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The New View Of Reconstruction
The New View Of Reconstruction
Rights for african americans in 1800s
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In my view, Reconstruction remains equally relevant today mainly because the issues was core to the Reconstruction mainly, the protection of citizens' rights by the federal government and the need to have racial and economic justice for all are still to large extent remain unresolved and therefore very much relevant. The Reconstruction era was the era which witness the continuous progress and criticism and counter attacks happening at the same time. During this era a lot if political changes were taking place to provide and improve the fundamental social and economic rights. During this era the continues efforts to find justice and reconciliation were taking place while the violence and destruction was wide spread. In a way it was one of
The most critical issue raised by the North’s victory was the South acceptance of transition of freedom for former slaves. Since most of southern whites did not agree with the idea of freedmen, they created several ways to foreclose the blacks to exercise their rights. The South utilized dirty tactics to preserve the idea of slavery, such as laws as the black codes, lynching and other violent ways promoted by groups known as Ku Klux Klan.
The thesis “The New View of Reconstruction”, Eric Foner reviews the constantly changing view on the subject of the Reconstruction. The postwar Reconstruction period has been viewed in many different lights throughout history but one fact remains true, that it was one of the most “violent, dramatic and controversial” times in US’s history (224). In the beginning of his thesis, Eric Foner talks about the way the Reconstruction was though as before the 1960 as a period of intense, corruption and manipulation of the freedman. After mentioning the old way of thinking before the 1960’s, Eric Foner reveals the reason for this train of thought, the ignored testimonials of the black freedman.
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,
The United States, a nation that has undergone many hard changes, politically, economically, and socially. The success of this great nation has relied on different plans and objectives set out by the leaders that have gone before us. One plan that helped shape our nation was Reconstruction. Though many consider Reconstruction to be a failure, Reconstruction helped pass laws that recognized African Americans as equals, restored the Union, and provided educational opportunities for former slaves. These initiatives are what made Reconstruction a success.
In the words of President Abraham Lincoln during his Gettysburg Address (Doc. A), the Civil War itself, gave to our Nation, “a new birth of freedom”. The Civil War had ended and the South was in rack and ruin. Bodies of Confederate soldiers lay lifeless on the grounds they fought so hard to protect. Entire plantations that once graced the South were merely smoldering ash. The end of the Civil War and the abolishment of slavery, stirred together issues and dilemmas that Americans, in the North and South, had to process, in hopes of finding the true meaning of freedom.
The social history regarding reconstruction has been of great controversy for the last two decades in America. Several wars that occurred in America made reconstruction efforts to lag behind. Fundamental shortcomings of the reconstruction were based on racism, politics, capitalism and social relations. The philosophy was dominant by the people of South under the leadership of Lincoln. Lincoln plans were projected towards bringing the states from the South together as one nation. However, the efforts of the Activist were faded by the intrusion of the Republicans from the North. Northerners were capitalists and disapproved the ideas that Lincoln attempted to spread in the South (Foner Par 2).
Reconstruction was a hard time were a lot of bad decision took place but some god ones were put in effect like the three amendments, the Civil Rights bill and the Tenure of Office. Is a fact that I took a lot of steps for the country to become stabilized 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. But what it did was set the playground for the many civil right movements to come.
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 was a period in the United States where it was going through significant changes and challenges. The first change made during the reconstruction period was the Emancipation Proclamation designed by Abraham Lincoln. How it came about was the North was disappointed in Abraham Lincoln’s failure
The Reconstruction Era that followed the Civil War was created to represent a period of political, economical, and social reconstruction of the Northern Union and the eleven Confederate states of the South. Though the conclusion the Civil War and commencement of the Reconstruction Era represented the conclusion of slavery throughout the United States, it did not guarantee African Americans racial equality and freedom from prejudice and segregation in Southern states of the U.S. The few advancements during the Reconstruction Era, such as the establishments of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments failed to out weigh the extreme segregation caused by the early Black Codes and Jim Crow laws , gruesome violence derived from lynching
The period of rebuilding after the Civil War was termed the Era of Reconstruction. During this period the government was supposed to help build back the South and strengthen the Union. The government, however, failed to help the South complete the transition into life without slavery. The government disregarded the treatment of African Americans and allowed the South to continue to treat them badly. The government also failed to help stabilize the economy for the South, and the political situation was filled with distrust and corruption.
It was a time in American history that one could describe as “one step forward, two steps back”. We won a huge political battle; the abolition of slavery. At the same time, we were faced with the growing labor issues in the North, as industrialization changed the face of labor. The Union won the war on a physical and practical level but failed to change its root cause. It failed to change the attitudes of common southern society. Reconstruction was done while ignoring extremely pervasive southern values and ideals, and that is why I believe that reconstruction was, as I said, an era of “one step forward, two steps back.” The era of Reconstruction was a time in American history where the idea of a government by and for the people was ignored in favor of what the government thought was best for the people, while ignoring what the people were asking for.
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.
My main priority in the Reconstruction is to provide assistance to the South, while not comprising on the moral principles. As a northerner, I viewed slavery as immoral, so many of the laws I passed were to benefit African Americans and reunite the country. The Wade-Davis that I encourage Congress to pass, was to ensure that the Southern states never again secede from the Union, by having the majority of white males pledge their loyalty to the Union, abolish slavery, and renounce the Confederacy. Next, I tried to reestablish the South as a major agricultural production center by requiring former slave owners to hire help to plant and grow food. If they treated their workers unfairly, meaning like they were still slaves, and many of the workers