ipl-logo

The Reconstruction: The Darkest Period Of American History

951 Words4 Pages

The Reconstruction (1865-1877) was a period during which the life of the defeated South was to be returned to normal; it was also a time when the Black Americans attained some rights thanks to Lincoln and the Republican part of the Congress and despite Johnson’s intentions. An extremely violent time, it is sometimes called “the darkest period of American history”; still, it brought many important progressive changes to the US. Abraham Lincoln is known for proclaiming the black slaves Emancipation in 1863; he was convinced that it was necessary for the North to win the war. Lincoln believed that the Confederate states needed to be reintegrated back into the US while preserving the abolition of slavery; however, the 16th President wasn’t planning …show more content…

Besides, the endless conflicts caused a severe economic depression in 1873 (Foner 587). Certainly, it was a terrible period; but during these times, Black people were at last freed from slavery and received some rights. Indeed, they faced violence and discrimination at every turn; but it is better to be free and have a chance to protect oneself, than to be a slave, unable to control any of the aspects of your life and completely depend on a whim of somebody who treats you as their personal possession. We don’t know the exact statistics, though; perhaps people, especially Blacks, quantitatively underwent more suffering during the Reconstruction that during many other periods before or after it. But, if we think of e.g. how Blacks were transported from Africa in the 1700s, tightly packed in slave ships so that they couldn’t even change their pose, having to endure this for weeks, massively dying before even reaching America, it is possible to say that the Reconstruction wasn’t “the darkest period of American history”. If I had had the chance to influence the Reconstruction (while retaining the today’s mind of mine), I would have supported the Radicals in their attempts to establish the racial equality. What I would have done differently is that I would also have tried to give more rights to women. There were many women’s organizations (Foner 578-579), so I wouldn’t be alone in my efforts. It would also be useful to help the Blacks and their supporters to network and form more organizations, which would have strengthened them and helped them resist the racist

Show More
Related

The Crop-Lien System Analysis

747 Words | 3 Pages

Following the ending of the Civil War in 1865, America was in an era known as the Reconstruction. The Reconstruction lasted until 1877. Citizens were attempting to rebuild our nation following one of the deadliest war in American History. In this time, the Fourteenth Amendment and Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution were ratified. Although slaves were freed, African Americans still faced intense racial prejudice and discrimination.

Read More

Who Killed Reconstruction?

288 Words | 2 Pages

Who Killed Reconstruction? “The blacks, as a people, are unfitted for the proper exercise of political duties…..” said a Boston newspaper in 1873 saying that the Africans-Americans were too dumb to be in Congress or any political office. Three years later, was the 100th year anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. With the irony of the election of 1876 had officially crushed the African-American dream. In 1877, the Reconstruction efforts finally ended, so people were wondering who killed Reconstruction.

Read More

Reconstruction Dbq Essay

670 Words | 3 Pages

It was a life changing time for Freedmen, and it was for the better. Reconstruction was way more helpful to Freedmen than it was

Read More

Summary Of The Negro In The United States By W. E. B. Dubois

2602 Words | 11 Pages

The lives of African Americans regressed to their Antebellum states due to a combination of violence and legal action following the end of Reconstruction bringing about a period of violence and anarchy. During the Reconstruction Period, it seemed that Congress and the presence of Federal troops would be enough to rebuild and reform the decimated South. Lincoln’s plan to reintegrate the South was considered lenient and focused on bringing the South back into the Union as quickly as possible. After Lincoln’s death, Congress implemented a series of harsher regulations know as Congressional Reconstruction, which came to an end with the election of President Rutherford B. Hayes in the 1876 election (“America’s” Par. 3).

Read More

Reconstruction Redefined What Is Meant To Be An American

213 Words | 1 Pages

After the war ended, Abraham Lincoln began Reconstruction to fix what the war has destroyed. Reconstruction redefined what is meant to be an American because it now gave the African American’s a period where they could enjoy employment and participating in the political process. The article, Free People of Color in Louisiana, from LSU Libraries state's “Land ownership by free blacks in the South was less common, and those who worked in agriculture were often overseers and occasionally bookkeepers, business managers, and attorneys on the farms of white relatives.” This part of Reconstruction redefined what is meant to be an American because now colored men can work and own land like white men which threatening Southern farm owners. The 15th

Read More

Was Reconstruction A Success Or Failure Essay

688 Words | 3 Pages

What were the goals of Reconstruction? Why weren 't all of these goals achieved? Was Reconstruction a failure? Support your answers with details and examples. Reconstruction - the federal government plan to solve the issues formed from the end of the Civil War – can be divided into 2 parts: physically rebuilding the South and reconstructing the Southern Society.

Read More

African American Experience With Reconstruction Essay

671 Words | 3 Pages

Peter Schroeder Dr. Christopher Marshall Modern United States History 2/2/17 Writing Assignment 1: The African-American Experience with Reconstruction Reconstruction among the south refers to the point in time which the United States was attempting to establish a relationship between the union and the rebels. The Union had won the civil war, so the next step was to begin to mend the broken relationship between the north and the south. Though historians cannot agree on when it began, there is merit in saying that it started before the end of the Civil War. After victory, had been solidified for the Union, attention of President Lincoln turned towards reconstruction.

Read More

Most Important Events During The Reconstruction Era

701 Words | 3 Pages

Reconstruction was a period of time dedicated to rebuilding the nation after the Civil War. The war ended with the South being defeated and their economy being devastated. Many Southerners struggled after the war with rebuilding their land and lives. The President and Congress had to decide the terms for which the former Confederate states would be permitted to join the Union. President Lincoln’s plan for reuniting the country was found in the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction.

Read More

Goals Of Reconstruction

1074 Words | 5 Pages

At the end of the Civil War between the North and South arose the Reconstruction era. This was a time period of the late 1800s where the united states, specifically the North started to attempt the rebuilding of the South. Abolitionists were eager to see the end of slavery and Lincoln attempted to end slavery. President Lincoln attempted to put in place the Emancipation Proclamation which stated all slaves in confederate states would be free. This was to weaken the southern states; except, the confederate states did not obey.

Read More

The Successes And Failures Of The Reconstruction Era

515 Words | 3 Pages

The reconstruction period was a failure because African Americans, mainly males, were not treated with equality although the constitution said that the they were free and had the right to vote, be educated and had the right to liberty, life and the pursuit to happiness. Organizations, like the KKK, were created to harm freed slaves and their families. Laws were created such as the Black Codes restricting former slaves from their rights. African Americans endured a lot of violence over the years. “In Grayson, Texas, a white man and two friends murdered three former slaves because the wanted to ‘ thin the niggers out and drive them to their hole’”.

Read More

Impact Of Racism On Reconstruction

1533 Words | 7 Pages

Racism’s Impact on Reconstruction While the issue of slavery evidently contributed to the divide that resulted in the American Civil War, it is debated whether prevailing ideals of racism caused the failure of the era following the war known as Reconstruction. With the abolishment of slavery, many of the southern states had to reassemble the social, economic, and political systems instilled in their societies. The Reconstruction Era was originally led by a radical republican government that pushed to raise taxes, establish coalition governments, and deprive former confederates of superiority they might have once held. However, during this time common views were obtained that the South could recover independently and that African Americans

Read More

Thesis About Reconstruction

594 Words | 3 Pages

You can see how reconstruction was supposed to help the newly freed slaves while the definition of reconstruction says that it was, “ensuring the rights and protection of the newly freed African Americans,” (Terms to know, On reconstruction.) This shows how some of the intentions of reconstruction were supposed to help bring newly freed slaves safely into the society. The newly freed slaves would have been fond of the idea of being brought safely into the society. You can see this again when it says, “Presidential reconstruction began in 1865 with the ratification() passing of the thirteenth amendment freeing slaves, and continued lincoln’s signature of the bill that created the Freedmen's Bureau. The Bureau was to feed both black and whites in the south, establish schools to teach former slaves to read and write, help them find paying jobs, and shield them from discrimination,” (Stage One: Presidential reconstruction 1865 - 1866.)

Read More

Reconstruction: The Real Death Of The Reconstruction Era

319 Words | 2 Pages

24 November 2015 The Real Death of Reconstruction There is no easy way to decide who can be held accountable for the end of the Reconstruction Era. Attempts to rebuild the South ceased to exist in 1877, just over ten years after the Confederacy surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant in Appomattox Court House, Virginia. It seemed as though everything was on the right track in 1876, the one hundred year anniversary of The United States. That was, however, until the South waged conflict against black and white citizens of The United States.

Read More

Reconstruction After The Civil War Essay

645 Words | 3 Pages

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).

Read More

Essay On Failures Of Reconstruction

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.

Read More

More about The Reconstruction: The Darkest Period Of American History

Open Document