2.1 The course textbook states that “Reconstruction would be divisive, leaving a mixed legacy of human gains and losses” (458). To demonstrate this, indicate three distinct issues that caused division during Reconstruction. Clearly identify each issue and explain specifically how it caused division. Then, show gains and losses from Reconstruction by indicating two distinct beneficial consequences of the process of Reconstruction and two distinct harmful consequences of the process of Reconstruction. Be clear in identifying each consequence and explaining why it was beneficial or harmful. A cause of division during Reconstruction was how the treatment of the rebel states in the South should be handled. On one hand, it had been argued that …show more content…
the states were now “Conquered provinces,” whereas another argument was that they were simply “out of alignment” and should be reintegrated into the Union (Text Pgs. 459-460). One of the main causes for division during the Reconstruction was the rights of the former slaves to live in a free and fair society.
After the slaves were freed, whites began to respond by restricting their rights. Laws, known as the “Black Codes,” limited the ability for African Americans to operate in society. Even federal soldiers sent to the South discriminated against African Americans. In light of these travesties, the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution was drafted (Text Pgs. 464, 466). Another cause of division was the lack women’s suffrage in the 14th Amendment. While the amendment attempted to correct ill-treatment of African Americans, it completely ignored the plight of both black and white women of the United States. Women had served bravely on all sides of the Civil War, but were still marginalized in society (Text Pgs. 470-471). One obvious benefit of the Reconstruction was the ratification 14th Amendment. Congress passed the law and it was ratified by the states. It was framed so that Southern states could only reenter the Union when it was passed. This forced Southern states to recognize the rights of all men. While it ignored women’s rights, it was a step in the right direction (Text Pgs. 466.
470-471). Another benefit of the Reconstruction was the investments that followed into Southern infrastructure. While some of these men were labelled “carpetbaggers,” the money they brought into the South was vital for its modernization. Slave labor was no longer an option, so the South had to modernize. These “carpetbaggers” helped provide the funds to launch these much needed projects in the South (Text Pg. 479). One negative aspect of the Reconstruction era was the violent reaction of some to the newly obtained rights of the African Americans. Groups of whites formed organizations in which they sought to preserve the white race. The Ku Klux Klan, among others, set out on a violent campaign of intimidation of the African Americans, as well as whites who advocated for the rights of all men (Text Pgs. 480-481). Another negative aspect of the Reconstruction era was how it ended. The “Compromise of 1877” was an important agreement to mend the North and the South, but it failed to adequately address the problems that existed. The rights of African Americans, and women in general, were still not protected with any sort of merit. There were laws written into effect, but not followed. African Americans were little better off than when they were slaves. The lack of substantive action on racial, and gender, issues would simply put the issue off for another time to deal with. In the meantime, African Americans and women would suffer (Text Pgs. 470-471, 486-487).
Reconstruction government made many changes. It strengthened public education and made it available to black children. It strengthened public education and made it available to black children. It also helped the position of women by expanding legal rights for women.
Whites never gave total freedom to African Americans. Blacks were forced to endure curfews, passes, and living on rented land, which put them in a similar situation as slaves. In 1866, the KKK started a wave of violence and abuse against negroes in the south, destroying their properties, assaulting and killing them in different ways, just because angry white people do not want the blacks to stand up and join in political or any kind of issues or freedom. The Fourteenth Amendment did surely constitute the biggest development of government force following the approval of the Constitution.
...dom and right to vote established by the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments, blacks were still oppressed by strong black codes and Jim Crow laws. The federal government created strong legislation for blacks to be helped and educated, but it was ineffective due to strong opposition. Although blacks cried out to agencies, such as the Freemen's Bureau, declaring that they were "in a more unpleasant condition than our former" (Document E), their cries were often overshadowed by violence.
To counter the amendment, a series of laws called the Black Codes were enacted by the former Confederate states, which did not force the newly freed slaves back into slavery, but it discriminated against and underprivileged them. However, there was a clause in the 13th Amendment which empowered Congress to enforce the provisions by suitable legislation. Part II The train conductor’s actions forcing Jon, an African American, to ride in a car towards the rear because his kind ride there is an unconstitutional act.
Although many laws were passed that recognized African Americans as equals, the liberties they had been promised were not being upheld. Hoffman, Blum, and Gjerde state that “Union League members in a North Carolina county, upon learning of three or four black men who ‘didn’t mean to vote,’ threatened to ‘whip them’ and ‘made them go.’ In another country, ‘some few colored men who declined voting’ were, in the words of a white conservative, ‘bitterly persecute[ed]” (22). Black codes were also made to control African Americans. Norton et al. states that “the new black codes compelled former slaves to carry passes, observe a curfew, live in housing provided by a landowner, and give up hope of entering many desirable occupations” (476). The discrimination and violence towards African Americans during this era and the laws passed that were not being enforced were very disgraceful. However, Reconstruction was a huge stepping stone for the way our nation is shaped today. It wasn’t pretty but it was the step our nation needed to take. We now live in a country where no matter the race, everyone is considered equal. Reconstruction was a success. Without it, who knows where our nation would be today. African American may have never gained the freedoms they have today without the
Reconstruction gave potential hope and opportunity for the black population even though it failed to bring economic gains to blacks. it instead established social gains as more and blacks migrated to the south, the federal freedman bureau made education more widely available for blacks.
... This new amendment prohibited the states from denying the right to vote because of race. Reconstruction was a hard time were a lot of bad decisions took place but some good ones were put in effect like the three amendments, the Civil Rights bill and the Tenure of Office. It is a fact that I took a lot of steps for the country to stabilize the situation in the South, due to all the corruption that was going on during the period. Also, thanks to the violence that spread around the south, prevented Reconstruction from leaving the country in better conditions.
America has gone through many hardships and struggles since coming together as a nation involving war and changes in the political system. Many highly regarded leaders in America have come bestowing their own ideas and foundation to provide a better life for “Americans”, but no other war or political change is more infamous than the civil war and reconstruction. Reconstruction started in 1865 and ended in 1877 and still to date one of the most debated issues in American history on whether reconstruction was a failure or success as well as a contest over the memory, meaning, and ending of the war. According to, “Major Problems in American History” David W. Blight of Yale University and Steven Hahn of the University of Pennsylvania take different stances on the meaning of reconstruction, and what caused its demise. David W. Blight argues that reconstruction was a conflict between two solely significant, but incompatible objectives that “vied” for attention both reconciliation and emancipation. On the other hand Steven Hahn argues that former slaves and confederates were willing and prepared to fight for what they believed in “reflecting a long tradition of southern violence that had previously undergirded slavery” Hahn also believes that reconstruction ended when the North grew tired of the 16 year freedom conflict. Although many people are unsure, Hahn’s arguments presents a more favorable appeal from support from his argument oppose to Blight. The inevitable end of reconstruction was the North pulling federal troops from the south allowing white rule to reign again and proving time travel exist as freed Africans in the south again had their civil, political, and economical position oppressed.
On December 6, 1865, the thirteenth amendment to the United States constitution was ratified (Archives). This amendment effectively abolished slavery with the exception of a punishment for a crime (Archives). This was a great victory for blacks, who had been the preferred target for slaves. For many, however, the passage of the amendment failed to change the attitudes of white Americans. Blacks were clearly not welcome in many cities across the nation, with laws allowing blacks to work within a city’s limits, but requiring them to leave before sundown.
Reconstruction has been brutally murdered! For a little over a decade after the Civil War, the victorious North launched a campaign of social, economic, and political recovery in South. Martial law was also implemented in the South. Eventually, the North hoped to admit the territory in the former Confederacy back into the United States as states. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments freed the African Americans, made them citizens, and gave them the right to vote. Despite this, Reconstruction was unfortunately cut short in 1877. The North killed Recosntruction because of racism, negligence, and distractions.
After the civil war, newly freed slaves faced many challenges. Whites, especially in the south, regarded blacks as inferior more than ever before. The black codes were just one obstacle the freed slaves had to overcome. They were laws that were passed in the southern states that had the intent and the effect of restricting African Americans freedom. These laws made it possible for the south to regain control over the black population in much of the same ways they had before. The black codes effected reconstruction, and even today’s society in many ways.
The period of Reconstruction after the Civil War was successful because it brought the Confederate states back into the Union, which is what one definition of the term Reconstruction refers to, and it helped African Americans to experience aspects of life that they had never before been allowed to. Due to the ratification of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments, former slaves were able to start new lives for themselves with legal rights to defend their actions.
William Howard Russell once said, "Little did I conceive of the greatness of the defeat, the magnitude of the disaster which it had entailed upon the United States. So short-lived has been the American Union, that men who saw it rise may live to see it fall.” At one point in History, the United States was not one nation. The Civil War had created many issues for the United States and the country was desperate for a solution. This solution was thought to be reconstruction. Reconstruction was the attempt from the early 60's until the late 70's to resolve the issues of the war after slavery was dismissed and the Confederacy was defeated. Reconstruction also attempted to address how states would again become part of the Union, the status of Confederate leaders, and the status of African Americans across the United States.
Informal restrictions on the freedoms of African Americans, known as Black Codes, were passed and implemented in order to weaken the social transformations of Reconstruction and its amendments to the United States Constitution. These laws, along with measures to restrict ballot access, spread state by state throughout the South, accompanied by intimidation and violence aimed at the associated minority groups. Court cases like Plessy
The Failure of Reconstruction in American history, the Civil War helped preserved the Union and helped free the slaves. During the Reconstruction, there was a loss of focus on politics and failure for freed slaves to gain civil liberties.