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Reconstruction Dbq

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By the end of the Civil War, the South was in a state of political upheaval, social disorder, and economic decay. The Union’s tactics of total war destroyed southern crops, plantations, and entire cities, and hundreds of thousands of emancipated slaves rushed to Union lines as their masters fled the oncoming Union army. Inflation became so severe that by the end of the war a loaf of bread cost several hundred Confederate dollars. Thousands of southerners starved to death, and many who did not starve lost everything they owned: clothing, homes, land, and slaves. As a result, by 1865, policymakers in Washington had the nearly impossible task of southern Reconstruction. This reconstruction would need to encompass every aspect of the South’s dwindindling …show more content…

Reconstruction of the south encompassed three major political initiatives: restoration of the Union, transformation of southern society, and enactment of progressive legislation favoring the rights of freed slaves. President Abraham Lincoln’s Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction—issued in 1863, two years before the war even ended—mapped out the first of these initiatives, his Ten-Percent Plan. Under the plan, each southern state would be readmitted to the Union after 10 percent of its voting population had pledged future loyalty to the United States, and all Confederates except high-ranking government and military officials would be pardoned. After Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, President Andrew Johnson adopted the Ten-Percent Plan and pardoned thousands of Confederate officials. Radical Republicans in Congress, however, called for harsher measures, demanding a …show more content…

The Radicals therefore attempted to reshape the South by enfranchising blacks, putting Unionist and pro-Republican governments in southern legislatures, and punishing southern planter elites, whom many politicians held responsible for the Civil War. As “carpetbaggers” (northerners who moved to the South after the war) and “scalawags” (white Unionists and Republicans in the South) streamed into the South, southerners denounced them as traitors and falsely accused many of corruption. However, through organizations like the congressionally approved Freedmen’s Bureau, the U.S. government did manage to distribute confiscated lands to former slaves and poor whites as well as help improve education and sanitation and foster industrial growth in rebuilt southern

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494 Words | 2 Pages

The North and South, from 1861 to 1865, lost over six hundred thousand men in an armed and gruesome conflict over the issue of slavery. Despite the North winning militarily, the death rates for both sides were relatively equal. Following the South’s surrender at Appomattox, a time of Reconstruction ensued. Southern beliefs and behaviors, along with the Grant Administration’s growing indifference about freedman issues, influenced Reconstruction politics across the country. White Southerners scored a resounding victory in the Reconstruction Period by passing restriction laws against Negroes and intensified the Southern atmosphere beyond its original Pre-Civil War environment.

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306 Words | 2 Pages

At the Civil War’s end current president Abraham Lincoln addressed the broken nation as a beacon of hope and reconciliation. However, after his assassination Andrew Johnson became president; Where Lincoln wanted for a peaceful and brotherly reconciliation Johnson though the south unworthy of the mercy the deceased president had extended to them. In many ways the reconstruction seemed like a total and utter fail- however some splendid outcomes did emerge from this event. “Republicans hoped to reconstruct the south by enabling African Americans to own land and become full citizens” instead this plan failed when Johnson allowed white southerners to keep the land and implemented ‘Share Cropping’ (Borstelmann et al.

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669 Words | 3 Pages

Confederate states rejected Lincoln's offer, however Congress then proposed the Wade-Davis Bill, which Henretta refers to as a tougher substitute to Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan. With Lincoln's assassination, it was time for his vice president, Andrew Johnson, to take over. Henretta seems somewhat critical of Johnson, saying “ [He] was not even a Republican often seemed to view ex-Confederates as his friends, and abolitionists as his enemies” (464). He offered amnesty to southerners who swore allegiance the the United States, except for high ranking Confederates. He also “appointed provisional governors for southern states and had them

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769 Words | 4 Pages

Reconstruction from 1865 to 1877 aimed to reunify, or rather reconstruct, the Union following the Civil War and abolishment of slavery. The goal of Abraham Lincoln, the president who introduced the 10% plan and charted the Freedmen’s Bureau, was to introduce the Confederate States back into the United States, ensure their loyalty, and improve Black people’s conditions. The ratification of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments, as well as the establishment of the Freedmen’s Bureau and other educational reforms, gave way to a rise of radical Republicanism that introduced bold and transformative actions that were unheard of. Although the impact and success were limited to its premature end by the 1877 Compromise, the fundamentals of Reconstruction

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1746 Words | 7 Pages

They introduced various Reconstruction programs including: funding public schools, establishing charitable institutions, job training, and funding public improvements such as improved railroad transportation and shipping. A nationwide economic depression following the Panic of 1873 led to major Democratic gains across the nation. White Democrats calling themselves "Redeemers" regained control of the South state-by-state, often using fraud and violence to control elections.

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1431 Words | 6 Pages

Madison Sinkhorn Mr. Critelli APUSH 6 January 2023 Reconstruction DBQ After enduring the Civil War from 1861-1865, America was faced with the repercussions of the chaos that lead to the division of their nation. Following the secession of many states from the Union, government authorities were left to pick up the pieces by readmitting former Confederate states. Redressing the injustices of slavery remained a prominent issue, on top of the firm enforcement of proper federal government legislation to recover order throughout America. Reconstruction changed the United States society in the period from 1865 to 1900 politically and socially, significantly, due to the long-awaited integration of freed African Americans into society and the government

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1675 Words | 7 Pages

By 1865, the South has been devastated by the war. Cities have burned, farms have been destroyed or left barren, and the railroads have been smashed. In addition, the South’s primary source of cheap labor, slaves, has been lost due to the Emancipation Proclamation (Paskoff). The land teeters on a knife-edge. Unrest flows through the population as poverty and chaos knock at the door.

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491 Words | 2 Pages

The landowners took advantage of their tenants by overcharging for land and underpaying for the crops. The tenants began falling deeper into debt. They could not leave until they paid off their debt, which was nearly impossible. Although former slaves had been freed, they were still facing many struggles in free life. America’s plan for reconstruction had good intent, but did not give African Americans the equality they deserved.

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1902 Words | 8 Pages

His plan was extremely lenient; it was based on the idea that the southern states never really seceded from the Union, and that they should not necessarily be punished: “Lincoln could not negotiate a treaty with the Confederate government; he continued to insist that the Confederate government had no legal right to exist. Yet neither could he simply readmit the Southern states into the Union as if nothing happened” (Brinkley, p 400). Abraham Lincoln did not make the abolition of slavery a goal of the Union war because he feared that he would drive the border slave states, who were still loyal to the Union, into the Confederacy, and anger more Conservative

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933 Words | 4 Pages

After the Civil War, the United States was faced with numerous challenges. The Union had won and had to resolve several issues including handling the country’s debt, how to punish Confederate traitors and slavery. Slavery was one of the leading causes of the war and once it was a abolished the government had to work out a plan to help former slaves and freedmen. The solution was conducted by Radical Republicans; it was called The Southern Homestead Act of 1866 which allowed former slaves and freedmen to purchase land in the South for a low price. Although the Southern Homestead Act (1866) was meant to help blacks in Florida, it failed to do so due to discrimination on the basis of race, lack of government support and the land that was bought was of poor quality.

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1239 Words | 5 Pages

Instead, Congress instituted the less than appreciated Wade Davis Bill of 1864. This bill strictly required majority allegiance from southern states, stripped ex-Confederate militants of all rank and militial power, demanded repayment of debts to the Union, and complete abolition of slavery for any position of authority in the U.S. government. In short, both plans were largely unsuccessful and ignored by the states to which they applied. Congress rejected Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan, and Lincoln pocket vetoed Congress’s

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712 Words | 3 Pages

The South decided to continue to fight about the ‘Carpet-Bag’ government and resisted the North’s help when it was offered. Reconstruction slowly died when the South kept resisting the help from the North. In the South, people such as the KKK took control of the South and the North got sick of it. Southerners resisted help and decided to use an corrupt government and ideas in the South.

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265 Words | 2 Pages

When reconstruction began, Southern citizens faced destruction to its property and buildings; oftentimes due to burnings of the city; for example, when Richmond was burned down by the Confederates or Petersburg destroyed after the siege. Though the South was able to rise, it was never able to match the economic status of the North. The wartime destruction that occurred was devastated and burned down towns, citizens seeking new ways other than slavery to make money all while trying to adjust to Congress’s

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648 Words | 3 Pages

Carpetbaggers were basically people in the North that came south to help the Radical Reconstruction that sought financial or political gain. The name originated from them carrying their valuables in small suitcases made from pieces of carpet. They brought the North the Capital. The South had scalawags, which were basically white Southerners who supported the Radical Reconstruction. The South also had Redeemers, which were conservative Southerners.

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835 Words | 4 Pages

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.

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