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Reconstruction successes and failures
Reconstruction successes and failures
Reconstruction successes and failures
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The Failure of Reconstruction Reconstruction, the policy that attempted to reconstruct the South after the Civil War, officially ended in 1877. This policy was developed to bring back the 11 states that left the Union and give “freedmen”- African Americans who were freed from slavery - civil rights. The failure of Reconstruction was ironical since it happened during the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. It also happened during a time when everything appeared to be going smoothly for the country, with railroads being built at a rapid rate, hopes and dreams as dreamed by Thomas Jefferson were being pursued, and African Americans were gaining more freedom and equal rights (Roden). The South was responsible for its death …show more content…
due to violence, an unwillingness to change, and fighting and intimidation people who wanted to end slavery. The presidential election held for the 19th president of America in 1876 started the failure of Reconstruction. Rutherford B. Hayes was the Republican candidate and Samuel J. Tilden was the Democratic nominee for this election. The election was really close, and to resolve the situation, an agreement between the two sides called the Compromise of 1877 was reached. Hayes would be president, but he would then have to agree to remove the last federal soldiers from the South (Roden 505). This would cause governments in the South to return to power and its old ways of using and treating slaves unfairly. The first reason the Reconstruction died was because the South treated African Americans and those who supported them with violence and intimidation. A group of white Southerners called the KKK caused violence and used terrorism to scare Northerners from the Reconstruction process. The KKK was a “white supremacist group that opposed Reconstruction and equal rights for freed slaves” (Hook 503). The KKK is killing people in very public places, such as the courthouse, a popular place (Tourgee 511). Northerners and their supporters are being scared and intimidated by the KKK, to stop the reconstruction. One of these events is shown when Colby was attacked by the KKK, because of his vote for the republican side, and after a previous bribe they tried to offer him, but he declined (Colby 513). They were extremely abusive to him, showing that the goal of the KKK was to gain control of the government by using violence, and they will do anything to achieve their mission. This was an example of how the South used violence and intimidation to achieve its goals. The second reason why the South was responsible for the death of Reconstruction was because of their unwillingness to change. They refused to accept social changes in the treatment of African Americans. They continued to discriminate against them and did not want to give them a chance of becoming equal members of their society. Educated men like lawyers and doctors who had the knowledge of higher careers and who should have known right from wrong were part of the KKK. These were first-class men, who wanted to get rid of all African Americans. The mission didn’t seem wrong to them, so they continued to be part of the KKK. They attacked Abram Colby on the 29th of October because Grant was the candidate he voted for. When bribing Colby did not work for the KKK, they beat him up instead, which neither bribing nor beating is not the solution for the problem (Colby 513). The third reason that the South was responsible for the end of Reconstruction was because they continued to oppose people who wanted to end slavery. The KKK were targeting Carpetbaggers, Republicans, and people in the military. Keeping people from the North who were in favor of Reconstruction going to the South was a goal the KKK was attempting to achieve. These Northerners were being targeted by a Southerner group. “Another brave, honest Republican citizen has met his fate.” (Tourgee 511). The KKK was made up of “first class men” (Colby 513), which showed the amount of money and power the South had. The KKK intimidating the Northerners and people who wanted to end slavery. The North may be blamed for having a part in the death of the Reconstruction. There was a claim that “even the staunchly pro-Grant and pro-freedman Boston Evening transcript ran a letter...arguing that “the blacks, as a people, are unfitted for the proper exercise of political duties (Richardson 501).” In the death of Reconstruction, race, labor, and politics had a strong pull on the outcome of the Civil War. This shows that some parts of the North felt the same way about African Americans, as of the word “even” in the beginning of the quote mentions. They felt the same way as the Southerners felt in thinking that African Americans were not able to handle government duties. But the North shouldn’t have the major part of the blame for the end of Reconstruction; this only shows how some of them think this way. The South is responsible for the death of the Reconstruction policy because of their use of violence, their unwillingness to change, and fighting against those who wanted to end slavery. They used violence which should never be used to solve a problem. Reconstruction supporters were targeted by the KKK and even educated men did not want to accept African Americans into society. Reconstruction is a significant historical event because it exposes the evils of slavery and racism. People should learn from the lessons of the failed Reconstruction so they will not repeat the mistakes made then. America is a great nation but it must be careful to learn from its history. The Failure of Reconstruction Reconstruction, the policy that attempted to reconstruct the South after the Civil War, officially ended in 1877. This policy was developed to bring back the 11 states that left the Union and give “freedmen”- African Americans who were freed from slavery - civil rights. The failure of Reconstruction was ironical since it happened during the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. It also happened during a time when everything appeared to be going smoothly for the country, with railroads being built at a rapid rate, hopes and dreams as dreamed by Thomas Jefferson were being pursued, and African Americans were gaining more freedom and equal rights (Roden). The South was responsible for its death due to violence, an unwillingness to change, and fighting and intimidation people who wanted to end slavery. The presidential election held for the 19th president of America in 1876 started the failure of Reconstruction. Rutherford B. Hayes was the Republican candidate and Samuel J. Tilden was the Democratic nominee for this election. The election was really close, and to resolve the situation, an agreement between the two sides called the Compromise of 1877 was reached. Hayes would be president, but he would then have to agree to remove the last federal soldiers from the South (Roden 505). This would cause governments in the South to return to power and its old ways of using and treating slaves unfairly. The first reason the Reconstruction died was because the South treated African Americans and those who supported them with violence and intimidation. A group of white Southerners called the KKK caused violence and used terrorism to scare Northerners from the Reconstruction process. The KKK was a “white supremacist group that opposed Reconstruction and equal rights for freed slaves” (Hook 503). The KKK is killing people in very public places, such as the courthouse, a popular place (Tourgee 511). Northerners and their supporters are being scared and intimidated by the KKK, to stop the reconstruction. One of these events is shown when Colby was attacked by the KKK, because of his vote for the republican side, and after a previous bribe they tried to offer him, but he declined (Colby 513). They were extremely abusive to him, showing that the goal of the KKK was to gain control of the government by using violence, and they will do anything to achieve their mission. This was an example of how the South used violence and intimidation to achieve its goals. The second reason why the South was responsible for the death of Reconstruction was because of their unwillingness to change.
They refused to accept social changes in the treatment of African Americans. They continued to discriminate against them and did not want to give them a chance of becoming equal members of their society. Educated men like lawyers and doctors who had the knowledge of higher careers and who should have known right from wrong were part of the KKK. These were first-class men, who wanted to get rid of all African Americans. The mission didn’t seem wrong to them, so they continued to be part of the KKK. They attacked Abram Colby on the 29th of October because Grant was the candidate he voted for. When bribing Colby did not work for the KKK, they beat him up instead, which neither bribing nor beating is not the solution for the problem (Colby …show more content…
513). The third reason that the South was responsible for the end of Reconstruction was because they continued to oppose people who wanted to end slavery.
The KKK were targeting Carpetbaggers, Republicans, and people in the military. Keeping people from the North who were in favor of Reconstruction going to the South was a goal the KKK was attempting to achieve. These Northerners were being targeted by a Southerner group. “Another brave, honest Republican citizen has met his fate.” (Tourgee 511). The KKK was made up of “first class men” (Colby 513), which showed the amount of money and power the South had. The KKK intimidating the Northerners and people who wanted to end
slavery. The North may be blamed for having a part in the death of the Reconstruction. There was a claim that “even the staunchly pro-Grant and pro-freedman Boston Evening transcript ran a letter...arguing that “the blacks, as a people, are unfitted for the proper exercise of political duties (Richardson 501).” In the death of Reconstruction, race, labor, and politics had a strong pull on the outcome of the Civil War. This shows that some parts of the North felt the same way about African Americans, as of the word “even” in the beginning of the quote mentions. They felt the same way as the Southerners felt in thinking that African Americans were not able to handle government duties. But the North shouldn’t have the major part of the blame for the end of Reconstruction; this only shows how some of them think this way. The South is responsible for the death of the Reconstruction policy because of their use of violence, their unwillingness to change, and fighting against those who wanted to end slavery. They used violence which should never be used to solve a problem. Reconstruction supporters were targeted by the KKK and even educated men did not want to accept African Americans into society. Reconstruction is a significant historical event because it exposes the evils of slavery and racism. People should learn from the lessons of the failed Reconstruction so they will not repeat the mistakes made then. America is a great nation but it must be careful to learn from its history.
“... the slave went free; stood a brief moment in the sun; then moved back again toward slavery.” W.E.B. Dubois explains this in his essay North or South: Who Killed Reconstruction? Reconstruction occurred in the eleven states that seceded from the Union. Reconstruction began in 1865 to help bring the eleven states that left the Union this ended in 1877. How exactly did the North or the South make Reconstruction end? Reconstruction occurred in the 12 years after the civil war and was to help bring back the eleven states that seceded from the Union. Both Southern resistance and Northern neglect contributed to the death of Reconstruction. However, Southern resistance was the greater problem.
There was a new Military Reconstruction Act that was passed to make sure African Americans new rights were protected. The carpetbaggers provided aid for emancipated African Americans. In the article “ North or South: Who Killed Reconstruction?” it shows how the carpetbaggers supported emancipated African Americans by the founding of Black Churches, Public schools, and Universities were built for black children. In this case, the northern states tried to help the southern states to keep reconstruction but the KKK took hands in their own
Yes, Reconstruction was doomed to fail. The first reason for this was that Lincoln started a plan or policy for Reconstruction before the Civil War was over (page 792 of our assigned readings). Lincoln said that "he intended to to deal with the defeated South "with malice toward none" and "charity for all" to "achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves (Page 792 of our assigned readings)."" The first problem with this thought is that who knows how the war would play out? Yes, Lincoln believed that this proposition would help end the war, but was that a good time to begin Reconstruction? Before the war even ended? Lincoln's plan eventually angered many Radical Republicans, and that is how the Wade-Davis Bill was introduced.
The Civil War marked a defining moment in United States history. Long simmering sectional tensions reached critical when eleven slaveholding states seceded from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America. Political disagreement gave way to war as the Confederates insisted they had the right to leave the Union, while the loyal states refused to allow them to go. Four years of fighting claimed almost 1.5 million casualties, resulting in a Union victory. Even though the North won the war, they did a horrible job in trying to win the peace, or in other words, the Reconstruction era. Rather than eliminating slavery in the South, the Southerners had a new form of slavery, which was run by a new set of codes called "Black Codes”. With the help of President Johnson, the South continued their plantations, in essence becoming exactly what they were before the war. Overall, the South won Reconstruction because in the end they got slavery (without the name), they got an easy pass back into the Union, and things reverted back to the way they had been prior the war.
After the Civil War ended in 1865, it was followed by an era known as Reconstruction that lasted until 1877, with the goal to rebuild the nation. Lincoln was the president at the beginning of this era, until his assassination caused his vice president, Andrew Johnson to take his place in 1865. Johnson was faced with numerous issues such as the reunification of the union and the unknown status of the ex-slaves, while compromising between the principles of the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. After the Election of 1868, Ulysses S. Grant, a former war hero with no political experience, became the nation’s new president, but was involved in numerous acts of corruption. Reconstruction successfully reintegrated the southern states into the Union through Lincoln and Johnson’s Reconstruction Plans, but was mostly a failure due to the continued discriminatory policies against African Americans, such as the Black Codes, Jim Crow laws, and sharecropping, as well as the widespread corruption of the elite in the North and the Panic of 1873,
Reconstruction is the period of rebuilding the south that succeeded the Civil War (1861-1865). This period of time is set by the question now what? The Union won the war and most of the south was destroyed. Devastation, buildings turned into crumbles and lost crops. The South was drowning in poverty. To worsen the situation there were thousands of ex-slaves that were set free by the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13 Amendment. "All these ex-slaves", Dr. Susan Walens commented, "and no place to put them," The ex-slaves weren't just homeless but they had no rights, unlike white man. The government and congress had to solve the issues present in the south and the whole nation in order to re-establish the South. These issues were economical, social and political. The United States had presidential and congressional reconstruction. Reconstruction was a failure, a great attempt to unify the nation. It was a failure due to the events that took place during this period.
Reconstruction is known as the period after the Civil war. The whole country was separated in two, people didn’t know what to do, the south was completely destroyed, and there were a lot of decisions to be made by the president. It lasted four years, and there was over half a million casualties between the union (North) and the confederate states (South). The north was declared the winner of the war after General Lee surrender in the Appomattox court house on April 9, 1865. The causes of the war was the secession of several southern states, they argued that it was up to them and it was in their rights to decide whether they should make slavery legal or illegal in their own boundaries. But the Union had other things in mind, the union wanted to decide whether or not the states were going to have slaves. This was just to make sure the country was equal on slavery and non-slavery on both sides, but states thought the union was abusing their power and being too strict on them, and that is when they decided to secede. The first state to secede was south Carolina, then they were followed by six other states, among those states were Florida, Texas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. These states got together and created the confederate states of America in February 4, 1861, and the president was Jefferson Davis, they also made a government similar to the one of the U.S. Constitution.
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.
Reconstruction was the time period following the Civil War, which lasted from 1865 to 1877, in which the United States began to rebuild. The term can also refer to the process the federal government used to readmit the defeated Confederate states to the Union. While all aspects of Reconstruction were not successful, the main goal of the time period was carried out, making Reconstruction over all successful. During this time, the Confederate states were readmitted to the Union, the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments were ratified, and African Americans were freed from slavery and able to start new lives.
Despite all of Reconstruction’s promises and successes, the era included many failures, too. One such failure was the formation of the Ku Klux Klan and other racially prejudiced groups in the South that promoted violence towards African Americans. Another failure involved the corruption seen during Reconstruction by both the North and South. The carpetbaggers who were Northerners helped spread corruption in the Reconstruction Era by moving from their home state in the North securing a political office or position in the South to carry out the plans of the Radical Republicans. In the South, many local governments disenfranchised or created poll taxes for African American voters enabling them to vote.
The Ku Klux Klan, was an extremist group that formed during the 1800’s. They used torture to gain power, especially in the South. They were a group of white men that shared the same political views and goals. They formed between December of 1865, and the Summer of 1866 in Pulaski Tennessee. Their original idea was to be a brotherhood, but that quickly changed. The Klan did not realize their potential at first, but they realized they could have as much power as they wanted if they worked for it, and thats what they did. They met in secret to plot their heart breaking attacks on African Americans, Republicans and many others. Finally, in the 1870’s laws were passed to limit their deadly actions. In 1869 they had earned notoriety and nationwide
The year is 1876 and Reconstruction is in process. Reconstruction is the rebuilding of the South. Now that the Civil War was over, the United States was creating enough opportunities that all Americans could pursue their hopes for happiness. This was an important era in American history. This showed how Americans were back then and how their decisions affected the United States of America. The South ended Reconstruction because of the KKK, racism, and lawless fear.
In the article America’s Most Infamous Hate Group The KKK by Jessica McBirney, the author's purpose is to tell me about the history of the KKK in the US and what the group was about. The KKK was a group that thinks that white people are better than other races. The KKK has gone through three different waves since the 1800s.
Reconstruction was a success with only accomplishing restoration of the nation enforcing that the southern states accept the Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendment as law reconstruction gave principle to states’ rights vs Federal law. In my opinion The Radical Republicans played a major role in the downfall for the African-American Community demise of uplifting them into believing the Radicals did have the slaves best interest but instead leaving them lost with no true direction or support. I believe if they would have stuck through their plan of a better America minus the slaves being separated would have prospered way more and much farther than other countries especially the crown and other countries. The Radical movement was to include
They targeted African American people just because of the color of their skin. These are things that people have no control over. Although we are all people, the KKK thinks that there is only one supreme race of humans, and that not everybody should be treated fairly just because of who they are. Some people may think that the KKK was good because they made whites feel secure about themselves, and made themselves feel important, but all people are people, and everyone should be treated fairly no matter what makes them