Was Reconstruction A Success Or Failure Essay

The United State is a multicultural country. It has gone through many changes such as in

politics, education, equal right, etc. With the end of the Civil War, it lead to the era known as

Reconstruction, it means the rebuilding of the shattered nation. Reconstruction has success and

failure. However, it have been said that Reconstruction era was the most controversial and failure

chapter in U.S. history. Poverty was a big issue in this period. The blacks remained poor and had

limited freedom. Tenant farming was bad because it wasn’t fair to the labors on the land. There

existed discrimination and racial segregation. Reconstruction brought about profound changes in

the lives of southerners, northerners, black and white, rich and

Andrew Johnson rejected the former slaves’ plea.

Throughout the south because no land distribution took place, the vast majority of rural freed

people stayed poor and without property during Reconstruction” (Henry, 1865). It indicates that

reconstruction couldn’t help much of the freed people and freed people’s status remained same.

Olsen addresses that Southern whites, on the other hand, tried to limit blacks’ freedom and

independent economic opportunities as much as possible. They wanted ex-slaves to get back to

work, preferably in the cotton fields of former planters who were trying to regain the prosperity

and the world market share they enjoyed before 1861 (Olsen, 2006). Southern whites gave hard

time for black and treated them unfairly. Furthermore, Foner addresses the black experience in

reconstruction, their status changes in the South for blacks and whites. He understands that

reconstruction failed to complete the changes to make sure equivalence freedom in the U.S.

Moreover, a federal Treasury agent described as the “the new system of labor if system it may be

called, when there is endless confusion, and contradiction” (Foner, 1984). Hence,

Reconstruction, he announced, had

“settled forever the political status of my race.” He proved to be wrong. By the turn of the

century, many of the rights blacks had gained after the Civil War had been taken away. It would

be left to future generation to breathe new life into Elliot’s dream of “equal, impartial, and

universal liberty” (Elliott, 1874). Although Reconstruction was unfulfilled at that time, but it

encouraged people to pursuit freedom and equality.

Reconstruction failed to help blacks to be independence. The Freedmen’s Bureau could

only helped a little. Also can be seen through from the Black Codes and other laws that

restricting former slaves. Although Reconstruction was failed, but there was some turning point

in that and it restored the United States as a unified nation: the separation lasted 4 years, and

Reconstruction had brought them. If without reconstruction, another group couldn’t got the

courage to fight for their rights. It opened at that period as some groups such as female,

advocated equal rights for women, and supported feminism. They tried to put their ideals into

action for a better, more just and compassionate world. Also, Reconstruction finally settled