“...The slave went free: stood a brief moment in the sun; then moved back again toward slavery.”. This quote by W.E.B. Dubois shows that African Americans finally had a taste of freedom that was destroyed as they went back to doing labor for others. Reconstruction was supposed to help African Americans and Whites get closer together, but it failed. Reconstruction started as a way to bring back the Union and ended with the Compromise of 1877. Talk of a new Civil War was in the air, as opponents in the disputed states submitted separate sets of electoral ballots. The Compromise of 1877 was an informal agreement to avoid the crisis of another Civil War. It granted Hayes the Presidency and in return, Hayes had to remove the last Federal soldiers from the South. This almost guaranteed …show more content…
The Ku Klux Klan brutally killed John W. Stephens by stabbing him five to six times and hanging him just because he was a Republican (Tourgee, Letter on Ku Klux Klan Activities). This violence from the Ku Klux Klan that day showed just how separated everyone was. This wasn’t the only violent action that the Ku Klux Klan had shown. They killed many other groups because they wanted to help Freedmen, African Americans who were freed, and the hope of Reconstruction. They hung many Carpetbaggers, who were Northerners who went to the South to help Freedmen, along with Scalawags, who were Southern whites who supported the Carpetbaggers (Lynching image, Independent Monitor). These actions that the Ku Klux Klan took on African Americans and those who supported them, show that they weren’t willing to go along with Reconstruction and so instead they were destroying it. The South’s violence did play a big part in the end of Reconstruction, but the Northern neglect did as well. The Northerns for a long time were trying to help things down in the South, but after a while, they shifted their attention away from the
First off there was the Ku Klux Klan better known as the KKK. This was a group of people who wore robes and masks. They pretended to be the ghosts of confederate soldiers. These people were scared of changes and the rising rights of African Americans. This was also in the north not just the south. Poverty was a big thing after reconstruction. It was a problem before reconstruction but it got bigger after. Poverty was a global issue in the south where a lot of white southerners had lost their land. This caused them to be trapped in a little poverty cycle. African Americans had little job
First and foremost, the South performed atrocious activities that slaughtered reconstruction. The KKK and people who supported racial dominance focused on blacks alongside Carpetbaggers, Northerners who went to the South after
April 1865 saw the end of the Civil War, and with it came the need for some sort of policy to reunify, restore or “reconstruct” the political, economic, and social relationship of the southern states with the rest of the Union. The period of this process of bringing the states of the Confederacy back into the Union is called 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
The Civil War fragmented the United States by not only state borders, but by ideals and beliefs such as how much power the federal and state governments should hold, slavery, and other key issues at the time. By the end of the war, the Union had the responsibility to bring the former states of the Confederacy back into the union, rebuild both their economies and state governments, and address the large population of newly freed slaves. From period of 1865 to 1877, the period of Reconstruction in the south was only furthered slowed by resistance from portions of white population in the south who wished for their way of life to remain the same as their where before the war. During the years of Reconstruction, the whites’ resistance slowly began
Since our time serving together, the state of the Union has changed immensely with the “reconstruction” period starting in the U.S. As an esteemed member of the House of Representatives, you most certainly know about the vetoing of the Wade-Davis Bill. I am not sure which way you were swayed to vote, but I’m torn on the issue. As you know, Mr. Lincoln’s promise in his “Emancipation Proclamation” was my main inspiration to join the war effort. Although I agreed with most of his decisions during the war, his lenient terms of surrender for the Confederate army slightly altered my point of view of the president. Lincoln’s desire to quickly and smoothly reconstruct the Union was understandable, but Lincoln’s ten percent plan for
For the change to happen, the southerners would need to accept African Americans as their own or equal citizens
In 1860, the southern states decided to secede from the North, South Carolina was the first, followed by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas, constituting Confederate States of America. Thus causing the beginning of the American Civil War. The country was now divided into two, north and south and considering that north was stronger economically the south had no choice but to surrender.
“War was easy. The hard part was cleaning up afterward.” In this essay we will be talking about the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth amendments and their contents, contexts, and consequences. Also the successes and failures of the Reconstruction, lastly the election of 1876. The Reconstruction era after the Civil War had both beneficial and non beneficial happenings that helped shape our country into what it is today.
The federal Reconstruction efforts from 1865 through 1878 were mostly resisted because most southerners treated the blacks the same as when they were slaves. Many blacks were killed when they were set free because people believed they should stay slaves. There were also groups that threatened the blacks and killed them for supporting Republican beliefs. Finally, the employers of freed blacks watched over them like they were slaves even though they were free.
The Civil War, the deadliest war in American History, ended in a vicious divide of opinions and Northern and Southern States. This war ended in 1865 and thus began the Reconstruction Era where the U.S. tried to unite and the Confederate States were accepted back into the Union. In Reconstruction, the 13th-15th Amendments concerning Civil Rights and African Americans were ratified. The 13th Amendment abolishing slavery, the 14th awarding citizenship, and the 15th providing the right to vote. African Americans made huge advancements for their rights during this Era, however, Reconstruction ended in 1876. Reconstruction ended because of Northern neglect and Southern resistance. However, Southern resistance was the
Following the Civil War, the United States went into a period of -repair-, in attempts to unite the Northern and Southern states economically, politically, and most importantly socially. The reconstruction period was an emotional and intense time for the African-Americans ending with the assassination of president Abraham Lincoln. Andrew Johnson was inaugurated in March, 1865 which changed life drastically for the rights of African Americans. One of the freedmen testified, “the Yankees ‘tol’ us we were free, but once the army left, planters would get cruel to the slaves if they acted like they were free”. The reconstruction era was unsuccessful and was a strenuous long process which was very disappointing for the northern U.S population, especially
1865 was the start of a brand new. In American history reconstruction after the Civil War the United States was left ruins so the northern states Help South rebuild and make it easier to rejoin the Union the Northerners and Republicans try to help with their efforts were very successful. Reconstruction was a failure. During Reconstruction African-Americans games many rights but these right student last their voting rights for restricted segregation laws were put into place and secret societies were made for threatened and endangered African American life wasn't any better for African Americans or the southerners after the Civil War
Though the North won the civil war, the African Americans may not have all seen it as a victory, and rather a loss as their expense. The war seemed to be fought for, or against, slavery. The antislavery party may have won the war but not the slave’s rights that they fought for. Many African Americans felt that the peace had been lost and they had gained no permanent political or economic rights in the postwar period.
Reconstruction was in many ways a failed attempt at rebuilding America. The aftershocks of this era will have lasting effects on the American society for centuries to come. This period was intended to stitch America back together after the ravages of the Civil War. U.S. History describes it as: “although the military conflict had ended, Reconstruction was in many ways still a war” (“Reconstruction”). Instead of uniting again, this time period drove the North and the South further apart. The North sought liberation and equality for the former slaves, whereas the South so desperately clung to their way of life where African Americans were just the dirt on the bottom of a shoe. It has taken centuries to make everyone equal. We all may be equal