Native American Reconstruction

Reconstruction failed to create equity between the races and the previous practices of discrimination and exploitation of the blacks continued. The reconstruction period failed to redistribute wealth and modernize the southern society. The question of land ownership remained the same with the black community unable to own land. This situation left the black community vulnerable to exploitation by the land owning white community in the south despite having been freed. Reconstruction notably failed to prevent violence perpetrated against the black community; especially through the spread of the Ku Klux Klan. The end of reconstruction never realized the potential for change created by the thirteen, fourteen and fifteen amendments. Despite these failures,

the reconstruction succeeded in reunifying the union, expanding the economies of the north and the south, education for all, and creation of favorable laws for the black community and freedom for the former slaves.
The Native Americans shared many characteristics that were bestowed upon them by the characteristics of the Great Plains.

The Native Americans had similar cultures, economic activities and physical looks. They all had their subsistence from hunting and agriculture and used the existing raw materials in the plains for food and clothing. Due to the regular changes in the weather patterns of the Great Plains, the Native Americans changed their way of life in the same way through the seasons. They also all shared a similarity in language, currencies for trade and weapons. The belief systems and religions practiced were also similar for all the different Native American dwellers of the Great Plains. The Native Americans of the Great Plains defended their territory from the white settler’s expansion through similar methods. They fought back with military force, tried to settle through treaties and finally tried alliances with other forces to stop the loss of their lands to the white settlers. The federal government destroyed the cultures of the Native Americans hoping that; by westernizing them, they could be ‘better citizens’. The government had hoped to integrate the Native Americans into the wider white American

society.
The text supports the idea that the American people were wary of the impact that the growth of big business could have on the society. However, the people were also very curious as to the benefits that they would derive from the growth of big enterprise. The result was a nation with a fear of the unknown but with a stronger urge to take the risk for the possible riches that big business could bring (Davidson).
The typical immigrants to the US in the late 19th century were mostly unskilled and poor people from Northern, Eastern and Western Europe as well as from Asia. They emigrated fro a variety of push and pull factors such as draught and food shortages in their homeland, the attraction of American democracy, European population crowding and religious persecution in their homelands. These migrants were received with some hostility from a section of native born Americans. The natives feared the newcomers due to perceived political, racial and religious differences. At the same time, they were resented for the completion for jobs that they created and the low wages they readily accepted to take driving wages down for American workers.
Teddy Roosevelt is seen as the first progressive president due to his bold actions and the time that he took power. He came to power during a time when the American society was ready for reforms. The actions he took such as siding with the workers unions over their employers were trend setting, as it had never happened before. He also took on big business dissolving monopolistic behemoths such as that of the almost full US railway ownership by J.P Morgan and James Hill. He undertook to fight corruption and supported environmentalists and conservationism. These were the first such actions by any American president, and that made him the first progressive American president.

References
Davidson, James W. Experience History: Interpreting America's Past. , 2014. Print.