Essay On The Effects Of Reconstruction

“Any plan of reconstruction is wrong that does not assure toleration of opinion and the elevation of the common people to the consciousness that ours is a republican form of government”, states a local newspaper reporter. The period directly following the Civil War is known as Reconstruction. It was a very hard time of adjustment in the United States. The Civil War caused significant damages across the United States but especially in South Carolina. Not only was the physical landscape ruined, but the also the economic and social structures were demolished. The goal of Reconstruction was to, “readmit the South on terms that were acceptable to the North - full political and civil equality for blacks and a denial of the political rights of whites

who were leaders of the secession movement.” Studying the causes and effects of the Reconstruction era is important, even today, because the effects of this formative era can still be seen in modern society. Reconstruction efforts in South Carolina were not successful due to the fact it did achieve civil unity.
Reconstructions were chiefly concerned with the terms in which Confederate states would be readmitted to the Union, who would create the terms, and finally what should be done with the former slaves. The period of Reconstruction can be broken down into three section. The first is known as Presidential Reconstruction. President Lincoln took a relaxed approach. He allowed southern states to be readmitted if a certain percent swore allegiance to the Union. He did not allow African Americans to vote in the hope to compromise with the South. After Lincoln was assassinated, Andrew Johnson rose to presidency. Johnson took a different approach than Lincoln. He granted freedom to white southerner’s to set up their state government as they chose. Unfortunately this gave white supremacists the upper hand. They created a system of codes that essentially banned former slaves from exercising their freedom. During his presidency, Congress passed two amendments. The Thirteenth Amendment stated, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction”. The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery in all of the United States. The Fourteenth Amendment stated that all men were equal under the law. It was passed, but with some resistance. President Johnson did not agree with the amendment and tried to encourage states to reject it. Congress was not pleased with this and took over Reconstruction efforts.
The second phase of Reconstruction is known as Congressional Reconstruction.

This was the most radical form of Reconstruction because the southern states had troops in their states to ensure they complied. The most notable thing that happened was the passing of the Fifteenth Amendment which allowed any males, of age, to vote. It also guaranteed that they would not be discriminated against in the courts of law on the basis of race. This angered the white southerners because their former slaves now could hold political office. Congress also established Freedman’s Bureau to help former slaves gain necessary skills to begin living a new life. Drastic changes were made during this period.
The third and final stage of Reconstruction is known as Redemption. This stage did not lost very long because people were beginning to lose interest in Reconstruction efforts. The election of 1876 was a very close race. Rutherford B. Hayes promised if he was elected he would remove troops from the South. Hayes won, troops were removed, and Reconstruction ended. Reconstruction end without solving essential issue. Blacks still struggled to find their place in society and the economy in South Carolina was nowhere close to where it used to

be.
Reconstruction produced a spirit of hostility in the South rather than hospitality. The tense society prevented national Reconstruction efforts from succeeding. Reconstruction efforts in South Carolina were not successful because civil unity was not achieved. There were many different factors that contributed to the failure of Reconstruction. The three major factors are: conditions before the war, the Civil War, and the aftermath. Essentially, the problem was too big for a national government to fix with a few laws. A change of heart needed to take place in order to become an unified nation.
The study of the events leading up to the Civil War help gain a broader understanding of why Reconstruction was necessary but also how it fell short of accomplishing its goals. Most people would argue that the Civil War was fought because of the issue of slavery in the United States. This is true, but at the root, the states were disputing the issue of states rights. The North and South were very different places with contrasting ways of life and values. The North’s economy was based off of industry. The North was made up of cities; they had pockets of densely populated areas across their land. They favored a larger national government because of this. It was better for their society that the national government to have more control. The North also had better system of communication because of the telegraphs as well as railroad tracks. The South was a very different society. Their economy was based off of agricultural. In other words the institution of slavery kept them in business. Their landscape consisted of plantations and farms. Everyone was more spread out. They had a weak communication across the southern states because their railroads had not been fully developed. These differences came into play during the Reconstruction Era. The North attempted to rebuild the South in terms that they believed would work, without considering what was best for the South. What the North did not realize was that the South could not be fixed in the Northern way.
Another event that contributed to the Civil War, was the Nullification Crisis. The Nullification Crisis was the epitome of the states rights debate. This debate started with the election of 1828. The South was divided over the candidates. However, the South disliked John Quincy Adams so they supported Andrew Jackson and John C. Calhoun. Jackson and Calhoun rose to presidency and started off strong.
The second event that contributed to the Nullification Crisis was the Missouri Compromise. Missouri was a territory that was purchased in the Louisiana Purchase and was attempting to enter the Union as a slave state. The North initially did not approve because they did not want to lose representation nor let the slavery expand. The South was upset at this because the North, essentially took away a state’s right to determine whether or not it was to be free or slave. It was settled that Missouri could enter as a slave state if Maine entered as a free state to ensure equal representation. This is just one event that show’s the importance of state’s rights. The South valued their independence in deciding certain things for themselves. They understood that if incoming states were not granted freedoms, theirs would soon be gone.
The third event that contributed to the Nullification Crisis was the faltering economics of the day. Unrest grew when the Panic of 1819 hit. The national government, in attempt to recover from the losses, implemented the American System. This system expanded the national government’s powers and issued a tariff. These acts made southerners suspicious of their fate. The national government also issued the Tariff of Abominations in 1828, which “raise tariff levels to their highest point before the Civil War”. This tariff combined with the Tariff of Abominations caused southerners to push back against the national government via, Calhoun. South Carolina published the South Carolina Exposition and Protests. It stated,
Because the power to lay duties on imports is and in its very nature can be only a means of effecting objects specified by the constitution; since no free government and least of all a government of enumerated powers, can of right impose any tax, any more penalty which is not at once justified by public necessity and clearly within the scope and purview of the social compact, and since the right of confining appropriations of the public money, to such legitimate and constitutional objects, as is essential to the liberties of the people, as their unquestionable privilege to be taxed only by their own consent.

This excerpt and the rest of the document state that states have the right to nullify federal law. At the heart of the Nullification Crisis was a fear that the state’s rights would be removed, or altered in some way. Even before the War began, the South’s economy was suffering due to the tariffs. The southern economy was furthered ruined by the war that it was too hard to repair with a few acts.
The other major cause to the Civil War was the South Carolina’s secession from the Union, in order defense of slavery. When Abraham Lincoln was elected into office, the South feared that the slavery would be abolished. Since the South believed that slavery was necessary for the health of their economy, they were quick defend slavery by seceding from the Union. South Carolina seceded in order to uphold slavery and to keep their rights, which seemed to be slipping away. South Carolina’s willingness, as well as other Confederate states, to remove themselves from the Union created a tense relationship between them and the Union. After the War, the South had to rejoin the Union. It seems liked the South was rebellious teen who did not want to live at home anymore. The North attempted to reconcile the hurt relationship by strict rules and regulations, which did not help mend the relationship.
These are just a few of the factors that contributed the eruption of the Civil War. The Civil War contributed to the failure of Reconstruction. The Civil War began in 1861 with the firing at Fort Sumter. One source describes the early stages of war like this,
By the end of 1861 nearly a million armed men confronted each other along a line stretching 1200 miles from Virginia to Missouri. Several battles had already taken place--near Manassas Junction in Virginia, in the mountains of western Virginia where Union victories paved the way for creation of the new state of West Virginia, at Wilson's Creek in Missouri, at Cape Hatteras in North Carolina, and at Port Royal in South Carolina where the Union navy established a base for a blockade to shut off the Confederacy's access to the outside world.

The Civil War grew more and more gruesome as it progressed.Towards the end of the war, total warfare erupted across the South. This meant there were no boundaries. Battles were not limited to the battlefield, cities and civilians were now targeted. The most infamous example of this, was General Sherman’s March to the Sea. A local newspaper article describes South Carolina like, “He did his work so thoroughly that half a dozen years will nothing more than begin to repair the damage”. He wreaked havoc on the southern landscape. He sent fire to large cities such as Atlanta and Columbia. It devastated the South. The War left Southerners without homes, food, and a means to provide for themselves. This would take a long time to rebuild.
As the war began to look promising for the North, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation which stated, “All persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free;”.

The Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves in all of the Confederacy. This action removed the South’s workforce for producing cotton and other crops. After the war, it was expected that the Southern states cotton production would fix the economic crisis. Reconstruction required the southerners to rethink their system of agricultural and implement it

quickly.
After the Civil War, the national government had to come up with some way to repair the damages and reconcile the South to the United States. Despite the physical and economic damages that needed repair, the social structure needed to be reworked. There were many former slaves, who are free trying to find their place in society. Blacks had a hard time assimilating into the community because the white southerners still viewed them as unequal. As part of the Reconstruction efforts, the North set up charities in order to “keep Southerners from starving”. The North also instituted Freedman’s Bureau. This set up schools and sent teachers from up North to educate the African Americans. This was important because the South tried to create laws to prevent Blacks from voting because of their illiteracy. This is one area where the North made themselves available to the aid of Reconstruction.
The period of Reconstruction was a trying time for all. For the North, they had the daunting task of reconciling a broken nation. The South, after the war, felt estranged from the Union. They experienced defeat and were not received in a welcoming manner by most. The national government did the best they could in rebuilding the nation. However, they fell short. They failed to recognize the differences in the way of life between the North and the South. The North attempted to fix the problems by taking away slavery and providing equality to all. This is important and should have been done. However, they did not provide another means for the South to fuel their economy. It is important to remember that Reconstruction was meant with good intentions, but the problem was too big to be fixed by the government. Ultimately, the southerner’s change of heart would bring about a reconciled nation.