Essay On The Achievements Of Reconstruction

Reconstruction was a period in American history, spanning from 1865 to 1877, following the Civil war. Its primary aim was to rebuild the South and bring the former Confederate states back into the Union. Additionally, Reconstruction aimed to provide social equality to African Americans who had been enslaved and oppressed for centuries. The goals of Reconstruction were implemented through legislation and constitutional amendments, but they were met with resistance from white Southern Democrats who opposed the changes and sought to maintain white supremacy. One of the primary achievements of Reconstruction was the passage of three constitutional amendments. The 13th amendment abolished slavery, the 14th Amendment granted citizenship and equal

Southern Democrats, also known as “Redeemers,” opposed Reconstruction and sought to undermine the rights of African Americans. They implemented laws such as the black codes, which restricted the freedom and mobility of African Americans and enforced segregation through the use of violence and intimidation. The Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist groups terrorized African Americans and their allies, making it difficult to enforce the new laws and protect the rights of African Americans. Most contemporary white southern claims about blacks' terror, when confronted by the Klan, were in the minstrel tradition. The same few stories (in the most common a ghostly Klansman asked for water and then drank an entire bucketful by pouring it into a receptacle concealed under his gown) circulated throughout the South. The teller had always heard it indirectly and did not name the people involved; the stories were intended to evoke laughter; and they seriously strained plausibility in their claims about both Klansmen's mechanical abilities and blacks' reactions. Some contemporaries vocally doubted that whites honestly believed their claims of black gullibility. Klansmen did not limit their performance to freed people, either; they frequently made their claims of preternatural powers to white victims of their attacks and even to neutral or

Reconstruction came to an end in 1877 when a deal was struck between the Republican and Democratic parties in Congress. The Republicans agreed to withdraw federal troops from the South, effectively ending their protection of African Americans, in exchange for the presidency being awarded to republican candidate Rutherford B. Hayes. This agreement, known as the Compromise of 1877, marked the end of Reconstruction and the beginning of the Jim Crow era, in which African American faced continued discrimination and segregation. After emancipation, the return migration of African North Americans increased dramatically and its character and geography changed considerably. Censuses show thousands of U.S.-born individuals marked