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What Are The Shortcomings And Failures Of The Reconstruction Era

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The Reconstruction era was a period in American history following the American Civil War and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebuild the country after the bloody Civil War, bring the former Confederate states back into the United States, and to reinstate the political, social, and economic legacies of slavery. During the era, Congress abolished slavery, ended the remnants of Confederate secession in the South, and passed the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution ostensibly guaranteeing the newly freed slaves the same civil rights as those of whites. Following a year of violent attacks against Blacks in the South, in 1866 Congress federalized the protection of civil …show more content…

However, Reconstruction did succeed in restoring the federal Union, limiting reprisals against the South directly after the war, establishing the constitutional rights to national birthright citizenship, due process, equal protection of the laws, and male suffrage regardless of race, and a framework for eventual legal equality for Black people. In United States history, the Gilded Age was an era extending roughly from 1877 to 1900, which was sandwiched between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was a time of rapid economic growth, especially in the Northern and Western United States. As American wages grew much higher than those in Europe, especially for skilled workers, and industrialization demanded an ever-increasing unskilled labor force, the period saw an influx of millions of European …show more content…

With the end of the Reconstruction era in 1877, African American people in the South were stripped of political power and voting rights and were left economically disadvantaged. The political landscape was notable in that despite some corruption, election turnout was very high and national elections saw two evenly matched parties. The dominant issues were cultural and economic. With the rapid growth of cities, political machines increasingly took control of urban politics. In business, powerful nationwide trusts formed in some industries. Unions crusaded for the eight-hour working day, and the abolition of child labor; middle class reformers demanded civil service reform, prohibition of liquor and beer, and women's

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Groups such as the Ku Klux Klan became prominent in the south. however, this was no longer something reconstruction could help former slaves with. Eventually, Hayes was elected after Johnsons’ impeachment and the Reconstruction era ended. The reconstruction ended in 1877 due to the Compromise of 1877 and the pulling of republicans alongside union troops out of the deep south. though the reconstruction attempted to unify the country back together as one by allowing confederate states into the union under strict conditions, and to help former slaves by granting basic human rights there were still many issues present throughout the

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