After the Civil War the people of the nation especially the government wanted to help the newly freed African-Americans however something caused the ever-growing wave of equality to cave in on itself and retract. In the beginning many people were supportive of reconstruction. Laws like the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments were passed ensuring African-American citizenship and their civil rights. Schools and churches were quickly built for them and the former slaves were even gaining positions in the government. It all seemed great until the election of 1876 when Ruther B. Hayes a republican and Samuel J. Tilden a democrat ran for the presidency. The votes were so close that the winner was unclear, so Hayes struck a deal for the presidency in return he would remove the last soldiers from the south. It almost guaranteed that all white governments would rise to power again. But even with …show more content…
During reconstruction KKK were bribing voters and if that didn't work then they would threaten and sometimes even kill if their victim does not change their vote(Doc B). On top of that attention to national problems were put aside for things such as the “Panic of 1873 and the corruption of Grants administration” Doc C. This forced political figures to pay less attention to the south with in turn caused the south to run itself free from interference by the government. I'm sure that even in the 1800s people were still taught integrity yet the South's government seems to have had none. For they quickly filled government positions to pro-all-white politicians while doing everything they could get away with to eliminate all people in positions of authority who opposed them. Though this may have been a very large contributor to reconstruction’s failure it wasn’t the only reason that reconstruction wasn't able to succeed in its role to protect, and help the newly freed
Dunning, John W. Burgess, and their students (Foner, xi). Perceived as the primary interpretation of the Reconstruction, the school believed that, proceeding the Civil War, the South was eager to assist the emancipated slaves during their process of integrating into their new societal status in the South. Because President Johnson’s efforts to unify the South were opposed by the Radical Republican Party, Radical Reconstructionism solidified the already present and negative connotation of the Reconstruction. Within the Dunning school’s understanding, Foner illustrates an era of corruption brought about by the money-hungry Northern “carpetbaggers” and Southern “scalawags”, and the uneducated African Americans, incapable of freedom (Foner, xii). With the restoration of white supremacy at its front, the era of a dark Reconstruction prevailed into the Progressive era of the
When blacks were given the right to vote, it was only somewhat successful. Many blacks did use their new political power to vote as it is shown in Harper's Weekly (Document G), but whites still tried to stop them. Literacy tests, grandfather clauses, and fear caused by the Ku Klux Klan were used to keep blacks from exercising their right to vote. Another issue of reconstruction was the banking and currency system. In an attempt to uniform the currency, Senator John Sherman gave a speech saying that with "a currency and a medium of exchange, we shall have a broader and more generous nationality" (Document B). At the time many states had their own currency and a change needed to be made to unite the states. A sense of nationality was needed as the nation was in turmoil after the attempted secession of the South. Reconstruction came to an end in 1877 with the Compromise of 1877. Rutherford Hayes became president for agreeing to end federal support for Southern Republicans and building a transcontinental railroad. In this compromise he also withdrew troops from the South. This, along with the rejection of laws protecting blacks from discrimination, brought reconstruction to an end in 1877.
The South did all that it could to suppress and terrorize blacks. The idea was to demonstrate white superiority even though blacks were no longer slaves. The Ku Klux Klan was formed for this purpose and because of it, the Force Bill had to be imposed to control the racist men (Doc I and H). The Force Bill sent in the military to control the KKK terrorization but was ultimately useless because the KKK had already fulfilled its purpose of intimating blacks (Example). Because of this intimating, it is no surprise that social change did not occur. Blacks, though yearning, still did not have the power to counter racist white efforts against them.
During these years of radical reconstruction, the African Americans were going through some very tough times. The laws that were put on them were harsh and unreasonable. All they wanted to do was becomes socially and economically apart of the United States. Groups like the KKK were unfair towards the blacks and made their lives miserable by holding rallies and killing them. As a result of reconstruction, the blacks were not given social or economic equality because of laws like the black codes and Jim Crow laws, and the rebellious whites in the south. These African Americans struggled just to support themselves, but whites eventually accepted them at the end of the
Reconstruction was the time between 1863 and 1877 when the U.S. focused on abolishing slavery, destroying the Confederacy, and reconstructing the nation and the Constitution and is also the general history of the post-Civil War era in the U.S. between 1865 and 1877. Under Abraham Lincoln, presidential reconstruction began in each state as soon as federal troops controlled most of the state. The usual ending date is 1877, when the Compromise of 1877 saw the collapse of the last Republican state governments in the South
Due to the gradual elimination of African-American rights and the withdrawal of Federal troops from the South to enforce such rights, the end of Reconstruction surfaced in 1877. In the eyes of blacks, Reconstruction was a point in history where they could see their civil rights expanding before their very own eyes. On the contrary, whites were deeply disturbed at the way their once “white supremacy” government was dwindling in the rear-view mirror behind them. This fourteen year period known as Reconstruction houses the memories of temporary freedom, scandal, backdoor deals, and the unresolved social, political, and economical issues of our country.
Reconstruction DBQ After the Civil War, the era of reconstruction was a time for America to try restructure and rebuild itself. To the United States demise, not much was actually reconstructed nor bettered concerning the lives of American citizens. The main cause of a somewhat failed attempt at reconstruction was the South, also known as the Confederates. Due to their recession towards slavery and dehumanization of African Americans, the South was the killer of reconstruction.
Reconstruction did not help African Americans move closer to the American Dream. Even though there were positives, there were also negatives. Due to Reconstruction, hate groups started, there was not any safety for African Americans, and the Black Codes or Jim Crow laws. One of the most infamous hate groups to rise was the Klu Klux Klan. KKK for short. African Americans were terrorized by this group. They are responsible for many hangings, burnings, and other horrors that were inflicted upon African Americans. Also, there was not any safety from the groups. It was not like being in the center of a city was going to help. There are unfortunately many pictures of African Americans being hanged in very populated areas. Also, there was the rise of Black Codes(Jim Crow laws). It is like how the saying goes, out of the frying pan and into the fire. Some of the codes, but not limited to, was the Grandfather clause, which basically said that if your grandfather could not vote, you cannot vote. There were also many other ways that African Americans were restricted from voting. There was poll tax, and unfair evaluations of voting tests. This also included segregation of schools (separate but equal). There was even a law forbidding a white person from marrying a black person. However, even though all of these horrific things came because the end of slavery,
The Reconstruction. A time of rebuilding the south, this was the case until the north decided to have it fizzle away and disappear before it was finished. The reconstruction was entirely created by the north to fix the south following the Civil war and many people believed it was the south that killed the reconstruction yet there's a lot of evidence that points to the north like, Northern racism to blacks and them getting tired of the reconstruction. Contrary to popular belief the south were not the only ones who were racist toward the blacks back in the days of the reconstruction, in fact, it may be one of the key reasons the reconstruction fell apart. In (Document D), it shows the black people to be unfit to be in a court let alone
The election of 1876 was a very bad time for the United states. This election brought about a failure of reconstruction within the Southern United States. While the North and South were both at fault for the failure of reconstruction, one side was really to blame. The South may not have wanted the reconstruction, but the North played a much bigger role in its failure. First off, what is reconstruction?
During the Reconstruction period of 1865–1877, federal laws provided civil rights protection in the U.S. South for freedmen, the African Americans who had formerly been slaves. During Reconstruction, the government implemented the 14th amendment along with the Freedmen's Bureau to ensure that Freedman in the south were protected. Due to the measures being taken during this time period, there were different reactions with each so called class of individuals. The black southerners typically favored Reconstruction as it gave them a great increase in rights and equality, along with white southerners who disapproved secession in the first place. Conversely, there was a great majority of white southerners who had ill feelings towards Reconstruction
During reconstruction the United States was divided on social issues, presidential campaigns were won and loss on these issues during this period. The struggle for development of African Americans and how they initiated change in political, economic, educational, and social conditions to shape their future and that of the United States. (Dixon, 2000) The South’s attempts to recover from the Civil war included determining what to do with newly freed slaves and finding labor to replace them. The task of elevating the Negro from slave to citizen was the most enormous one which had ever confronted the country. Local governments implemented mechanisms of discrimination to combat citizenship
One of the biggest ways the reconstruction efforts failed was with giving equal rights to the black community. Although the slaves were freed it was very conditional freedom. The creation of Black codes made it seem like they were free. These codes made it possible for black families to remain intact. It also gave blacks the right to sue in court, and own property. This seems like progressive thinking at the time. The big problem with these codes is what they denied blacks. Blacks could not testify against whites. They could not own guns, or travel without permits. Although slavery had ended blacks were still being controlled. Without slaves to work in the fields the plantation owners needed workers. A lot of them would rent out their land to newly freed blacks. In exchange these poor blacks would have to give up 2/3 of their crop.3 The rest would be used to pay off their debts. This would
In 1865, the Civil War came to an end. It was a disaster to the South with plantations burned, towns destroyed, fields neglected, and railroads and bridges ruined. Because of this, many white southerners were homeless and faced starvation. Most importantly, millions of slaves were free because of the Emancipation of Proclamation, but people didn’t know what to do with so many freedmen suddenly, and the African Americans had no idea how to make a living for themselves. Many of them roamed around the countryside, sleeping on the bare ground, and all they had were the clothes they wore. Because of these disarrays and disruptions in the South, political leaders, such as Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, and the radical Republicans all proposed plans to help solve the problems of rights of freedmen, readmission of southern states, and land ownerships in the South. Although reconstruction policies changed the rights of African Americans by granting black men suffrage and allowing them to gain education, they continued to experience racial violence just as before the reconstruction period. Furthermore, the South continued to remain primarily agrarian as shown by the system of sharecropping.
Reconstruction is the time period after the Civil War consisting of the rebuilding of the United States government to become accustomed to the races of all men. During Reconstruction, which lasted from1865 to 1877, African Americans gained many rights and freedoms. Unfortunately, they still had to bear the continual aggression of the white man. The right to vote was one political freedom that African Americans gained after the Civil War. However, even though all black males were allowed to vote, very few actually exercised this newly gained right. African Americans also became active in governmental roles during Reconstruction. For example, Hiram Revels was elected to the United States Senate in 1870, and while he was in office, he pursued to help African Americans truly gain freedom. African Americans gained much more than just political freedoms. For example, after the Civil War, as freed men, African Americans could own their own land and travel wherever they desired. They could rejoin family they had been separated from as slaves. Also, they gained the right to practice religion as they desired. Sadly, soon after Reconstruction, several events occurred which hindered African American’s newly gained rights and freedoms.