Mark LaCroix
Miss Emily Gross and Miss Karissa Sywulka
24 November 2014
English III and US History
Reconstruction Paper The greatest triumphs of the reconstruction era were the ratification of the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth amendments. The most critical shortcomings of the reconstruction era were the black codes, the widespread popularity of, “Jim Crow” entertainment, and the lack of action from the United States government concerning peonage. Ratifying the thirteenth amendment was the pinnacle of the reconstruction era, and would change the United States for the rest of history. "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the
…show more content…
It forbid the denial of life, liberty, and property without due process of law. On July 9th 1868, this amendment was ratified, and was directly used to prevent states from denying rights to the newly freed slaves. This new amendment declared that all former slaves were citizens of the United States, and were not to be denied of their birth rights. To put this into perspective, before the ratification of the fourteenth amendments former slaves were free in a sense, but were not considered citizens allowing people to take advantage of them, and is still a prevalent issue to this day. “By directly mentioning the role of the states, the 14th Amendment greatly expanded the protection of civil rights to all Americans and is cited in more litigation than any other amendment.” In conclusion the fourteenth amendment was yet another stepping stone towards the ultimate goal of true equality, and …show more content…
Laws can change, and be enforced, but if people 's hearts don 't change nothing will. The eternalization of Jim Crow entertainment helped fuel the fire of peoples indifferences to african americans. Jim Crow entertainment usually involved white men dressing up as blacks, and putting on extremely derogatory caricatures. In 1941 this deceptive propaganda was still striving during the 1900’s, and is shown no clearer than in Warner Bros, “All This And Rabbit Stew” featuring Bugs Bunny. Children aren 't born resenting a race or ethnic group its programed into their heads by what they see around them, and what the society around them views as right, or even just normal. This form of entertainment insured that the deep hatred would not die with the civil war generation, but would be past down through the generations, and although Jim Crow entertainment wasn’t always mocking black people the concept is still around
Yes, Reconstruction was doomed to fail. The first reason for this was that Lincoln started a plan or policy for Reconstruction before the Civil War was over (page 792 of our assigned readings). Lincoln said that "he intended to to deal with the defeated South "with malice toward none" and "charity for all" to "achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves (Page 792 of our assigned readings)."" The first problem with this thought is that who knows how the war would play out? Yes, Lincoln believed that this proposition would help end the war, but was that a good time to begin Reconstruction? Before the war even ended? Lincoln's plan eventually angered many Radical Republicans, and that is how the Wade-Davis Bill was introduced.
Even when the Amendment abolished slavery in 1865, and the black people embraced education, built their own churches, reunited with their broken families and worked very hard in the sharecropping system, nothing was enough for the Reconstruction to succeed. Whites never gave total freedom to African Americans. Blacks were forced to endure curfews, passes, and living on rented land, which put them in a similar situation as slaves. In
The Black Codes were legal statutes and constitutional amendments enacted by the ex Confederate states following the Civil War that sought to restrict the liberties of newly free slaves, to ensure a supply of inexpensive agricultural labor, and maintain a white dominated hierachy. (paragraph 1) In southern states, prior to the Civil War they enacted Slave Codes to regulate the institution of slavery. And northern non-slave holding states enacted laws to limit the black political power and social mobility. (paragraph 2) Black Codes were adopted after the Civil War and borrowed points from the antebellum slave laws as well as laws in the northern states used to regulate free blacks. (paragraph 3) Eventually, the Black Codes were extinguished when Radical Republican Reconstruction efforts began in 1866-67 along with the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment and civil rights legislation. The lives of the Black Codes did not have longevity but were significant. (paragraph 3)
In this essay I will be writing about the effectiveness of the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America and considering whether they achieved the purpose of making life better for African Americans. I’m going to start this essay by talking about the Amendments and what they were designed to achieve.
In order to unite the nation, intense dispute had aroused. Through various laws both African Americans and ex-Confederates were affected by the reconstruction period. Although the Reconstruction Era had gained a negative legacy, the ratification of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were a breakthrough in the life of African Americans. The continuous development of polices was to reach the intended goal that the Reconstruction Era was sought for, to unify the United States of
The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments are the amendments adopted to the United States Constitution after the Civil War. In succession, these amendments were adopted to the Constitution. Thirteenth Amendment The 13th amendment was adopted speedily in the aftermath of the Civil War, with the simple direct purpose of forbidding slavery anywhere in the United States. The 13th Amendment took authority away from the states, so that no state could institute slavery, and it attempted to constitutionally grant the natural right of liberty. Thought that this amendment would suffice, Congressional Republicans pushed the amendment through.
Slavery was a problem that had been solved by the end of the Civil War . Slavery abused black people and forced them to work. The Northerners didn’t like this and constantly criticized Southerners causing a fight. On January 1, 1863 the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by Lincoln to free all the slaves in the border states . “...All persons held as slaves within said designated states, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free…” (Lincoln 1862). In 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment was passed which abolished slavery (Thirteenth Amendment 1865).
Reconstruction could be considered one of the largest projects ever undertaken. The mess that was the south, left in the ruins of a bloody war, called for drastic measures. The inquisition that begs to be asked is whether or not this venture was a success. Unfortunately the answer isn't as simple as "yes" or "no". Although many promises were broken, the much-debated goals of Reconstruction are still present in the minds of today's leaders as we continue to rebuild our country.
The United States had a presidential and congressional reconstruction. Reconstruction was a failure, a great attempt to unify the nation. It was a failure due to the events that took place during this period. It was 1865, black men were tasting freedom, the confederation was defeated, the south was defeated, but the unchained blacks had no real freedom. " A man maybe free and yet not independent," Mississippi planter Samuel Agnew observed in his diary (Foner 481).
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.
The Reconstruction was undoubtedly a failure . The political and social aim of Reconstruction was to form national unity as well as create civil rights and equality for African Americans. Even though Reconstruction laid the foundation for equal rights in the United States, it did not achieve its primary goals. In the time of Reconstruction, many African Americans still felt the effects of oppression and many were still trapped in an undesirable social and economic class. The Reconstruction was an overall fail despite the fact that it was the shaky groundwork for a fight for equality in the years to come.
The Reconstruction-era offered numerous opportunities to African-Americans, by attempting to secure the rights for ex-slaves, but the opportunities presented even more obstacles to them. The thought of freedom intrigued the African-Americans at first, but many of them quickly changed their minds after experiencing it. Henry William Ravenel, a slaveowner, proclaimed, "When they were told they were free, some said they did not wish to be free, and they were silenced with threats of being shot (Firsthand 24)." The Reconstruction-era effected the white settlers and their crops, as well, posing yet more obstacles for the already-struggling African-Americans. The hardships endured throughout this period of history were very immense and the struggle toward freedom and equality held a heavy price for all.
After the Civil War, in 1865, the southern plantation owners were left with minimal labor. They were bitter over the outcome of the war and wanted to keep African Americans under their control. Black Codes were unique to the southern states, and each state had their own variation of them. In general, the codes compelled the freedmen to work. Any unemployed black could be arrested and charged with vagrancy. The ones that did work had hours, duties, and types of jobs dictated to them. Codes were also developed to restrict blacks from becoming successful. They discouraged owning and selling property, and raising and selling their own crops. Blacks were often prohibited from entering town without written permission from a white employer. A black found after 10 p.m. without a note could be arrested. Permission was even required from a black’s employer to live in a town! Section 5 of the Mississippi Black Codes states that every second January, blacks must show proof of residence and employment. If they live in town, a note from the mayor must b...
After the civil war, newly freed slaves faced many challenges. Whites, especially in the south, regarded blacks as inferior more than ever before. The black codes were just one obstacle the freed slaves had to overcome. They were laws that were passed in the southern states that had the intent and the effect of restricting African Americans freedom. These laws made it possible for the south to regain control over the black population in much of the same ways they had before. The black codes effected reconstruction, and even today’s society in many ways.
The black codes were originally just a group of laws made simply restricting all blacks right. Passes by the southern states they continued from 1865-1866. They suppressed the freedom of the African Americans and blacks in general. They consisted of mainly working for much lower wages and living their whole life in debt