Twentieth Century America Changes

History Essay Assignment
The United States went through a dramatic change from 1865 to the twentieth century. The United States evolved from being a nation not prominent in world affairs, with an agriculture-based economy, to being one of the dominant industrial powers on our planet by going through political and social shifts such as Progressivism and populism, Expansion and industrialization, and reconstruction These factors all tied together led to productive changes that makes America to be the most industrialized and free country in the world.
The emancipation proclamation in 1863 freed all the African Americans in all the states in the south, and following the civil war, the thirteenth Amendment freed all the slaves and emancipated

them throughout the whole country. However, the blacks in the south had to face the problems that blacks from north had already confronted, which was facing the racism and the resistance of the white southerners. After the civil war the first attempt of the north to make better relations with the south and tried to rebuild after the destructive war which lasted until 1877, was Reconstruction era. In June 1866, Congress passed the 14th Amendment to the constitution which was ratified in 1868. This Amendment provided the African Americans with citizenship and assured them the equality between blacks and whites. Also, with this amendment the congress put pressure on the South by denying them from the Union unless they ratified the 14th Amendment, and the only state who accepted was Tennessee, however by 1868 the 10 remaining southern states ratified the 14th Amendment as well.

The 14th Amendment was purposed to grant citizenship to freed slaves to protect their civil liberties. During Reconstruction era, blacks were also able to vote and participate in political matters, helped to write new laws, and some got involved in politics and ran for political offices and got elected. For example they had official government positions such as U.S. Senators, U.S. Representatives, and governors. Shortly after, the African Americans were also given the right to vote through the 15th Amendment which gave the right to vote to any citizen without the fact of their race, color, or previous condition. Congressional reconstruction also created military districts in the south and authorized the military to enforce the federal law, so African Americans found themselves with many opportunities such as education, and to direct their own economic live. However, racism, class and cultural struggles, the rise of the myth of the lost cause caused the Reconstruction to fail. Racism is a “belief that all members of each

race possess characteristics specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior to another race”, that south strongly believed that whites were superior to all other races but in specific blacks and the ideas about race were vital in expanding the nation. Also, industrialization in the U.S, and immigration of poor Europeans to the U.S, and their social dividend with white Americans caused class and cultural issues. Lastly, the myth of lost cause which was consists of different elements played a role in fail of reconstruction as well. These elements were that secession caused the civil war and threat to slavery, the confederacy was defeated because of the union’s overwhelming advantages of men and resources, and confederate soldiers were heroic and saintly but the union soldiers were not. Therefore, the reconstruction era was this period of time that the union tried to help the south form a better understanding of freed slaves tried to help the blacks from getting violently terrorized by the white supremacist groups. They put to act amendments and gave the blacks the power to vote, education, and become political powers in the south. Even though it failed because of the history of slavery, the resistance of confederates by forming violent groups such as KKK to terrorize the blacks, and the myth of lost cause, the Reconstruction era had a small impact on giving the actual taste of freedom to blacks and immigrants to help this nation to move towards industrialization.