Was Reconstruction A Success Essay

493 Words2 Pages

Reconstruction was a period of rebuilding the nation after the civil war. It lasted from 1865-1877, lasting up until approximately the compromise. One of its many goals was dealing with the refugees of the war but most importantly the millions of free black slaves. Its main focus was on bringing the southern states back into full political participation in the union. It guaranteed rights to former slaves and defined new relationships between the african americans and whites. Despite many radical republicans, reconstruction ended without much progress in the battle of reconstruction. Many have different opinions if the reconstruction was even successful, but this is my opinion about the reconstruction. In some ways reconstruction was a success. Here are some examples: the 13th amendment was able to abolish slavery, this was a big start to the reconstruction. The 14th amendment guaranteed civil rights for people, this was pretty successful as people gained the rights to do more things, the 14th amendment greatly increased the federal government's power over the states. African Americans gained the right to vote with the 15th amendment as well gaining temporary political power. Freedmen's Bureau helped some african americans with jobs, education, and assisting with black economic independence. Southers had no public school system but during …show more content…

Here are some examples, most southerners still hated the federal government and the north, this caused some tensions between them. The sharecropping system was a legal form of slavery that kept blacks tied to land owned by rich white farmers. This didn't do anything but make things worse for the blacks. The supreme court decisions weakened the power of the 14th amendment by allowing Jim Crow laws, this caused limiting civil rights and continuing segregation. Jim Crow laws prevented many african americans from voting until the 1960s, giving african americans not much