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Reconstruction Dbq Research Paper

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Many Americans had high hopes for life after the Civil War. This period was called Reconstruction and happened partially in the Southern starters from 1865 to 1877. During this time, the government was focused on restoring the landscape destroyed during the war but also regaining the unity of the people and states. For Radical Republicans, Reconstruction was an opportunity for freedmen to finally gain their rights back and to punish the South for their actions. On the other hand, President Andrew Johnson had a different plan for Reconstruction, this included giving former Confederate officials the right to hold office and not granting equality to all freedmen. During this time of Reconstruction, there were many differing viewpoints. While some …show more content…

An important goal of the Radical Republicans after the Civil War was to provide African Americans with equality in government. In doing so, by passing the 15th Amendment, no citizens of the United States could be neglected the right to vote on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude (Document C). This allowed men of different races to vote in upcoming elections. By passing this amendment, there was great hope that Black Americans were finally gaining back their political rights. During Reconstruction, it occurred that many African Americans were starting to run for office, in South Carolina there were more Black State legislatures than White. While these small successes started to seem as if freedmen were finally gaining back rights, they would soon be erased as white citizens in the South started to work around them. Long-term policies such as literacy tests and poll taxes were put in place to try and prevent Black Americans from getting involved in the government. The Louisiana Literacy Test gave voters a very limited amount of time to complete, what seemed to white men to be a simple task, of finding letters in the alphabet or circling certain numbers (Document G). This was a very difficult and almost impossible job for new freedmen who had never been allowed an education before. Those who were able to pass the test and vote were then harshly threatened and mocked. Black Americans were once again excluded from political activities. During Reconstruction, there was a strong attempt to finally give African Americans their right to government, and there was some progress. However, state governments in the South worked around them, continuously limiting black political

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