidently contributed to the divide that resulted in the American Civil War, it is debated whether prevailing ideals of racism caused the failure of the era following the war known as Reconstruction. With the abolishment of slavery, many of the southern states had to reassemble the social, economic, and political systems instilled in their societies. The Reconstruction Era was originally led by a radical republican government that pushed to raise taxes, establish coalition governments, and deprive former confederates of superiority they might have once held. However, during this time common views were obtained that the South could recover independently and that African Americans