Reconstruction Dbq

After the conclusion of the Civil War that ended in 1865, slavery was abolished and of course with the victory from the Union, America was now a nation again. Although America was together as one, still, the north and the south had different views of approaching the way of life regarding to “ex-slaves”. During the post war, it lead America to a time called the Reconstruction era(1863-1877) where mainly the southern states of America learned to refigure out their new lifestyles without owning slaves. As you can imagine after losing a war, the former Confederates faced many problems during the aftermath of the battles. Families were lost and destroyed, the southern lands were a state of chaos due to the massive destruction of the fighting, emancipation of slaves occurred, money was lost due to their property being destroyed, and of course,

their ultimate moral was down after surrendering the war. On the other hand, the North had no other choice but to celebrate the war. The victory brought to them prosperity, which eventually lead to the second industrial revolution resulting in massive raw supplies, crops, new inventions and technologies, and even a larger force for labor.
Not only did the aftermath of the Civil War effect the North and the South, but it immediately and greatly affected the ex-slaves. Priorities of the ex-slaves seemed ordinary, however, after being owned as property and finally being set “free”, they started from rock bottom in hopes to get back on their feet. They looked for simple housing, a place to stay due to the fact they previously lived in their ex-masters property. Being a slave, masters would assign you their own name and once the slaves became free, they got rid of their name and made one up for themselves. They usually named themselves after powerful people in society, such as ex-presidents. Employment was also an issue that most ex-slaves faced. Since they were enslaved for so many years, which became a normal routine for them in terms of labor. Many slaves became uncertain and would rather work for their old masters since that would provide them with shelter and a job that they would be paid for. However, this was bad news for the ex-slaves because most of them were illiterate, where on the other hand, white men were literate. They were most often taken advantage of by the sharecropping system where the ex-master would provide land, seeds, and farm equipment in return for the labor. Ex-slaves were paid very little for this due to the lack of education and usually formed debt, which was passed onto their children and kept their family trapped in the process. One of the most important priority of the former slaves was their own education, for themselves, and their family. They received a basic age fourteen level education. Also, during this time, the more educated black men formed the Black Elite which served as a leadership purpose in the black community. Last but not least, they looked for religion, and marriage. Many slaves were separated from their loved ones, and would travel the distances to find them, unfortunately, most of them were never brought together again. Most former slaves followed a form of Christian religion such a Baptist, Methodist, and Pentecostal.
In 1863, President Lincoln proposed the Ten Percent Plan. This plan stated that when 10% of voters in the selected Southern states swore an oath of allegiance, they would be accepted into the Union to form the new government. Those voters would then be able to choose their representatives for congress. In 1864, Wade Davis Bill was introduced which was a response to Lincoln’s Plan, instead of 10% of the voters, they wanted 50% to pledge allegiance, However, Lincoln vetoed the bill. Unfortunately, the South rejected Lincoln’s plan. In 1865, President Lincoln was assassinated for what he caused to the South (the emancipation of slaves). Andrew Johnson exceeded Lincoln and ironically, he was an ex-slave holder. Johnson’s plan for the South was more severe, it in terms disfranchised everyone from the South worth more than 20k and it also accepted Lincolns Plan into it. He also wanted to remove the Elite from the process, of course, unless there was a Presidential pardon. The South seemed to accept this plan in 1865, however, they had a plan of their own, which was intended to give no rights for blacks. They formed the Black Codes in 1865 which limited the movement of ex-slaves so they could not escape the process. African Americans were deprived from their education, guns, and alcohol. They also received minimum payment for their work and had no protection from laws. This was created to control the former slaves, and to create an society as close to slavery as possible. This was the reaction of the whites from the South, although they lost the war, they believed their way of living (owning slaves) was superior to the North’s idea. They seemed to not be able to imagine life without slaves, and the thought of people they once owned as property now being able to vote and be free while they were limited, sickened them. Whites also formed an organized resistance towards the Blacks and the Congressional Reconstitution, they were known as the Ku-Klux-Klan who were notorious for being violent.
The Congressional (Radical) Reconstruction differed in terms of view from the President, and the South.

The Freedman Bureau in 1865 was formed by Congress, which was a plan to help the transition of ex-slaves from slavery, to freedom. School, jobs, shelter, and protection from ex-masters were provided. In 1866, Congress also passed the Civil Rights act, which affirmed the equal rights of all US citizens. However, the response to this act was very violent, especially from the Ku-Klux-Klan. They targeted blacks, especially males with their notorious acts. They would catch a man at night and give him an option, get castrated and live, or be lynched. In 1867, the Reconstruction Act was passed, it divided the South into five military districts, forming martial law in the area. Also, in order to vote, one must prove they did not support the Confederacy. The Fifteenth Amendment of 1870 was up next which stated that any person born in the USA is a citizen without regards to race, color, or previous conditions. In 1871, the Enforcement Act was set to target the KKK, in hopes to investigate them, break them, and eventually prosecute

them.
The collapse of the Reconstruction Era occurred in 1877 due to three main reasons. In 1858, Charlies Darwin released On The Origin of Species which discussed the theory of evolution, this started the intellectual opposition to the Reconstruction Era. Next, there was a political development due to the resurgence of the Democratic Party. The Republican control of Congress was undermined, and the Democrats moved to end Reconstruction era. The election of 1877 also played a huge role of the process as well, although Tilden won the popular votes, Hayes won the electoral votes and was put into office. This lead to the compromise of 1877 where Hayes ordered troops to be removed from the South which lead the whites to deal with ex-slaves. In that area, the whites controlled the South economically and socially, however, politically, the blacks had a voice.
This lead America into the transition period where a lot of segregation and disfranchisement occurred. First, in the 1880s, the Populist Movement was created by a group of farmers which would bring blacks & whites together, however, this did not work out as planned and instead spurred the movement to disfranchise and segregate the blacks. The movement to disfranchise blacks included a literacy test and a high level of blacks were illiterate. Poll taxes were put in place and many blacks did not have that money to vote, it was either feed their family or vote. Crime checks were also ordered, if you had a felony or any criminal record, which eliminated your chances to vote. Last but not least, the grandfather clause was put in act, which stated, to vote, one’s grandfather was to have been eligible to vote as of January 1st, 1867. Of course, many of the black’s grandfathers were not able to vote at that time since they were slaves. During this time, socially, the perception of blacks were they were biologically inferior, and that they carried diseases, therefore, they must be segregated. Laws eventually passed due to several court cases such as Plessy vs Ferguson in 1896, which lead to the “separate but equal” law. All blacks and whites were segregated in any social setting, but “equally”. The consequences of segregation and disfranchisement as a whole lead to blacks having no voice in government, leaving them powerless since society cannot respond to their needs, and they were vulnerable physically. Racial violence was also used to reinforce segregation and disfranchisement. Acts of violence consists of the same attacks the Ku-Klux-Klan would perform, lynching and riots. To sum it up, violence was used in an inhuman way during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Four thousand lynches were performed, and only a quarter of those murders resulted in somebody being tried in court, arrested, or convicted.