Take Home Essay

The Reconstruction-era was crucial to the development of freedmen and of the social structure in the south; however the Republicans were not successful in all aspects. There were various factors that impeded the success of guaranteed rights to freedmen and to a functional social structure that people in the south would comply with. There were amendments, black codes, reconstruction acts, racial organizations, and many more difficulties that denied freedmen their rights and a working social structure for the southerners.

After the Civil War was over and the Reconstruction-era began, changes were made such as the 13th amendment in 1865, which forbid slavery in the United States. Even though slavery was now prohibited, freed blacks were now left alone to struggle finding simple things like a roof to live in and a job to work for. Meanwhile, President Abraham Lincoln wanted to give the south humane conditions for them to be accepted back into the union and also wanted to give African Americans and former soldiers the right to vote, but that wasn’t very successful when put into the hands of Congress. Soon after Lincoln was killed in 1865, President Andrew Johnson came into presidency and changed the conditions giving African Americans a harder time adapting to their new lives as freedmen. Furthermore, the south became very violent against the blacks and came up with black codes, which put freed blacks as closely as possible back into a slave state. These black codes prohibited interracial marriages, the ownership of guns or liquor, congregation in large groups and had curfews for these freedmen. Furthermore, these black codes forced the freedmen to sign annual work contracts that were offensive and offered only in the agricultural f...

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...n a way of life in the south.

In conclusion, the Reconstruction was overall ineffective for giving real rights to African Americans. In effect, all of these outcomes only gave the white an advantage and gave African Americans a difficult way of life. As for the social structure in the south, they ended up getting things their way, winning themselves back into domination of southern state control. There wasn’t really a successful social structure that accomplished to teach southern states a lesson, which only made things worse for African Americans when there was a tiny ounce hope for them. At last, the south did anything they could to impede the rights for African Americans and to neglect a social structure, and as far as the Reconstruction-era, the south was successful. The Republicans did a lot of great things for African Americans, but something always backfired.