Reconstruction Dbq Essay

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Throughout United States history, many constitutional Civic issues have been debated by Americans. These debates result in effort by individuals, groups, and governments to address these issues. These efforts have achieved varying degrees of success. One of these constitutional Civic issues is African-American civil rights. Throughout United States history, various efforts have been made through activism and community efforts in order to advance the civil rights of African Americans. Although some efforts were not initially successful and were followed with continued segregation, the efforts to advance the civil rights of African Americans were greatly successful, eventually leading to legislation being passed to end segregation and considerably …show more content…

The efforts of Reconstruction were positive during the era, however they were short lived following the military leaving the South. Document 1B discusses how the collapse of Reconstruction led to the rise of white supremacy and widespread racial segregation throughout the South. The suffrage granted to African American men through the 15th Amendment was met with Southern restrictions such as literacy tests and outright intimidation by terrorist organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan. This shows how although efforts were made to advance the civil liberties of African Americans, the Southerners heavily resisted and maintained their discriminatory practices. The civil rights movement in the 20th century, however, saw greater success. In Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court ruled that the racial segregation of public schools was unconstitutional, overruling the principle of separate but equal facilities that were established in Plessy v. Ferguson. The efforts of the civil rights movement also led to the eventual passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as discussed in Document 5. The Civil Rights Act was largely successful in the United States as it allowed equal access for African Americans to public facilities and prohibited the discrimination of African Americans and other minority groups. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was later passed which prohibited the racial discrimination in voting and picked up on the failed enforcement of the 15th Amendment. This shows how the persistent efforts of activists throughout the country allowed for the continued advancement of African American civil rights in the nation even though earlier reform efforts did not fully succeed. In conclusion, although some efforts to address the civil rights of African Americans were