Essay On Reconstruction Period

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Be prepared to discuss aspects of life, work, and culture in the United States during the end of the Civil War. You should also be able to discuss the early Reconstruction period. Be ready to discuss and provide your interpretation of what went wrong with Reconstruction and what is the historical significance of that failure. The Reconstruction period (1865-1877), was a trialing era following the Civil War. The period was an effort to reintegrate the Confederate Southern states back into the Union, and to reestablish government boundaries within the United States. It was also an attempt to integrate 4 million newly-freed African American citizens into cultural life in the United States. Life, work, and culture in the United States took a …show more content…

He had plans to reunify the North and the South. Lincoln’s speech ‘The Ten-Percent Plan’ identifies his ideas about the Reconstruction period. Lincoln believed that the South never legally seceded from the United States, so his plan was based on forgiveness. During his speech, he claimed that if Southern states could get 10% of their voters to swear an Oath of Allegiance to the Union, they could be admitted back into the Union. He also claimed that the Southern states would have to abide by the new laws regarding the newly-freed citizens. If the South abided by the rules outlined within the speech and laws put in place by the government, all southerners (except high-ranking Confederate officers and government officials) would be granted a full …show more content…

The economy and labor division in the South – and in parts of the North – crumbled during the beginning of the Reconstruction Period. Even though it was wrong, slavery was how a lot of the physical labor was accomplished and how goods were created and distributed throughout the country. Since slavery was abolished, there was a chaotic matter of how to keep their economy afloat with a lack of people to accomplish the work. Small farmers were thrown into poverty because of the war and had to instead get in business with the cotton industry. Eventually, new systems of labor were established throughout the country, however, it didn’t help the United States economy at the