America's republican form of representative government was premised upon the idea of three co-equal branches of government: Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. The three branches, in theory, operate independent of one another and serve as check upon one another. It is this structure of this government, the founders believed, that would retard any establishment of monarchial government that the American Revolution was fought upon. However the civil war, and more specifically the Reconstruction period following it tested these principles to the core. While it may be accurate to characterize governmental struggles that defined Reconstruction as ones that were inter-branch, a more detailed and nuanced survey reveals it was borne more so out of ideologies that were incumbent within each branch. This essay surveys the ideological battles between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the federal government, and evaluates its impact on the idea of American Federalism from the past going forward.
In order to have a coherent survey of the impact of the reconstruction era on federalism, it is first necessary to define what federalism and reconstruction meant to the nation. The structure of American government was widely debated during the time of this country's founding. Specifically, following the several state's victory during the Revolutionary War, two distinct factions formed in regards to the form of the new government of the victors. This debate was colored with strong resistance from a considerable portion of the country who wanted to keep the autonomy of the states. While another faction advocated for a strong central government with states maintaining some autonomy. In the end, a compromise was struck whereby a we...
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...cope of what the founders likely envisioned. Furthermore, these struggles also disenfranchised a whole section of the country for an extended period of time, and in turn brought about the antithesis of what American democracy was all about.
Hans L. Trefousse, Andrew Johnson: A Biography ( New York, 1989), p. 197; D. Simpson, The Reconstruction Presidents (Lawrence, Kansas, 1998), p. 68
James M.McPherson, Ordeal by Fire: The Civil War and Reconstruction 3rd ed. (McGraw-Hill 2001), p. 548-549.
James M.McPherson, Ordeal by Fire: The Civil War and Reconstruction 3rd ed. (McGraw-Hill 2001), p. 512-513.
James M.McPherson, Ordeal by Fire: The Civil War and Reconstruction 3rd ed. (McGraw-Hill 2001), p. 436
James M.McPherson, Ordeal by Fire: The Civil War and Reconstruction 3rd ed. (McGraw-Hill 2001), p. 425-426.
Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. 393 (U.S. 1857)
Heidler, David Stephen, and Jeanne T. Heidler, eds. Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: a
Ropes, John Codman, and W. R. Livermore. The Story of the Civil War: A Concise
Volo, Dorothy Denneen, and James M. Volo. Daily Life in Civil War America. Westport, Conn.:
In the historical narrative Redemption: The Last Battle of the Civil War, Nicholas Leman gives readers an insight into the gruesome and savage acts that took place in the mid-1870s and eventually led to the end of the Reconstruction era in the southern states. Before the engaging narrative officially begins, Lemann gives a 29-page introduction to the setting and provides background information about the time period. With Republican Ulysses S. Grant as President of the United States of America and Republican Adelbert Ames, as the Governor of Mississippi, the narrative is set in a town owned by William Calhoun in the city of Colfax, Louisiana. As a formal military commander, Ames ensured a
William Faulkner’s short story “Barn Burning” describes a typical relationship between wealthy people and poor people during the Civil War.
Danticat, Edward. “A Wall of Fire Rising”(2009). The Norton Introduction to Literature, Portable 10th ed. Alison Booth and Kelly J.Mays. New York: Norton, 2010. Pg.232-244
Heidler, David S. and Jeanne T., Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, And Military History Volume 2 D-I, ABC-CLIO Inc, 2000.
Marable, Manning. Race, reform, and rebellion: the second reconstruction and beyond in Black America, 1945-2006. 3rd ed. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2007. Print
Aamodt, Terrie D., Righteous Armies, Holy Causes: Apocalyptic Imagery and the Civil War. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 2002.
In Stephen Nissenbaum’s article, “ An Insurrection That Never Happened: ‘The Christmas Riots’,” he presents a somewhat convincing analysis of the social inequality, lack of government unison, and political movements to prove reconstruction was never completed. He does this by first explaining an example of the christmas riots, then continues to show its relevance and interpret it in the more general history of the time. Nissenbaum states, “The story of the ‘Christmas Riots’ of 1865 is a microcosm of the entire period that became known as reconstruction, the years between 1865 and 1877. It was a period of great hopes for the freedmen, hopes that were dashed, then raised, then dashed once again.”
Perman Michael, Amy Murrell Taylor. Major Problems in the Civil War and Reconstruction. Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2011.
McPHERSON, James M. "Major Problems in the Civil War and Reconstruction." (n.d.): n. pag. Rpt. in Major Problems in American History Series. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 10. Print.
Richie, Alexander H. Destroying the Railroads While Atlanta Burns. 1864. Sherman's March to Sea : Total Warfare. Web. 4 May 2014.
McPherson, James M.; The Atlas of the Civil War. Macmillan: 15 Columbus Circle New York, NY. 1994.
Faulkner, William. Barn Burning. First Vintage International ed. N.p.: Random House, 1950. Print. The Country.