ipl-logo

Reconstruction Vs Radical Reconstruction Essay

582 Words3 Pages

After the Civil War ended, Reconstruction was vital to get the United States back on track. This time period proposed its own challenges. “Black codes” were set in place to control the labor and behavior of African American citizens. Then in 1867, Radical Reconstruction began. Blacks were given a voice in government for the first time. However, forces like the Ku Klux Klan came about to reverse the changes made. When Andrew Johnson came into presidency in 1865, he gave back land to those that had some taken from them. This land had previously been confiscated by the Union Army and distributed to free slaves. Southern states were given the right to rebuild themselves. This allowed southern states to enact “black codes”. In 1867, Congress enacted the Reconstruction Act of 1867 which was the start of the Radical Reconstruction. This act temporarily divided the South into 5 military districts and outlined how governments based on universal suffrage were to be organized. The law also required states to ratify the 14th amendment. This amendment broadened the definition of citizenship to grant equal protection to former slaves. In February of 1869, Congress passed the 15th amendment which states citizens would not be denied the right …show more content…

Groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist organizations came to rise. In 1871, President Ulysses S. Grant took aim against the Klan along with any others who interfered with black suffrage. After the early 1870s, white supremacy reasserted its hold on the South. In 1875, Democrats waged a campaign of violence that took control on Mississippi. President Grant refused to send troops in. This marked the end of federal support for Reconstruction. The Compromise of 1876 officially ended the Reconstruction period, but the struggle to deal with the revolution by slavery’s eradication would continue in the

Open Document