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Failure Of Reconstruction Essay

450 Words2 Pages

In terms of reconstruction, more specifically the struggle to define the freedom and rights of freed slaves, the efforts were more often a failure than a success. The thirteenth amendment established the abolishment of slavery and indentured servitude, except as payment for a crime. However, the abolishment of slavery did not abolish the discrimination, racism and harassment that they endured. Freed slaves often found themselves working under their former masters in vaguely similar conditions. Yes, they received payment for their labor, but now they had to deal with the added costs of rent, food and other necessities. In this way, they were not much better off. Black codes and Jim Crow laws were, essentially, enforced discrimination in the …show more content…

In this way, they were denied their rights and freedoms as American citizens. Legally, this violated the fourteenth amendment, which granted citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States,” which included the former slaves. The fifteenth amendment granted African American men the right to vote by declaring that the “right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. These were attempts to define and shape the lives of former slaves as new citizens of the nation, insufficient attempts I might add. Racist Americans found loopholes and ways that made the lives of slaves increasingly more difficult despite these new amendments. Some historians argue that their livelihood was actually better off when they were

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Reconstruction failed because freedman became their own group somewhere between slave and full citizen. They no longer had to serve their master for the rest of their life however they had nothing going for them: no land, no investments, no specialized skills, and no education. Freedman could not leave the plantation they grew up on because they had nowhere to go and no way of getting there. Planters could then take advantage of the situation and the freedman would then end up living in the same quarters and not able to make a profit due to the steep prices the planters sold grain and cheap prices they bought from the freedman, leaving freedman always in the debt of their former masters, just as their ancestors had been when they were indentured

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Although, the goal of reconstruction was also to reform southern white society and outlooks socially as well as politically, the major success of reconstruction was in mending relations in race. During the beginning of the reconstruction period in eighteen sixty-five, Abraham Lincoln was president and acted with congress to pass the thirteenth amendment which coincided with the effects of the emancipation proclamation. Passed in eighteen sixty-five, the thirteenth amendment officially and formally abolished slavery. This alone was one of the largest successes in reconstruction. The passing of the thirteenth amendment was the start for equality for African Americans.

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The Civil War, ignited by the dispute over slavery, led to a new era of rebuilding and instituting new beliefs: The Reconstruction Era. In this new Chapter of American history, the nation attempted to abide for their wrongs against African-Americans marking the beginning of their long journey to becoming a full citizen. Through the following amendments freedmen gained full citizenship and voting rights. Though that was the claim they still were discriminated against by citizens and even a few in the government. Though the reconstruction amendments did abolish slavery, they failed to grant freedmen full citizen rights and the ability to vote.

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The Union victory during the Civil War may have given 4 million slaves their freedom but the reconstruction attempts was a flop in the 1860s. The reconstruction was meant to bring the United States back together as one nation but there were faults so ultimately the era of Reconstruction was a failure. The Reconstruction Era in the United States was a failure and included unsuccessful efforts to defend former slaves, thrust freedmen into crippling poverty, and industrialization in the South lasted too long. Reunification of the Union was taken aback when many reconstruction efforts were unsuccessful. Failure to protect former slaves from white persecution and to change the social society in the South did not end well for newly freed slaves.

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Just because people choose to overlook the negative aspects of reconstruction does not mean they did not occur. Freedmen were indeed given land to live on post-Civil War, which followed the premise of reconstruction. However, when the land was stripped from them, the steps on the path of reconstruction ceased. Even though President Andrew Johnson followed a path of reconstruction, he was reconstructing the nation to his own personal liking, not for the betterment of the nation and all its people. Due to the fact that mistreating African Americans was still a normality post-Civil War and during Reconstruction, the KKK, a group founded on racism, came to be.

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When thinking about the civil war, one of the first things that comes to mind is how did everything end up afterwards. Did things go back to normal? How long did it take to rebuild? Was the reconstruction of the south success or failure? 2 years before the Confederacy formally surrendered the Union began reconstruction.

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What were the goals of Reconstruction? Why weren 't all of these goals achieved? Was Reconstruction a failure? Support your answers with details and examples. Reconstruction - the federal government plan to solve the issues formed from the end of the Civil War – can be divided into 2 parts: physically rebuilding the South and reconstructing the Southern Society.

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After the American Civil War, the period of Reconstruction mainly took place in the Southern United States. This period, which spanned from 1865 to 1877, aimed to rebuild the destruction caused by the war and restore unity among the states and the people. As for Radical Republicans, this period also gave them a chance to grant civil rights to the freed African Americans. As a result, a vital goal of this period was for African Americans to gain social, political, and economic rights that had previously been opposed, and have these rights secured. While Reconstruction was a failure in granting African Americans equality, ultimately, Reconstruction was successful in granting African Americans political and economic equality.

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Positive gains from the Reconstruction Era include: Freedmen’s Bureau: food, Medicare, and legal advice granted to newly freed African Americans; 13th, 14th, and 15th amendment which abolished slavery, granted citizenship to everyone born in the U.S, and granting everyone the right to vote. Negative effects from the Reconstruction Era include: the KKK: a group of whites who threatened blacks so they wouldn’t vote, and killed many; Black Codes: laws that limited the freedom from U.S citizens. The effects of the Reconstruction, which linger in our society nowadays, are the three amendments passed by congress, the Civil Rights act of 1866, and black schools and universities were established; most importantly, we are once again a unified

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The nation was built on laws that were created to be equal to all its citizens. However, in America some were not considered citizens which means that equality didn’t apply to slaves. The nation remained divided among its citizens on issues such as slavery which created a war between the North and the South of the United States. In the 1800’s the nation began fighting a Civil War between the Union and Confederate army. After the Civil War the country was in total chaos which needed to be restored to a new country which included the newly freed citizens.

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The American Civil War that was started due to the controversy over slavery in 1861, was won by The Union supported by President Lincoln against the Confederate states. President Lincoln’s original goal during the civil war was to reunify the nation as quickly as possible and help both sides come to an understanding. After the Civil War ended in 1865, the newly formed United States’ reconstruction era began. The Reconstruction era was put into effect by the Congress in 1866 and lasted until 1877. The Union’s victory in the Civil War had given African Americans a new sense of hope, devastated the southern economy, and eased the history of disunity in American political life.

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606 Words | 3 Pages

The Civil War allowed the United States to make the changes necessary to unify the country. In addition, it began one of the most transitional periods in the United States’ history. This period, the Reconstruction, brought about many political, social, and economic changes, which were both beneficial and disagreeable. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, the Panic of 1873, and the formation of the Ku Klux Klan are just a few examples of heavily impacting events for the United States. During the Reconstruction period there were numerous political transformations in the country.

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986 Words | 4 Pages

African Americans were freed from slavery and with a blink of an eye they were sent back. The South were the main cause of the end of Reconstruction. Many of the problems they had caused made the North not want to do it anymore. The North may have just walked away but the South had cause for them to leave. From murdering or threatening people, not stopping the KKK, and being very racist is why the South was more at fault for killing reconstruction.

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393 Words | 2 Pages

Reconstruction era, which was followed by post-civil war, was meant to unite the states back together, reconstruct properties, and most importantly, abolish slavery in the South. Although the factors such as amendments legally freed former slaves, yet WRITE THESIS After the end of civil war in 1865, Reconstruction era, which was controlled by President Abraham Lincoln, appeared to quickly coalesce the Northern and Southern states. reconstruction amendments, which were approved between 1865 and 1870, played a huge role on giving legal rights to blacks and former slaves. 13th amendment constitutionally abolished slavery in 1865 and followed up by that, 14th and 15th amendment admitted equal citizenship, protection, and rights of suffrage despite the one’s race or skin color. Former slaves were no longer belongings of their owners.

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835 Words | 4 Pages

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.

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