President Lincoln's conciliatory Reconstruction plan aimed to heal the rift between the North and the South wrought by the Civil War. However, Reconstruction didn't proceed as Lincoln intended.
Do you think Reconstruction was successful at reunifying the nation and addressing the conflicts that led to war?
In this discussion, you'll evaluate Reconstruction and consider the lingering effects of the Civil War.
For three of the areas listed below, post a response to the question, "In what ways did Reconstruction succeed and/or fail in this area?"
-Rebuilding the Southern economy
- Improving the economic status of former slaves
-Political reunification of North and South
-Restoring Southern loyalty to the Union
- Punishing former rebels
- Establishing civil liberties for African Americans, both in law and in practice
-Establishing political rights for African Americans, both in law and in practice
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Many problems arose once the Civil War had come to an end, and solutions to these problems would prove extremely challenging. The fate of freed blacks and the former rebels were important among these issues. Although Reconstruction did not successfully provide for the rights of freed blacks, it most effectively restored southern loyalty to the Union and reunified the North and South.
ReplyDeleteAbraham Lincoln's plan of Reconstruction involved the restoration of loyalty of southerners to the Union and the reunification of the North and South. His Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction provided for presidential pardons for southerners who alleged loyalty to the Union and restoration of a state to the Union once a certain percentage of people had taken the oath of allegiance. By making this deal, the president successfully allowed for the admission of the rebellious states back into the Union, therefore reuniting the North and the South to a lasting extent.
On the flip side of Reconstruction, the rights of freed blacks were not well-protected. Southern legislatures quickly adopted Black Codes, which prohibited blacks from renting land or borrowing money to purchase it; forced blacks to sign work contracts as a form of servitude; and prevented blacks from testifying against whites on trial. Indeed, the blacks had won their freedom from slavery with the end of the Civil War, but their political and social disadvantages in the postwar era were overwhelming. It would be many more years before the freedmen and women would gain fully equal rights in the United States.
Reconstruction failed in Establishing civil liberties for African Americans by establishing the Black Codes that prohibited free blacks from being able to buy land which meant that they also could not vote. Also, the civil rights act of 1875 was not enforced as it should have been so discrimination against blacks was still an issue.
ReplyDeleteReconstruction succeeded in providing political rights to african americans by allowing them to hold offices and run for senate seats. This infuriated many southerners, however, it ensured peace would be maintained.
Reconstruction failed in punishing former rebels because Abraham Lincoln gave a presidential pardon to all rebels that seceded in order to make peace and insure loyalty to the union.
After the Civil War, the United States was in no way united. Lincoln planned on a peaceful and simple reunion of the North and South and the implementation of rights for the freed slaves. His assassination, however, left the deed to his successor, Andrew Johnson, a white supremacist. Although improving the economic statuses of former slaves proved a failed venture, African Americans were given both civil and political rights thanks to various acts passed by the Republicans.
ReplyDeleteEven though sharecropping was offered to freed slaves for an occupation, this job regulated poor revenue and no room for advancement. Sharecropping, an institution in which the landlord offered the seed and farm equipment in return for half the profit, became just another form of slavery. With half of their revenue going to their white landlords, African Americans had hardly any money to advance in society, and they were indebted to their landlords. Essentially, the freed slaves could not make a living without their white landlords.
Civil rights for the freed slaves received much opposition, but the Republicans managed to give the African Americans basic rights. President Johnson did not protest when the South adopted the Black Codes. These codes were designed to keep the freed slaves from renting land or getting loans to by land of their own, to force them to sign work contracts, and to prevent them from testifying against whites. In response, the Republicans used their influence in Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act, which proclaimed all African Americans citizens, contrary to the verdict of the Dred Scott case, and protected them from the Black Codes. The fifteenth amendment further protected the African Americans' right to vote by insisting that votes were not to be discounted because of the "race, color, or previous condition of servitude." This covered all the bases regarding the freedmen's right to vote. The Freedmen's Bureau, however short-lived, gave the freed slaves aid immediately following their emancipation. This group of African American advocates established 3,000 schools for African Americans since they could now be educated.
Along with civil liberties, African Americans were also granted some political freedom in the United States as well. Before the war, African American slaves could not even vote, but afterwards, they could not only vote, but they could also hold political office. Naturally, most freedmen were Republicans because of their progressive view on African Americans' rights. In fact, the South had two Republican senators, Blanche K. Bruce and Hiram Revels. Now that the African Americans could vote, both the North and the South realized the effect of the additional votes. This gave the Republicans even more incentive to protect the rights of the freedmen, as twisted as the motive was.
Rights for African Americans were no where near perfected until over a century later, but the end of the Civil War marked a beginning for those kinds of reforms. Even though the economic situations did not improve for most freed slaves, they were given civil and legal rights, which marked the first step towards giving meaning to the constitutional idea of equality.
Although Reconstruction was successful in the fact that it reunified the North and the South as one nation, it was a failure in many aspects such as the inability to improve the status of freed slaves and rebuild the South's economy.
ReplyDeleteReconstruction brought the North and South back together as one unified nation. Constitutions were drawn up by the Southern states that would refuse to accept further secession and ratify the thirteenth amendment. Former confederate leaders were elected to congress. Though this didn't sit well with the Republicans and the south wasn't completely trustworthy of the north, the nation was unified.
However, the status and rights of the freed slaves were not improved. "Black Codes" were put into place in the south. They restricted the rights of blacks. Also, sharecropping was adopted by some southern farmers. Because blacks couldn't rent land or borrow money to buy land as stated in the "Black Codes," They worked on rural southerners crops. In a way, this was just another form of slavery with minimal benefits.
The South's economy was in a state of disaster. Much of the land had been destroyed because of the war. Now that slaves were freed, there was really no labor force, which caused the south to suffer. Nothing was really done in the Reconstruction period was done to improve or fix this issue.
Reconstruction was a success in that it reunified the nation. However, it failed in almost every other aspect. The Reconstruction period was an overall failure, not a success.
At the beginning of the Civil War, Lincoln was fighting for the preservation of the Union, but after the Emancipation Proclamation the war turned into a moral battle over slavery. Although Lincoln aimed to preserve the union, Reconstruction failed to politically reunify the North and South because of disagreement among ex-Confederates returning to office and Republicans in Congress. Within the Republicans were the moderates, whose main goal was economic gains for the white middle class, and the radicals, who supported civil rights for blacks. Most Republicans were moderates, but switched to a radical position out of fear of the democratic party becoming dominant again. Now that blacks were considered equals, the South would have more representatives in Congress which gave southerners an advantage. Because the Republicans in Congress did not want the Democrats to takeover, they adopted a Reconstruction plan that was harsher on southern whites which further increased tensions among the parties.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the period of Reconstruction was not able to very practically ensure the rights of African Americans, it did effectively restore all former Confederate states to the Union and establish African American legal rights.
ReplyDeletePractically, there was not much that Reconstruction did for black civil liberties. While it could guarantee by law these rights, it could not erase white supremacy and racism. In 1867, the Ku Klux Klan was established by whites. This group frequently beat and killed freedman, preventing them from voting.
Restoration was responsible for the rejoining of all ex-confederates into the Union. President Johnson's Reconstruction Proclamation allowed for re-admittance to the Union once each state met certain political requirements.It allowed a state governments to be reestablished once the state constitution abolished slavery and at least ten percent of the state's voters had taken an oath of loyalty to the Union. Eight months following the war, all eleven former states in rebellion met the official requirements and were readmitted into the Union.
The Reconstructed United States provided legal civil liberties to freedman and women. Under the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, all African Americans were guaranteed their freedom by the abolition of slavery. The Fourteenth Amendment recognized their status as citizens of the United States and provided them with all equal protection under law. The Fifteenth Amendment formally secured their rights to vote by preventing racial and color discrimination.
Although Lincoln made an attempt at political reunification of the North and South during Reconstruction, the reconciliation neither rebuilt the Southern economy nor improved the economic status of former slaves because of the lingering ideals of the “peculiar institution” and questions regarding who had the constitutional right to enforce the Reconstruction effort.
ReplyDeletePolitical reunification of North and South was evident in Lincoln’s ideals; however, Lincoln was unable to convince Congress to follow through with his goals of peaceful reunification. Lincoln still believed that seceding from the Union was unconstitutional; therefore, the South never really left the Union. Lincoln’s attempt at reunification was evident in the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction which stated that presidential pardons would be available to Southerners who took an oath of allegiance to the Union and U.S. Constitution, accepted the emancipation of slaves. It also stated a state government could be reestablished and accepted as legitimate by the U.S. president as soon as at least 10 percent of the voters in that state took the loyalty oath. Congress, however, believed that Lincoln’s 10 percent plan was too lenient and it would allow the state government to fall into the hands of disloyal secessionists. Congress then passed the Wade-Davis Bill which required that 50 percent of the voters of a state to take a loyalty oath and permitted only non-Confederates to vote for a new state Constitution, which ultimately Lincoln vetoed.
The Southern economy had a predicament because they needed people to work in the fields; however, their labor force was nonexistent. Southerners, at first, turned back to their old customs and attempted to force freed blacks into signing contracts to work in their fields. The contract enslaved the signer to permanent and unrestricted labor and in essence was slavery with a different name. However, poor whites and liberated blacks developed a method of sharecropping which was when the landlord provided the necessities for farming in return of half of the harvest. This was good in theory for it allowed poor people to work the land; however, it was not so good in execution because sharecroppers were usually in debt or dependent on their landowners, which ultimately meant that sharecropping was the new form of servitude.
Slaves stayed in the South, and sometimes even returned back to their owners, because they became used to that way of life; however, the government did try to help the freed slaves become more accustomed to their new economic status in society. Congress created the Freedman’s Bureau which provided food, shelter, and medical aid for those who were left with nothing because of the war. However, most blacks didn't want to leave a life they had become accustomed too. As blacks began to regress into their old way of life, Southerners saw this opportunity to enforce “Black Codes.” These codes controlled the way blacks lived, much like that of slavery, and these codes varied in severity from state to state. The main goal of these codes was to maintain an obedient labor force, and penalties were enforced on the slaves who “jumped” their contracts. There were also people who would catch and forcibly drag blacks back to work if they tried to skip out on their work. The codes even limited the freedom of blacks, for they could not serve on a jury, rent or lease land, and were definitely not allowed to vote.
Although Lincoln's death was one of the reasons he couldn’t finish reconstructions, he was successful in some areas but was mostly had more fail parts because congress and Lincoln didn’t see eye to eye. Lincoln's position was should the former states of the confederacy be treated as states that had never really left the union. The physical rebuilding of the South was largely left up to the states and individuals, while the federal government concentrated on political issues.
ReplyDeleteThe Proclamation of Amnesty was started for political Reconstruction so that unionists was in charger rather that secessionists, but later the Wade-Davis Bill was past which required 50 percent instead of 10 of the voters of a state to take a loyalty oath and permitted only non-confederates to vote for a new state constitution. Lincoln later veto it.Which caused the question who had the authority to decide Reconstruction the president or the congress.
Little economic help was given to either whites or blacks in the south because in a free society had both an opportunity and a responsibility to provide for themselves. The freedmen's Bureau helped freed slaves with food, shelter, medical aid, and mostly education. It establish nearly 3,000 schools for freed blacks. Lincoln said " I myself prefer that it were now conferred on the very intelligent and on those who serve our cause as soldiers “on the topic of freedman voting. Later Lincoln was assassinated. Which put an end to his reconstruction.
Although Reconstruction was only somewhat successful at restoring Southern loyalty to the Union, the Freedman’s Bureau and laws created during Reconstruction was very successful because they established both political rights and civil liberties for African-Americans.
ReplyDeleteDuring Reconstruction, the United States tried to reincorporate the South, and, even though it eventually received pledges of loyalty from each state, it had difficulty changing the South’s opinion on new laws of the country. Congress passed the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction in 1863 requiring people in the South to pledge their allegiance to the Union. This was one way the Union was successful at unifying the North and South. However, when the South started using work-contracts to bind African-Americans to horrible working conditions and the passing of the Black Codes that limited their freedom, it was clear that the South had very different opinions on how to handle the newly freed men. This was a moral and mental gap that caused great disunion between the North and South.
Congress’s first acts after the end of the Civil War created the Freedman’s Bureau that was dedicated to the welfare of freedmen and passed multiple laws leading to the establishment of civil liberties and political rights of African-Americans. As part of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, blacks were finally considered citizens which assured them certain civil liberties granted to United States citizens. Being considered citizens allowed blacks educated by the Freedman’s Bureau like Blanche K. Bruce to serve as senators and other political positions. The 15th Amendment that assured African-Americans the right to vote and the Civil Rights Act of 1875 that assured equal accommodations in public places further pushed for a level of equality between whites and blacks. Both the Freedman’s Bureau and the legal actions taken after Reconstruction were effective in establishing a base for African-American equality to grow on.
After the Civil War ended and the country began a phase of transformation and reconstruction, many changes were made to accommodate the new circumstances of the country. Through successful ventures towards African-American equality, the United States was able to strengthen its portrayal of its founding principle of democracy, and through unsuccessful ventures such as the attempt to immediately change the South’s allegiance and mindset towards blacks, the Unites States realized how far it still had to go. Through its successes and failures, the United States was able to set the ground work to union during the time of Reconstruction.
After the civil war, the north and south were split on what values they wanted in the new Union. Abraham Lincoln set out to find a peace that everyone could agree on in the process of reconstruction. His plan, continued and changed by others, failed in more areas than it succeeded. Although reconstruction did push to establish Civil Rights for African Americans, Reconstruction generally failed because it harshly punished former rebels and didn’t restore southern loyalty to the Union.
ReplyDeleteReconstruction was a good time for African Americans, especially in the congress ran phase. Congress released the Civil Rights Act in 1866. The Civil Rights Act declared all current and former slaves to be U.S. citizens. It also attempted to counteract the harsh treatment of slaves in the south. They sealed it by making the fourteenth amendment to the constitution. It gave all people born and naturalized into the states were citizens with protection of the law. This made African Americans permanent citizens of the United States of America, though they wouldn’t get equal treatment for another century.
Civil Rights was one of the only areas that Reconstruction succeeded in, and it failed in its treatment of the defeated southern rebels. Lincoln’s original plan was to integrate them as if they never separated at all and not to treat the south as a defeated nation, because he believed it never was. After his assassination, Congress reworked the plan to attack southern rebels. Congress took away land from southern owners and gave it to free slaves. Republicans put soldiers in the south to ensure fair treatment of slaves. These are acts that are committed by countries throughout history to deal with newly conquered lands.
Because of this conquered nation mentality towards the south, southern loyalty was harder to obtain than it should have been. Another reason was that the fourteenth amendment was aimed to lower southern power. Former Confederate leaders could not hold office in the U.S. Government under the amendment. Congress also wanted 50% of voters in a conquered state to swear loyalty, which was, on paper, a way to create more loyalty. In reality, it would just keep more states from being admitted to the union to slowly grow loyalty. Between the extention of the power struggle that began the Civil War in the first place and the other difficulties to gaining loyalty, southern loyalty was a failure of reconstruction.
-Brennan Ballard, Despite who Blogger says I am.
Although Congress and the seat of Presidency often disagreed about political reunification, reconstruction of the United States after the war was successful because civil liberties for African Americans and the restoration of Southern loyalty to the Union succeeded in joining the Northern and Sounthern states once more.
ReplyDeleteCongress and the seat of Presidency often disagreed over political reunification. 1. impeachment of Andrew Johnson 2. Johnson's vetos 3.Wade-Davis Bill
The granting of civil liberties to African Americans was a successful contributing factor the the country's reunification. 1. Freedmen's Bureau made several black colleges and taught about 200,000 African Americans how to read. 2. Civil Rights Act of 1866 pronounced all African Americans to be U.S. citizens (repudiating Dred Scott decision). 3. reconstruction acts of 1867 forced Confederate states desiring to re-join the Union to grant all adult males, regardless of race, the right to vote.
The restoring of Southern loyalty to the Union succeeded in joining the North and the South during reconstruction of the United States after the Civil War. 1. The Proclamation of Amnesty forced ten percent of Confederate state voters to swear allegiance to the Union before being accepted back into the country as a state. 2. Many Confederate states were forced to re-write their constitiutions because the Fifteenth Amendment gave African Americans the right to vote.
The Civil War, a war fought for the reunification of the United States and later the emancipation of slaves, was drawing to a close. Even with the added cause of emancipation, the disruption of unity was the cause of the war; naturally President Lincoln, who was for the Union, would want all of the existing states to reunite, thus brought about the plans for Reconstruction. Although these plans to some extent helped to restore Southern loyalty to the Union, Reconstruction was ultimately unsuccessful in that the North and South were still politically divided and former rebels were eventually able to bypass their punishments.
ReplyDeleteThe Southern states slowly rejoined the Union. The Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction offered full presidential pardons to southerners who pledged their allegiance to the Union and accepted the emancipation of slaves. The Proclamation also stated that the U.S. would accept the reestablishment of state governments as soon as 10 percent or greater of the voters in that state pledged allegiance. Basically, if the southern states accepted defeat and vowed loyalty to the Union—which they all eventually did, they were welcomed home with open arms.
Though they were back under the same roof, the North and South were still very politically divided. The Republican Party was for middle class whites’ and former slaves’ rights while the Democratic Party was for white supremacy and the old ways of Dixie. The Republican Party’s congressmen were able to pass the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments that, respectively, called for the emancipation of slaves, the citizenship of blacks, and the right to vote for all men, black or white; however, the stubborn Democrats were picking up steam and gaining more and more control of states’ governments and setting most of society back to Antebellum state.
After much controversy during President Grant’s first term, Reconstruction was beginning to fade. The Amnesty Act of 1872 allowed southern conservatives to vote for Democrats to regain control of state governments which would in turn tip the scales in Congress more in favor of the conservative Democrats. With more Democratic influence in Congress came the calming and even death of Reconstruction in the U.S. with the vetoing of laws that prevented discrimination against blacks and the total removal of troops in the south that protected the rights of blacks and Republican whites. Even though former rebels were made to submit to Union rules for a short while, it wasn’t long before their punishment gave way to “compromise.”
During the Civil War, the North and the South were in constant battle over the issue of unifying the union and the emancipation of slaves. After Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox courthouse on April of 1865, the war was official over. Recovery of the war, however, became a long and disputed issue called Reconstruction. Although reconstruction succeeded in establishing civil liberties of African Americans, it resulted into more dilemmas because of its failure to rebuild southern economy and to politically reunify the north and the south.
ReplyDeleteAfter the Emancipation Proclamation was passed by Abraham Lincoln, the free African American men and women had to make the biggest adjustment during the Reconstruction era. The republican congress wanted to ensure their civil liberties and rights by enacting the freedman's Bureau, which acted as an early welfare and the establishment of the 14th and 15th Amendments, which further respected the rights of all citizens including African Americans. The Civil Rights Act of 1875 was also passed which prohibited courts from excluding African Americans from juries. This freedom helped blacks achieve independence and was the beginning of the road to equality.
The south's agricultural economy, however, did not experience many positive outcomes during Reconstruction. After their title of "King Cotton
was abandoned and their reliable labor force was gone, the southern economy wasn't improving. They soon were forced to turn to the option of sharecropping which meant the landlord provided materials in return for a share of the harvest. Although this system was dependable, it wasn't as efficient as slaves.
On political terms, the North and the South continued to have unsettled disputes regarding the Democrats and Republicans views and balance of power. The Republicans ranged from moderate to radical who all wanted to keep their place as the dominant party. Although they were originally in favor of President Johnson, the Republicans began to dislike him for vetoing Freedman's Bureau and a civil rights bill that could have nullified black codes. Johnson argued that equal rights for black would result in an "Africanized" society. Republicans counterattacked by branding Johnson and the entire democratic party, who they saw as southerners, as traitors. The republicans also portrayed dominance when the joint committee was reported which further asserted that congress had the authority which was mainly made up of republicans. Democrats became outraged with republican control, especially during the election of 1876 when democrats has won popular vote but lost because republicans controlled three crucial southern states - South Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana.
Although the Reconstruction led to the political reunification of the Union, it did not succeed in establishing civil or political rights for African Americans in law or practice.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the reconstruction united the North and South in a political means, it did not do succeed in restoring Southern loyalty, as many Southerners were still licking their wounds and recovering from the war, they held no good will for the North.
Politically and Civilly, the only success African Americans truly had was their freedom, they were still thought of as lesser beings, but at least now they were free. Segregation was a looming issue both politically and civilly. When the slaves were freed, they were still no better off in the big scheme of things than they were as slaves.
After major Union victories at the battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln began preparing his plan for Reconstruction to reunify the North and South after the war’s end. Because Lincoln believed that the South had never legally seceded from the Union, his plan for Reconstruction was based on forgiveness. He thus issued the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction in 1863 to announce his intention to reunite the once-united states. Although The Radical Republicans opposed Lincoln’s plan because they thought it too lenient towards the South, Reconstruction was successful at reunifying the nation and addressing the conflicts that led to war because of the political reunifcation of North and South, restoring southern loyalty to the Union, and establishing political rights for African Americans, both in law and in practice.
ReplyDeleteThe political process of Reconstruction, on the other hand, had begun before the war ended. In some states—like Tennessee, Arkansas, and Louisiana—where earlier Union victories had been so complete as to take them out of the Confederacy for practical purposes, the populations had already taken steps in the direction of re-establishing former relations with the Union. For Abraham Lincoln, it was impossible to separate Reconstruction policy from war policy. Reunification was the central object of the war for Lincoln. Because of that, Lincoln believed that a swift procedure for Reconstruction—taking place, in effect, as Union victories gradually spread throughout the South—would aid in the effort to bring the war to a speedy end. In order to encourage a speedy process of Reconstruction, Lincoln argued for generous terms of amnesty to former rebels and encouraged lenient processes for restoring states to their former relations with the Union.
The Radical Republicans also believed that southern society would have to be completely transformed to ensure that the South would not try to secede again. The Radicals therefore attempted to reshape the South by enfranchising blacks, putting Unionist and pro-Republican governments in southern legislatures, and punishing southern planter elites, whom many politicians held responsible for the Civil War. It offered a full pardon to all southerners who would take an oath of allegiance to the union and accept all federal laws and proclamations dealing with slavery and states could draw up new constitutions, elect new officials, and return to the Union on a basis of full equality with all other states when it met certain conditions.
Ultimately, the most important part of Reconstruction was the push to secure rights for former slaves. Radical Republicans, aware that newly freed slaves would face insidious racism, passed a series of progressive laws and amendments in Congress that protected blacks’ rights under federal and constitutional law. The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery, the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the Fourteenth Amendment granted blacks citizenship, the Fifteenth Amendment gave black men the right to vote, and the Civil Rights Act of 1875 attempted to ban racial discrimination in public places.
Although the Reconstruction period failed to establish civil liberties for African Americans, this reuniting period did restore the unification between the North and South as well as give the African American more say in their political rights.
ReplyDeleteThe Reconstruction period did many things to rebuild unification, but African American civil liberties was not one of them. Black Codes arose to ensure the blacks as their labor force. The codes also set to restore the race relations that were set before emancipation. The Black Codes mocked the idea of freedom and created hardships on the blacks who were struggling against mistreatment and poverty to make their way as free people.
Although it wasn't an easy task, the Reconstruction period did reunify the north and the south. Lincoln wanted to reunite as quickly and painlessly as possible. However, the Radical Republicans wanted to slavery and slave power to be destroyed. Lincoln denied this, and after his assassination there was a debate of who should run the Reconstruction between congress powers or the president's say. The north and south came together despite this argument and united as blacks were gaining suffrage.
Reconstruction led to a rising increase of political rights for African Americans.With the power to vote, freedmen started participating in politics. While many slaves were illiterate, educated blacks moved down from the North to help them, and leaders also came. They elected white and black men to represent them in constitutional conventions. They created new state constitutions to set new directions for southern states. They came together and were called scalawags and carpetbaggers by the others. These new political rights gave African Americans political rights in both law and practice.
Since the conflicts that existed before and during the Civil War continued after the war, there was an immediate need for Reconstruction. Although Reconstruction failed in establshing civil liberties, both in law and in practice, Reconstruction succeeded in rebuilding the Southern economy and restoring Southern loyalty to the Union.
ReplyDeleteReconstruction failed in establishing civil liberties for African Americans, both in law and in practice. One way that it failed in this manner was the use of the Civil Rights Act of 1875. This act guaranteed equal accomodations in public places and prohibited courts from excluding African Americans from juries. This shows that Reconstruction failed because the law was poorly enforced due to conservative Republicans trying to reform an unwilling South. Conservative Republicans were also afraid of losing white votes in the North. Another way that Reconstruction failed in establishing civil liberties for African Americans was the reaction to African American legislators. Republicans in the South sent two black senators and more than a dozen black representatives to Congress. This shows that Reconstruction failed because the fact that blacks held power in the South caused bitter resentment among disqualified ex-Confederates.
Reconstruction also failed in political reunification in the North and South. Reconstruction failed in political reunification in the North due to corruption in its government. There were a number of schemes devised by political bosses to enrich themselves at the public’s expense for example, the Wall Street financers. Jay Gould and James Fisk with the help ofPresident Grant’s brother-in-law made a plan to corner the gold market. This scheme was broken, yet Gould still made a huge profit. This shows that Reconstruction failed because Northerners had no respect for their government. Reconstruction also failed in political reunification in the South in Lincoln’s Proclamation of Amnesty and reconstruction. This proclamation was created so that Unionists were in charge instead of secessionists. The main controversial term of this proclamation stated that, “A state governemnt could be reestablished and accepted as legitimate by the US president as soon as at least 10 percent of the voters in that state took the loyalty oath. The Wade-Davis Bill, proposed by Congress, amplifies how the proclamation showed the Reconstruction’s failure. This bill required 50 percent of the voters of a state to take a loyalty oath and permitted only non-Confederates to vote for a new state constitution. The bill was also created because Congress argued that the proclamation would allow a reconstructed state government to fall under the domination of disloyal seccesionists.
Reconstruction succeeded in rebuilding the Southern economy. Since slavery was abolished, the South’s economy was in turmoil. At first, whites tried to scam blacks into signing contracts to work the fields; however, blacks did not fall for it. Changes in the postwar economy led white landowners to adapt a sharecropping system. Under sharecropping, the landlord provided the seed and other needed farm supplies in return for a share of the harvest. This shows that Recreation succeeded because this system gave poor whites and blacks the opportunity to work a piece of land for themselves.
Although the reconstruction had some successful plans, there were more of them that were failures. The plans to restore southern loyalty, improve the economic status of former slaves, and establish political rights for African Americans did more wrong than right.
ReplyDeleteThe basis of Lincoln’s Reconstruction plan was to regain the loyalty if the South because in his mind, they never left. He made the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction which gave full presidential pardons to most southerners who took an oath of allegiance to the Union and the U.S. Constitution and accepted the emancipation of slaves and stated that a state government could be reestablished and accepted as legitimate by the U.S. president once 10% or voters in that state took the oath. Lincoln wanted to shorten the war and add some extra weight to the Emancipation Proclamation. Although this would be seen as a good idea, not many southerners would accept the emancipation of slaves and even if the minimum 10% accepted it, a majority of the state was still against it and wouldn’t want to eliminate slavery in their constitution. This is what led the Congress to pass the Wade-Davis bill which changed the minimum of southerners pledging allegiance to the Union to 50%. Lincoln immediately vetoed the bill.
As an effort to improve the economic status and political rights of former slaves and other African Americans, Congress established the Freedman’s Bureau in 1865. It provided food, shelter, and medical care for all people made destitute by the war. It resettled freed blacks on confiscated farmlands in the South until President Johnson pardoned Confederates of the confiscated land and restored them to their original owners. The fifteenth amendment was passed in 1868 by Congress and stated that no state can deny a citizen’s right to vote due to race, color, or previous condition to servitude and the Civil Rights Act of 1875 was made to restrict leaving out African Americans. However, the Act was poorly enforced because the republicans were tired of trying to reform the unwilling South and they were afraid of losing white votes in the North.
Although the plans would have initially been good ideas, they failed because the South was too unwilling to reform and accept emancipation and equality.
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ReplyDeleteThe end of the Civil War did not spell out an end to the conflict within the United States. Reconstruction was a battle between political parties, and its ultimate effectiveness was often questionable. The Radical Republicans within the federal government heavily influenced the Reconstruction of the country, but they struggled to fully enact most of their policies. For example, many of their policies championed freedmen’s civil rights, but some were not fully enforced. Although Radical Republicans somewhat succeeded in the extension of civil liberties to the newly freed African Americans, blacks were not fully endowed their civil rights on the outset of Reconstruction due to political opposition during that era.
Several of the Radical Republican policies succeeded in granting lasting civil liberties to freed blacks by amending the Constitution and by helping freedmen enter American society. Of course, the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment succeeded in abolishing the evil of slavery a few months after the war, but it largely resulted in the emergence of the question of a freedman’s citizenship. The question was fully addressed in 1868 with the adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment which granted citizenship to all people born in the United States and required states to respect the rights of all citizens, including the right to due process of law. African Americans were now considered citizens and were equally protected under the law, for the Fourteenth Amendment had made such protection constitutional. In addition to the Fourteenth Amendment’s impact on blacks’ legal status, Congress’s creation of the Freedmen’s Bureau in 1865 had succeeded in establishing education for African Americans. The creation of thousands of schools and colleges to teach former slaves resulted in building an able and educated generation of African Americans equal to that of the white population. Congressman Thaddeus Stevens’ plan for integrating blacks within American society through education and protection of civil rights was beginning to take shape. Such successes, however, were overshadowed by the war raging within the federal government.
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ReplyDeleteThe battle between a Radical Republican Congress and a Southern Democrat in the White House during Reconstruction resulted in a failure to swiftly extend civil liberties to African Americans. After Lincoln’s death, Vice President Johnson, a white supremacist, succeeded the past President’s office, beginning an era of political struggle. In comparison to Lincoln’s now evident sympathy for African Americans, Johnson argued that extending equal rights to blacks would “Africanize” American society. Congress’s battle with Johnson began in 1866 when the President vetoed two bills. One enhanced the powers of the Freedmen’s Bureau and, and the other nullified the Southern Black Codes. Congress did, however, succeed in overriding Johnson’s vetoes by establishing the Civil Rights Act of 1866, a prerequisite to the Fourteenth Amendment. During the next two years, however, Congress would be more focused on battling the President’s plan for Reconstruction more so than endowing civil liberties to African Americans. Because of further dispute between the Legislative and Executive branches, Congress moved to impeach the President for the first time in history. Although he wasn’t removed from office, Johnson’s term would end the next year as President Grant took office. On the outset of a stubborn leader, however, the next strengthening of blacks’ civil liberties wouldn’t be enacted until 1875 due to a shrinking amount of Republicans being focused on reforming the unwilling South. Such a slowing of the Radical Republicans’ momentum would ultimately result in putting the issue of civil rights in limbo.
Reconstruction succeeded in providing freed African Americans a place in American society, but it failed in fully equalizing their rights to those of their white counterparts. The race issue would continue to exist throughout both the north and south alike, but the issue of the Three-Fifths Compromise being the ultimate evidence legality of slavery was totally dismissed.
With the end of the Civil War, President Lincoln, and later Johnson, developed a Reconstruction plan for reunifying the nation. All Reconstruction plans implemented affected the reunification of the nation in different ways. Although Reconstruction failed to fix political reunification of the North and South, it did succeed in establishing civil liberties and political rights for African Americans.
ReplyDeleteDuring Reconstruction, Congress passed the Civil Rights Law of 1866 and ratified the Fourteenth Amendment to help establish civil liberties for African Americans. The Civil Rights Law of 1866 pronounced all African Americans to be U.S. citizens and attempted to provide a legal shield against the operation of the southern states’ Black Codes. This helped establish civil liberties for African Americans because it kept the South from enforcing the Black Codes. With fear that the law would be repealed later, Congress searched for a more permanent solution to establish civil liberties for African Americans, so they decided to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment. The Fourteenth Amendment established civil liberties by declaring that all persons born or naturalized in the United States were citizens and obligated the states to respect the rights of U.S. citizens and provide them with “equal protection of laws” and “due process of law”. This was a success because it was a permanent way to ensure the establishment of civil liberties for African Americans by recognizing them as equal citizens with the same rights.
Another area Reconstruction succeeded in was establishing political rights for African Americans by the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment by Congress and the establishment of blacks holding government offices.The Fifteenth Amendment helped establish political rights by prohibiting any state from denying or abridging a citizen’s right to vote “on account of color, or previous condition of servitude.” This helped establish political liberties because Republicans wanted a way to secure the votes of African Americans. The establishment of blacks holding government offices helped establish political liberties for African Americans by giving them moderate positions on most issues in Congress. This helped because blacks and former slaves were in positions of power that disenfranchised ex-Confederates could do nothing about since they couldn't vote on the issue.
Even though Reconstruction was intended to reunify the nation, it failed to do so politically because of Congressional Reconstruction and a split in the Republican Party. The Congressional Reconstruction failed to reunify the nation politically by establishing a harsher version of the presidential Reconstruction. This didn't help because all 11 ex-Confederate states were reunified under the presidential Reconstruction conditions, but the Congressional Reconstruction didn't recognize them under its terms. Following the Congressional Reconstruction, a split in the Republican party occurred. This failed to reunify the North and South by the scandals of the Grant administration that drove the reform-minded Republicans to break the party. It failed because the scandals during Grant administration caused the Liberal Republicans to join with the Democrats which were mostly Southerners who opposed the scandals the Republicans did.
Although reconstruction tried to improve the economic status of slaves and failed, political reunification and former rebels were punished because Southern states made political changes, and certain liberties would be taken away from confederates. Former slaves were freed, but they weren’t any better off economically than before because they were unemployed. They may have been free, but they were not working and not being hired, so their economic situation wasn’t any better. The nation was politically reunified because of changes made to state constitutions. The new constitutions excluded slavery and ratified the fourteenth amendment. This brought views of the government together around the nation. Former confederate leaders were disenfranchised. They weren’t allowed to take part in the government, so they couldn’t affect the outcome of any major issues that would show up. Reconstruction was successful in some areas, but not in others.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Reconstruction helped to restore some southern loyalty to the union, it ultimately failed because it did not establish civil liberties or political rights for African Americans, both in law and in practice.
ReplyDeleteReconstruction helped the southern loyalty to unity through plans like Lincoln’s 10% plan. This plan stated that a state government could be reestablished and accepted as legitimate by the U.S. president as long as 10% of the voters in that state took the loyalty oath.
Civil liberties and political rights for the African American were to be established by reconstruction, but it failed because of no enforcement and the creation of the Black Codes. In the Black Codes, blacks were prevented from renting land and borrowing money to buy land. This took civil liberties away from blacks. Also, freedmen were placed into a form of semi-bondage by forcing them to sign work contracts. This also hurt civil rights, because it seemed little different from slavery. Blacks were also prevented from testifying against whites in court. Civil liberties were not recognized, because blacks apparently weren't equal to the whites.
During the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln hoped that southern states could be "reconstructed" by showing a form of political loyalty to the Union. His policies on Reconstruction contained a 10 percent plan that allowed states to reenter the Union once 10 percent of their population pledged an oath of allegiance to both the Union and the US Constitution and accepted the emancipation of slavery. However, following Lincoln's assassination, the process of reconstruction would change from Lincoln's original plan and morph into one that punished the south. Although Reconstruction failed in its attempts to restore Southern loyalty to the Union, it ultimately succeeded in both its establishment of political rights for African Americans and its punishment of former rebels to the Union because the Republican majority in Congress was able to successfully allocate rights to African Americans and punish the southern rebels through their second phase of reconstruction.
ReplyDeleteReconstruction failed to make the former rebels loyal to the Union government. This was due to an immense hatred towards southern aristocrats held by both Congress and President Johnson. However, Johnson’s lack of leadership caused Congress to take action, resulting in harsher punishments for the southerners which caused all attempts at loyalty to be severed. In 1866, Congress enacted the Civil Rights Act which would provide a shield against the southern black codes; in addition, in order to avoid a later repealing of the law by democrats, Congress proposed the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution which would dually protect the Civil Rights Acts and also disqualify former confederate officers from holding offices. These provisions on the southern lifestyle ultimately caused an increase in Southern hatred towards the south, destroying all hopes for an increase in loyalty to the Union.
Reconstruction ultimately succeeded in its attempts to extend political rights to African Americans both in practice and in law. Following the various civil rights acts such as the Fifteenth Amendment which extended the right to vote to African Americans, African Americans became more prominent in the political realm of the US. This is evident in the south where disenfranchisement, Republican control, and African suffrage allowed for the election of Black senators Blanche K. Bruce and Hiram Revels along with over a dozen black congressional representatives. These examples of African American political success show that congressional Reconstruction truly succeeded in its attempts to extend political rights to African Americans.
Reconstruction ultimately succeeded in its attempts to punish the southern rebels for their treasonous acts. This punishment is evident in the provisions made in the fourteenth amendment to the US Constitution which disqualified former Confederate leaders from holding office, penalized states who kept eligible people from voting by reducing congressional representation, and forced the states to uphold the rights of citizens. Additionally, the report of the 1866 joint committee of Congress challenged the entitlement of former Confederate states to have representation in congress. These acts by the Republican majority congress in their second phase of Reconstruction ultimately dealt out the punishment to the states who had committed the treasonous act of secession towards the Union.
Although the policy of Reconstruction following the civil war failed in its attempts to rectify Union loyalty and strength, it ultimately succeeded in many of its original goals including the allocation of political rights to African Americans and the punishment of former rebels for their treasonous acts towards the Union.
(1/2) Although the era of Reconstruction transitioned the reacquired southern states back into the union fairly, it erred on quickly establishing equal civil rights, punishing former confederate leaders, and ensuring suffrage for African Americans due to the uneasy balance created by the reunified Democratic Party, which threatened Republican moves all across the board, and its Republican counterpart. The Democratic Party, while harshly branded as traitors by some, worked to counteract several Reconstruction movements in order to hold on to tradition.
ReplyDeleteIn the sphere of equal civil rights, the Reconstruction era was politically divided, with the Democrats of the southern aristocracy holding on to supremacist values through the creation of Black Codes among many of the states, and the Republicans desperately attempting to halt the Democrats from gaining political power in Congress in order to protect various laws established during and after the Civil War from being repealed including the Emancipation Proclamation. The Democratic Party manipulated the system to its advantage by passing its Black Codes to oppress African Americans in Southern states while at the same time bolstering its population and therefore power in the House of Representatives by counting each African American as a full person included in the population census instead of three-fifths of a person. Through this and the smooth, swift transition of former Confederate states back into the union, the Republican Party faced a formidable political opponent and would need to control Congress and the Presidency to accomplish its goals of amending the Constitution, which the Party did. After high political tensions, the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments, though somewhat late, ended the Democrats sly maneuvering through specifically the 14th amendment, which declared that the states were required to uphold the rights of citizens along with the federal government (citizens of course being inclusive of the now liberated African American population). Though the problem was solved, it fought until its last breathe showing how the Reconstruction era was a time of political turmoil.
One mistake the initial Lincoln variant of the Reconstruction policies made was not truly punishing upper-level officers/leaders of the Confederacy, and this would prove to be a major problem when some former Confederate leaders are elected into Congress by Southern States under the common banner of the Democratic Party, causing many problems where there should have been none had punishment been included in the initial policies. Even extremely high-level former Confederate authorities including the vice president of the Confederacy, Alexander Stephens, were reelected to Congress, creating an uneasy atmosphere in the legislative branch. The presence of former Confederates in Congress along with their following bodies in the South stood as an adamant barrier to Republicans attempting to pass certain reforms, such as African American suffrage and civil equality rights. Eventually, this problem was solved by some additions to the 14th amendment related specifically to effects of the Civil War by a clause dictating that all former office-holders in the Confederacy were disqualified from holding office in Congress, though the lack of correcting this problem before it arose led to a more politically unstable atmosphere.
(2/2) On the controversial subject of African American suffrage, Democrats utilized the Black Codes to oppress African Americans from voting while the Republicans actively sought for a way to allow African Americans to vote, primarily due to the fact that most African Americans that could vote and were not threatened to do otherwise would vote for the Republican Party, ensuring the ethical cause of equality and at the same time bolstering the ranks of Republican supporters. When African Americans were finally allowed to vote due to the passing of the 3 amendments after the civil war, the Republican Party saw a voting advantage over the Democrats that allowed the Republicans to secure Ulysses S. Grant as president due to an extra (estimated) 500,000 votes by free African Americans. Unfortunately, the road to allowing African Americans to vote had many obstacles, including the Black Codes, Andrew Johnson’s (Democrat) vetoes of certain bills, and groups targeting them, such as the Ku Klux Klan. Though African American suffrage was achieved, the political squabbles of the Reconstruction era postponed it several times.
ReplyDeleteUltimately, the Reconstruction era did reunite the North and South as one political entity, but the nation itself was still drastically divided from the after-effects of the civil war, be it Democrat or Republican or White or Black, and it would take several years and decades to mend the wounds inflicted on both sides in order to ensure civil equality, suffrage to all (pertaining to only men), and punishment to those who started the entire ordeal. The Reconstruction era attempted to reunite American society but was held back by the lingering ghosts of the Civil War itself.
Part 1
ReplyDeleteThe Civil War was an extremely prestigious was fought incredibly by the Union and Confederate in which each had their own set of victories. Subsequently, the Union did succeed in defeating the Confederates. However, with this great accomplishment came the major issue of reconstruction. The universal question was, how was the nation to reconstruct after four years of war? Before Lincoln was assassinated he created a plan that he believed would fully resstablish the southern states and reconstruct the Union. Although, reconstruction failed in rebuilding the southern economy, reconstruction did succeed in establishing civil liberties for African Americans, both in law and in practice, and in restoring southern loyalty to the union because of the Freedmen's Bureau, Civil Rights Acts passed along with the Fourteenth Amendment, and Lincoln's policies.
For a start, reconstruction was very successful in some areas while in others such as rebuilding the southern economy it was not. Above all, the main economic source in the south was agriculture because of the fertile land and abundant amount of cheap labor force (slaves) that worked in these fields. As a result of the Emancipation Proclamation which freed the leading hands behind the production of crops to fight in the Civil War, the compulsory labor force was gone. Now that there were few slaves working in the field, the south's agricultural economy was ruined. Less crops were being grown, handled, and sold. Reconstruction also failed to rebuild the southern economy in ways that republican rule became wasteful and corrupt in the south. This is seen through the republican politicians' taking advantages of their power to take kickbacks and bribes from contractors who did business with the state. Republican politicians' greed did not aid or make the south's economy any better. Both of these reasons stated above fully demonstrate how reconstruction failed to rebuild the south's economy.
Part 2
ReplyDeleteIn contrast to reconstruction failing to rebuild the south's economy, reconstruction was successful in establishing civil liberties for Aftican Americans, both in law and in practice through the Freedmans Bureau, Civil Rights Acts, and the passing of the Fourteenth Amendment. Initially, the Freedman's Bureau was an agency that provided food, shelter, and medical aid for African Americans affected by the Civil War. However, the greatest impact left by the Freedman's Bureau was on education. African Americans were now allowed to go to school which was not an option before reconstruction because whites feared education would provoke blacks to revolt. General Oliver O. Howard's leadership aided the establishment of 3,000 African American schools. Reconstruction opened the new liberty of practice through education for African Americans that were not open before the war. Further, the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and 1875 both established civil liberties for African Americans in law. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 stated that all African Americans were U.S. citizens. This meant that all laws regarding citizenship were now to be accepted and applied to all African Americans. Afrjcan Americans were to be treated as citizens of the United States with the same liberties as whites. The Civil Rights Act of 1875 also guaranteed equal accommodations in public places such as, hotels, railroads, and theaters, and prohibited courts from excluding African Americans from juries. This law was enforced to open up more liberties for African Americans because they were not qualified as citizens. Lastly, the Fourteenth Amendment declared all persons born in the United States as a citizen and states were obligated to respect the rights of U.S. citizens and provide them with equal protection of law. This law was passed so that in case Democrats won control of congress they could not repeal the Civil Rights Act of 1866. This amendment protected the rights of African Americans and further insured their citizenship especially if they were native-born.
In addition to reconstruction succeeding in establishing civil liberties for African Americans, both in law and practice through Freedmen's Bureau, the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and 1875, and the Fourteenth Amendment, reconstruction also succeeded in restoring southern loyalty to the union. Southern loyalty was restored to the union by Lincoln's Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction (1863) which was enforced by Andrew Johnson. The Proclamation required that in order to be granted a full presidential pardon southerners were to take an oath of allegiance to the union and the U.S. Constitution and to accept the emancipation of slaves. This first condition required southerners to take an oath to remember and realize why they were apart of the union. This method was said to have greatly restored southern loyalty. Accepting the emancipation of slaves also resorted loyalty because now southerners had to comply with the law put in place by the union leader Lincoln. Secondly, a state government could be reestablished if at least 10% of voters in the state took the loyalty oath which restored loyalty for the union because southerners were obeying and working with the union to make the country a stronger whole.
The same conflicts that had existed before and during the Civil War continued after the war. There were still tensions throughout different regional sections (the North vs. the South), and there were still problems between the Democrats and Republicans. Although Reconstruction was successful in “reconnecting” the nation, it was not successful at reunifying the nation and it failed to address the conflict that had actually lead to war because it failed to punish former rebels for their crimes, it failed to Southern loyalty to the Union, and it failed to uphold political rights and civil liberties of African Americans in practice and law.
ReplyDeleteLincoln had intended upon not severely punishing former rebels for their crimes because he saw that as a complication with reunification. He wanted to please the South in order to avoid further military conflicts rather than confronting the problems and forcing the South to pay for its crimes. Although Lincoln had intended for this to be a way of easing tensions between the North and the South, tensions increased when the South started to carry-out its old ways because they believed that if they could get away with the war, then they could get away with anything else, politically speaking.
The South continued to live for itself and by itself. Soon after the war, the South established the “Black Codes.” These ignored the rights of the “free” slaves and also forced these “free” slaves to sign contracts as “vagrants” or “apprentices” and forced them to continue working in the same plantations that they worked in as slaves in order to fuel the , as though they still were slaves. Blacks were also prohibited from testifying in courts against whites, further repressing the “free” blacks, a problem that had existed before the war. Because of these “codes,” Republicans began questioning who actually won the war. Had the war been for nothing if the South could continue slavery under another name?
Lastly, reconstruction failed to uphold the rights of freed African Americans in practice. No matter how many laws were passed and no matter how many practice abolished, the South would continue to do what it wanted and what was best suiting for itself. African Americans were free; however, with things in place such as the Black Codes, they might as well have been slaves. It prohibited them from buying land and testifying in court against whites, as well as forcing labor upon them. Even after the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments and the Civil Rights Act of 1875, it would take almost another 100 years before segregation and repression of blacks would cease.
Although the Union and the Confederation were extremely different on views, President Abraham Lincoln aimed to reunite the North and the South through the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction in 1863. This readmitted Confederate states into the United States and reestablished voting rights for the Southern states. Lincoln was successful in reuniting these areas and making it the nation it is today.
ReplyDeleteWhat happened? How does this answer the question? I will not be able to give you credit for this response.
DeleteAlthough Reconstruction did, to an extent, establish political rights for African Americans, Reconstruction failed to reunite the North and South politically, due to both sides being steadfast believers in their sectional prejudices, and to improve the economic status of former slaves by not enforcing the many reforms in favor of racial equality.
ReplyDeleteReconstruction was successful in the fact that it was able to give African Americans the same rights of all other free men by adding constitutional amendments. The first to be added, the 14th amendment, proclaimed all persons born in the U.S. were U.S. citizens and asked for all the states to respect the rights of all U.S. citizens and give them due process of law. This effectively stated that all those born in the U.S., which most if not all slaves in the U.S. had been, were to be fully recognized as citizens and treated as such. The following 15th amendment gave all blacks the right to vote and stated that the state government could not deny a person this right based on race or previous servitude. However this was not as effective as some states later found loopholes around the clause and used literacy tests as well as intimidation by organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan as a way to deter blacks from voting. There were even free black men elected to be in Congress and the Senate which showed how political rights for African Americans were improving.
Reuniting the North and South was achieved physically, but internally there were still many sectional prejudices present that prevented full cohesiveness in everyday life which bled over into politics. Northerners continued to blanket the Democratic Party as a party full of rebellious souls who were ultimately disloyal to the Union. Southerners outright hated the Northern Republicans who in essence came to their governments and took over for a while during Reconstruction. With strong opposing views on both sides it was nearly impossible to compromise on anything. After Reconstruction was over many of the acts put in place to protect blacks were removed when the southern democrats finally retook their governments from their opponent the republicans.
Though the Republican party did make some reforms in the south for the protection of blacks, most were not enforced or were vetoed by President Andrew Johnson, a white supremacist. Because of the lack of protective measures, many blacks were forced to use the sharecropping system. The sharecropping system, in theory, provided blacks and landless whites with ‘rented land’ owned by a plantation owner that supplied them with seeds which they cultivated and later had to give up half the harvest back to the plantation owner. The outcome was supposed to be that eventually the cultivator would earn enough money to buy his own land. However this was only the case for 5% of black sharecroppers. Others spent their lives working another’s land and earning menial pay for their work. The sharecropping business was in effect slavery by a different name, which did little to improve the economic status of the newly freed man.
Although the Reconstruction era improved the status of former slaves, the era failed to establish civil liberties for African Americans and reunify the North and South.
ReplyDeleteUnder Reconstruction free blacks became legislatures. Now that they had the opportunity to become educated under the Freedmen's Bureau, free blacks could hold positions of power. The Freedman's Bureau established 3,000 schools for blacks teaching them how to read and also establishing the world's first historically black colleges. It also had the authority to settle free black on confiscated lands mking them property holders.
Eventhough slaves were closer and closer to become equal to whites, Southerners had a difficult time adjusting to this idea. Many southern legislators adopted Black Codes to restrict African-American liberties. Under Black Codes, free blacks were prohibited from renting land and borrowing money to buy land. It also prohibited blacks from testifying against white in courts. From the restrictions of these Black Codes, it seems like blacks never gained their freedom. It appeared they were still in bondage.
In an effort to reunify the North and South, the Amnesty Act was established. It removed restrictions on ex-confederates except the top leadlers. Also the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction in 1863 granted southerners who took oath of allegiance to Union full presidential pardons.
Although the economic status of former slaves didn't really improve, Reconstruction helped establish civil liberties and civil rights for African Americans after the Civil War.
ReplyDeleteCongress passed many civil rights acts during the period after the Civil War including the Civil Rights Act of 1875. This Civil Rights Act guaranteed equal accomodations in public places such as hotels, railroads, and theaters, and prohibited courts from excluding African Americans from juries. However the act was poorly enforced because of Republicans being tired of trying to enforce laws that the South was only going to ignore, and also Republicans were afraid of losing white votes in the North. Reconstruction failed in this area because African Americans were not treated as equally as whites and couldn't enjoy the same things as them because of the Republican's lack of enforcing the law.
The Reconstruction helped to establish civil liberties for African Americans both in law and in practice. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 stated that all African Americans were to be U.S. citizens. This was a breakthrough for African Americans because before, blacks weren't seen as citizens, as seen in the Dredd Scott vs. Sanford case.
The Reconstruction also establilshed political rights for African Americans. The increased rights for blacks in the Reconstruction era led to African Americans being able to hold office. During the Reconstruction era, Republicans in the South sent two African American senators and more thatn a dozen black representatives to Congress. Reconstruction succeeded in the area to give African Americans more rights and led to more blacks being in Congress and more rights and equality for African Americans.