Eric Foner is correct when he describes Reconstruction as “America’s unfinished Revolution”. In the early days of Reconstruction, the main purpose was to rebuild the South, but it soon became much bigger than that. Reconstruction made way to several changes in America. Reconstruction in America is an “unfinished revolution” because during the time period of 1865 and 1877, major changes were taking place due to the Civil War and the readmission of the South to the Union. Within the time frame of Reconstruction, America was and can still be considered to have been moving in the right direction, towards equality and civil rights, while also making social and economical changes throughout the country. But due to several obstacles in the south, …show more content…
When considering a revolution, thoughts of an uprising or rebellion may come to mind. Those three words: revolution, uprising, and rebellion all describe the Reconstruction period; a time of a new favor of government or system. The federal government, during Reconstruction, became more interested in both the rights of the citizens and its control over the states. These two interests of the federal government can be seen in the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. The 13th amendment deals with the abolition of slavery. The 14th amendment regards citizenship. The 15th amendment states that the government can not prohibit the right to vote based on “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” Not only did Reconstruction bring about the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments, but when looking back at history it is very visible to see the impact Reconstruction made. Reconstruction provided that first glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel for African Americans, and several other social minorities to come, and their equality and civil …show more content…
Throughout the years of Reconstruction the South was constantly making it difficult to move forward. America seemed to have been going around and around in circle rather than moving forward with progress. No matter what the government implemented the South always put up a fight. For instance, in 1865 when the 13th amendment was passed by Congress the South quickly passed and enforced the Black Codes. These laws, Black Codes, prohibited African Americans from owning property, voting, crossing state lines, and from remaining unemployed. Another example of how the country was going in circles with the abolition of slavery was sharecropping. The idea that African Americans and poor whites could work on a plantation, just like when they were slaves, but instead this time they were not considered property. Sharecropping was based of the logic of “free labor”, which included employment contracts and “shared” agricultural profits. In reality sharecropping is considered as a crop-lien system, an economic death-spiral, a system of credit and debt. Sharecropping’s __process?____ African Americans have no money causing them to have to rent tools to work on the plantation, rent housing, while also securing food. By the time the african american workers are paid, they use all of their money to pay for their rent; forcing them to take out another loan. Thus the conclusion can be drawn that sharecropping is a
INTRO: Reconstruction; the most conflicting era in the United States history. Coming directly after the Civil War from 1865 thorough 1877, Reconstruction played a major part in the Land of the Free’s backstory. Throughout Reconstruction many things occurred within the North and South due to chaos within the government system, neighborhoods, and social classes. The creator of Reconstruction and the 16th president, Abraham Lincoln created the idea of Reconstruction in the South while the Civil War was going on.
Reconstruction Reconstruction was the time after the Civil War. During the Reconstruction era, our country faced many different challenges. There were multiple failures of Reconstruction, but there were also many successes. It was also a time with many differences and divisions. Many changes happened during the period of Reconstruction.
In the South there were numerous amounts of political issues. The 13th amendment states that slavery and involuntary servitude should not be prohibited unless someone is under the authorization of the law (Document A) The 13th amendment was passed before the South was reestablished. The 14th amendment states that anyone born in the United States will
While we would like to believe that Reconstruction was the 2nd American Revolution, the facts, however do not completely just do not support this idea entirely. The “Reconstruction” era which was very important, was the time in which the United States sought to rebuild itself after the civil war. The government was hoping for a total over-hall of the social, political and economic structures of the Southern region but this change needed to extend beyond just the south into the entire country and the Federal Government. What happened however, was a series of “reconstruction” efforts, none of which fully addressed the real issues facing the newly freed blacks and poor whites. It seemed everyone had an idea on how we should reconstruct the
Introduction In 1865, when Reconstruction was going on in Southern of the United States, it was the command topic being spoken. Reconstruction purpose was to restore the South in back to the union. Also to rebuild the southern government, society and political right. The main concern was if the reconstruction was a success or just a waste of time.
Maceo Cardinale Kwik Reconstruction Reconstruction was the twelve years after the civil war. Those twelve years were full of readjustment fixing the ruin the United States had fallen into. The problems that had the United states in disarray were how to, rebuild the South, reunite the states, and ensure the rights and protection of the newly freed African Americans. The civil war left the South in shambles, and newly freed slaves struggled to adjust to their new freedom. Most Southerners hated reconstruction and everything else about the North.
After the Civil War, all African Amaericans were set free. The act of reconstruction gave them the 13, 14, and 15 amendments which gifted blacks their own rights. The acts of reconstruction also gave them the power to own their own items and to become U.S. citizens. This was important because it gave African Americans the opportunities to start a new life in
After the Civil War that lasted from 1865 to 1877, the nation needed a plan to reform many issues. These included helping former slaves, bringing Confederate states back to the Union, and many others. This period where the United States began to rebuild after the Civil War is known as the Reconstruction. This was also the name for the process of the federal government readmitting Confederate states to the Union. The Reconstruction was both a success and a failure because it unified the United States, but created racism towards black Americans, and caused poverty and corruption in the South.
The era of Reconstruction was an important time for the United States. It had begun towards the end of the Civil War of the United vs the Confederate states, and it addressed the issue of bringing the Union back together after years of severe, bloody war. It lasted through the 1860s and 70s, and there were many different ideas, or “plans,” regarding how the Confederate states should be treated, and what to do with the controversial idea of slavery. There was also a lot of disagreement regarding blacks, specifically, their treatment, citizenship, and rights. There was a full spectrum of opinions, from the idea of white supremacy to the notion of complete equality.
The Reconstruction was important to American history because it gave all different types of people their rights. The fourteenth amendment, The Dawes act and The Homestead Act all have things in common. All of these acts involve something to do with race and or forcing people out of their homes or land. The fourteenth Amendment gave men of color “equal” rights to white men.
A revolution is a large-scale rebellion with the intent to change or get rid of the current political system. The American Revolution was a fight to be free from British rule. People were tired of being controlled. The colonists of America wanted to create their own government where they could get what they left Europe for. While some may argue that the American Revolution did not change life for minorities, the American Revolution changed the political, economic, and social atmosphere and set the stage for future change.
The American civil war led to the reunion of the South and the North. But, its consequences led the Republicans to take the lead of reconstructing what the war had destroyed especially in the South because it contained larger numbers of newly freed slaves. Just after the civil war, America entered into what was called as the reconstruction era. Reconstruction refers to when “the federal government established the terms on which rebellious Southern states would be integrated back into the Union” (Watts 246). As a further matter, it also meant “the process of helping the 4 million freed slaves after the civil war [to] make the transition to freedom” (DeFord and Schwarz 96).
Reconstruction caused prejudice and inequality. To elaborate, the creation of the Ku Klux Klan and the Black Codes were both in the time period of reconstruction, which caused chaos and violence throughout the Union. One of the goals of reconstruction was to repair the economy in the South, because it depended on slavery, which was now illegal, due to the thirteenth amendment. The South’s economic system now depended on Sharecropping, which caused former slaves to be in constant debt and was unjust to the black society. The reconstruction time period, was a time of dispute between the Union.
The thirteenth amendment stated that all former slaves were granted freedom. The reconstruction period, “did create the essential constitutional foundation for further advances in the quest for equality”. It laid the building blocks for the future building for civil rights not just for blacks but women and other minorities. Former slaves, “ found comfort in their family and in the churches they established”. Blacks took community in each other and bonded over the mutual idea of freedom .
Reconstruction a Failure or Success? Throughout the years, America has gone through many different political changes. Many presidents selected with different plans for our future. Sadly, many of those objectives have failed or came to an end.