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Reconstruction Political Spectrum Essay

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Reconstruction Political Spectrum The people on the left side of the spectrum are people like Liberals and Revolutionaries, depending on how far left you go. They favor change. During Reconstruction groups like the Radical Republicans, White Unionists, and Black Freedmen were on the left side of the spectrum. After pushing for an end to slavery these groups wanted to continue in the progress made from the civil war. Radical Republicans wanted the Freedmen to have full rights. Radical Republicans in congress wanted a harsh plan for Reconstruction. Unionists wanted Black Freedmen to have the right to vote so they could have their vote for elections. Black Freedmen were also on the left because they wanted more rights now that they have …show more content…

They don’t favor change and want things to stay the way they are. During Reconstruction groups on this side of the spectrum include plantation owners,the KKK, and some ex-Confederates. Plantation owners made a great deal of money off having slaves, so they were not happy about the outcome of the Civil War and didn’t want the Freedmen to gain any more right. Although later some Plantation Owners move more towards the middle of the spectrum as they discover sharecropping is as almost as effective as slavery. The KKK were very far to the right on the spectrum. The KKK used violence against Black Freedmen and others who opposed them to show dominance over them. The KKK used violence the stop Black Freedmen from voting so the Democrats could win more elections. After the Civil War the South elected ex-Confederate leaders to office. They denied freedmen the right to vote and passed “Black Codes” to restrict freedmen. People like Andrew Jackson and Nathan Bedford Forrest were also to the right of the spectrum. Although Andrew Jackson supported getting rid of slavery he desired no racial equality. Jackson didn’t support things like the Freedman’s Bureau, which helped newly freed slaves. Nathan Bedford Forrest was a leader of the KKK and helped execute black prisoners of war, and used violence to stop Black freedmen from …show more content…

The Freedman’s Bureau was America’s first ever major relief program. It was responsible for the general welfare of the newly freed slaves. It provided food, housing, medical aid, and established schools. The people on the left fought for slaves to be free, so they wanted the newly freed people to be taken care of. People on the right of the spectrum, like Southern Conservatives, despised it. They didn’t wanted to give the Freedmen any help. The Freedman’s Bureau was poorly funded and then abolished because of the opposition from the people on the

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