After the historic Civil War, the enormous challenge of reconstructing a shattered country fell to the United States government. Although the Union had survived, underlying themes of justice, liberty, and the law remained controversial, especially in the case of the recent abolition of African Americans. In his 1878 Memorial Day speech, Frederick Douglass explained that these essential values shouldn't be sacrificed for peace. Douglas stated, successful reconstruction must “...have the Constitution, with its thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments, fairly interpreted, faithfully executed, and cheerfully obeyed...” (Source 2). This was not implemented, as white supremacist groups maimed black voters. The emergence of sharecropping left Blacks bound to …show more content…
Yet, they were sacrificed, with America prioritizing the reunion of the North and South over the law. The Fourteenth Amendment granted citizenship to all people born in the United States and promised equal protection under the law (Source 5). The Fifteenth Amendment prohibited the denial of voting rights based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude (Source 6). These amendments were crucial to the Radical Republicans' vision of a multiracial democracy in the South, where African Americans could exercise their rights as full citizens. However, the enforcement of these amendments quickly weakened as the nation prioritized reconciliation over justice. The rise of white supremacist groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan, and the use of intimidation, violence, and fraud in Southern elections nullified the protections offered by these amendments (Source 4). African Americans, “as well as some white Republicans, were assaulted, tortured, or murdered, especially when they attempted to vote” (Source
said that the democrats would let hayes be the president if the government agreed to remove the troops from the south. They accepted the compromise. The life of freedmen during the reconstruction and the new south era did not change much at all socially, economically, and politically from how it was before reconstruction because the south and north made
several other people were not happy with this and even Reconstruction in the South. Reconstruction means to rebuild something such as equality or industry. Southern Resistance killed Reconstruction because of the KKK and the Southern Resistance didn’t encourage it enough to where the Northern Neglect could have done anything. On the morning of May 1870 in Montgomery, Alabama, John K. Stephens was
meaning of freedom. Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States during the beginning era of Reconstruction, had plans to free slaves and grant them freedoms like never before. In 1863, before
Reconstruction was a time after the Civil War focused on rebuilding the country, mainly in the South as that is where most of the battle was fought. This 12-year period of reconstruction lasted from 1865 to 1877 where it not only focused on building cities and towns but restoring equality and unity between all the people. Many groups, such as the high-ranking Confederates who wanted to stay separated, tried to lead reconstruction. But for the Radical Republicans, civil equality for the freedmen was
After the Civil War, America went through a period of Reconstruction. This was when former Confederate states were readmitted to the Union. Lincoln had a plan that would allow them to come back, but they wouldn’t be able to do it easily. He would make 10% of the population swear an oath of loyalty and establish a government to be recognized. However, he was assassinated in Ford’s Theater and Andrew Johnson became the president; Johnson provided an easy path for Southerners. Congress did their best
From the beginning of the Civil War all the way up to the end of Reconstruction, the United States endured a similar type of revolution than it had dealt with in the previous years. In this time, many social and constitutional advancements brought about great change and discord in the country. However, some of these constitutional developments ended up causing conflict such as the civil rights bills and Emancipation Proclamation, in addition to the social developments such as the Black Codes, Ku
That left it in a sad and fallen state. The issue of slavery was a long debated topic. They thought they could get over this and start anew. Reconstruction means the actions or process of rebuilding what has been damaged or destroyed. Did the North or the South kill Reconstruction? That issue is still up for debate. In my opinion, the South killed Reconstruction and stopped it dead in its tracks. The South did not respect the African American’s right to vote and would terrorize
Evans 9/22/15 Social Studies: 4th English: 6th DBQ: Reconstruction The Civil War was a very brutal time yet what came after was even more tragic. It was called Reconstruction. . Reconstruction means to re-build. After the Civil War, which occurred between the years 1861-1865, most of America wanted to re-build and preserve the Union. The Reconstruction era did not last though. Both the North and the South played roles in destroying the Reconstruction though the South played a bigger role in killing
Progressive Era DBQ Essay By the time period of 1900-1920 America was almost fully industrialized. At this time, America was going through a Gilded Age where everything looked good on the outer perspective however on the inside, there were many issues within society. The Progressive Era consisted of people who wanted to reform society politically, socially, and economically. Progressive reformers and the federal government were successful in bringing about reform at the national level by gaining