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Was Reconstruction A Success Or Failure Essay

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Reconstruction refers to the period that occurred directly after the Civil War from 1865 to 1877 when several United States governments chose to reconstruct society in the former Confederate states specifically by establishing and protecting the legal rights of the newly freed black population. “Historians consider Reconstruction to be a total failure as the former Confederate states did not recover economically from the devastation of the war and the Black population was reduced to second class status with limited rights enforced through violence and discrimination.” (Lloyd Sealy Library) Reconstruction began when the civil war ended; however, building up to it, Secession and war transformed the issue of the long sectional conflict from …show more content…

Johnson offered a pardon to all Southern whites that were not leaders during the Confederacy and were not wealthy plantation owners (although most of these subsequently received individual pardons) which restored their political rights and all property except for their slaves which were now freed. “He also outlined how new state governments would be created. Apart from the requirement that they abolish slavery, repudiate secession, and abrogate the Confederate debt, these governments were granted a free hand in managing their affairs.” (Eric Foner 3) The Southern people responded by enacting the Black codes, which were laws that required African Americans to sign yearly labor contracts and in other ways sought to limit the freedmen’s economic options and reestablish plantation discipline, or in other words, return them to slavery using loopholes in the legal system. African Americans strongly resisted the implementation of these measures, and they seriously undermined Northern support for Johnson’s policies. This caused the North to begin to cease their support for President …show more content…

Following his assassination in April 1865, Andrew Johnson became president and began the period of Presidential Reconstruction and the rebuilding of society in the South which also influenced them to make the Black Codes. After the resistance of the Black Codes the South began to create Jim Crow laws which targeted a loophole in the 13th Amendment which allowed them to sentence black people to slavery in prison for doing normal things such as staying in a place too long.(Loitering) Due to the many failures of this Reconstruction, it was mostly considered a failure, however the few successful things created by it were a step in the right direction and eventually led to a successful version of Reconstruction. Work Cited Foner, Eric. "Reconstruction". Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Aug. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/event/Reconstruction-United-States-history. Accessed 19 April 2023. April 3, 2023 McPherson, James. “Out of War, a New Nation” Vol. 42 No. 1 Spring 2010 Accessed April 3, 2023

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This led to the 15th amendment in 1869, which meant any us citizen, could not be discriminated against due to their race or colour. The south was then under the control of the army and ‘carpet baggers’ from the north. This shows that the reconstruction wasn’t a failure as blacks gained new rights during this period. However grant wasn’t a very good president. He gave his friends riles in his cabinet despite their lack of skills.

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After the Civil War, the United States tried to mend the relationship between the Union and Confederacy through the institution of reconstruction under Johnson. President Johnson established minimal requirements that created much controversy between the Congressmen supporting that supported the Union during the war. Ultimately, Johnson acted in protecting poor whites since there was now an abundant supply of cheap labor with slavery no longer being enacted. Slowly with the reintegration of the South, there were state laws created to repress African Americans since they were now the population that was in the majority in comparison to whites. The population grew due to freed African Americans in the South, whites saw that the racially-structured

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The reconstruction of the United States was a period in the history of the United States that began after the extermination of the secessionist war, in 1865, and extended until the year of 1877. The period is marked by the gradual retorning of the states that had separated from the country and formed the Confederate States of America, the status of the Confederation leaders, and the beginning of the process of integrating AFRO-American former slaves. The United States government at the time was dominated by the Republican Party. Republican leaders agreed that remnants of the political power of the former slave masters, much like Confederate nationalism, would have to be suppressed.

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Andrew Johnson, a southerner himself, believed that the blacks should have no role in the reconstruction. Between 1865 and 1867 Johnson ordered new provisional governors to establish new all white governments, that ruled similarly to the racist confederates before them. Some things did change for the former slaves as Universities and primary and secondary schools were established for them by the Freedman’s Bureau. Now the freedman’s bureau didn’t grant the slaves the one thing they wanted most, land. To the blacks, land was as essential part of truly becoming free.

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Blacks were not allowed to own or rent a house with in city limits. Blacks couldn't even enter town without their boss's permission. These black codes did not help reconstruction in anyway. The North won the war, they should get what they wished. Black men and women were not free when the 13th amendment was passed.

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President Johnson was a supporter of state rights so he was not going to say or do anything. To him, the power to decide what to do with the newly free African-American was in the hands of the states. But when the Congress had a majority of Republicans after the election, it decided to overrule the southern states and with that, the period called Radical Reconstruction began. First, there was the Civil Rights Act in 1866, passed despite Johnson 's veto. There was no doubt anymore that freedmen were citizens and were to be treated as such. "

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Presidential Reconstruction by Andrew Johnson promoted racism and injustice against the Freedmen and was one of the reasons why Reconstruction failed. “Johnson openly encouraged the South to draft its notorious Black Codes law enacted across the south by the Fall of 1865, that denied the Freedmen political liberty and restricted their economic options and physical mobility” (Blight 29). The Black Code law which was established by the White Southerners was a way to reverse the rights and freedom gained by the African Americans, during the radical Reconstruction era, rights which were very hard for the Freedmen to obtain in the first place. The Black Codes gave power back to the White Supremacists to control and manipulate the Freedmen

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Reconstruction was an attempt by Abraham Lincoln to rebuild the war-torn South. Its goals were to fix the economy, allow new freedmen to exercise their freedom, and restore white Southerners’ loyalty to the Union. Although the passing of the 14th and 15th amendment ensured that African-Americans’ rights are protected; white Southerners found ways to prevent them from enjoying their rights, such as the establishment of the KKK and the creation of Black Codes. The Government attempted to fight these problems with laws, such as the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871. In spite of these revolutionary efforts; laws passed by the Government failed to be effective.

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Reconstruction was a policy made to grant all southern states that succeeded, access back in the union as quickly as possible. Radical Republicans knew the Reconstruction plan would fail with Andrew Johnson in office. The Freedmen’s Bureau Bill and the Civil Rights Bill both were created to protect the rights of newly freed African Americans and Andrew Johnson vetoed the bills. Johnson was a democrat, so he believed that white men were superior to african american men. He stated at a speech, “This is a country for white men and as long as I am President, it shall be a Government for white men.”

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Reconstruction was the rebuilding of the nation after the Civil War. It was President Lincoln’s method of reuniting the south and north back together. This consisted of methods and rules for the states of the south to rejoin the north. During reconstruction, there were several amendments established in favor of African Americans, such as the 13th amendment that ended slavery, the 14th amendment which said everyone was equal, and the 15th amendment which stated all men could vote. Although reconstruction could be seen as a good thing, when reconstruction failed it caused Jim Crow Laws, Sharecropping, and KKK.

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Because of all these action Johnson messed up his reputation in the south Johnson put his plans into operation, and the south ratified the Thirteenths Amendment, freedom for blacks! No, power was kept by the whites. Johnson wanted to rekindle his relationship with the south, in doing so he created black codes. Black codes are rules such that restrict blacks from doing what a regular white man would do. Such as getting a new job or going to church.

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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).

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When the reconstruction period began after the Civil War the Republican set into motion their own plans, restoring rebellious states into the Union and finding a place in society for free slaves. However, there were two major problems standing in their way, the ex-Confederates and President Andrew Johnson. The ex-Confederates were causing trouble by starting riots and trying take political action against freed African Americans, such as during the Memphis Riot in 1866. Johnson, being a Democrat, allied himself with the ex-Confederates because he shared the same beliefs as them regarding freed slaves. They believed that they should be forced to continue working on plantations, which is Johnson enacted the Black Codes, which were meant to force former slaves to work back on plantations.

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Johnsons also alienated and tried to stand against the Republicans in early 1866 when he vetoed a bill increasing the service and protection offered by the Freedmen’s Bureau and a civil rights bill that invalidated the Black codes.(Doc 2). This cause many problems with the “Radical Republicans”,who was looking for civil rights for African-Americans people in

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Reflection on the Reconstruction Period The reconstruction period was a time of cause and effect. It was a time when in order to rebuild the strength of society economically, socially, and politically after a the loss of life and stability in the civil war. In the socratic seminar we discussed how the during the reconstruction period the goal was to ‘fix’ the south as in the eyes of the government, they were the cause of the problem.

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