Essay On Reconstruction Dbq

The civil war, starting in 1861, lasted 4 years. Afterwards, reconstruction in the south begun, but 15 years later, 1880, marked the end of reconstruction altogether, leaving both sides effected. Between the years 1860 and 1880, the civil war and its aftermath transformed relationships and progress in America. The Union tried to enforce a positive integration for the African Americans but faced resistance from the South. Abraham Lincoln, who is widely known as an advocator against slavery, was, in the beginning, not strongly one way or another. He said, that, “My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not to save or destroy slavery” (Doc. 10). His opinion later changed when he got a visit from Fredrick Douglas and he because a pro-abolitionist. After the civil war ended, all freed men were supposed to be given 40 acres of land, taken from the chief rebels but things got complicated, and most rebels were forgiven, and given their land back (Doc. 2). African Americans were not the only ones fighting for their equality. Women were struggling for recognitions from the rest of society.

National affairs were majorly effected, especially expansion. Funding and grants for railroads went from around thirty-one million acres of land in 1863 to one hundred twenty-nine thousand in 1870. On the other hand the funding for harbors and rivers went from thirty-four thousand dollars in 1862 to around eight million in 1880 (Doc 6). After the transcontinental railroad was built the desire for railroad expansion lessened immensely. As the Civil war concluded the nation needed to rebuild itself more people were employed to create harbors to connect the nation with foreign countries, and the north, south and west even more. Because the nation needed to be connected once again. This shows how America was transformed by the civil war and its