Assess the validity of the following statement: Reconstruction was a success.
Please support your answer with at least three specific pieces of factual information.
Your answer is due by 9:00PM on Sunday, January 10.
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I do not think this statement is valid. Although in the late 1860s the Union was technically restored under a single government, the same conflicts still remained, as the Confederate states remained virtually unpunished with admission back into the Union. This kept alive the Old South attitude and prevented the joint restoration of the government.
ReplyDeleteAlthough several plans for reconstruction were considered, surprise president Andrew Johnson’s plan was the only one put into effect. And although he agreed with Lincoln in the fact that the states had never legally left the Union, his plan nonetheless did not enact much punishment for treason. With minimal conditions regarding the Confederate states’ constitutions and loyalty, there were still states that refused to accept those conditions but were pardoned anyway. And while certain leading Confederates were not given the right to vote, Johnson still pardoned the dominant planter aristocrats, placing the same leaders back in state governmental positions. In total he issued 13,500 special pardons, reviving Southern defiance and other discriminatory acts.
The Black Codes, one of the many effects of Johnson’s Plan, also hindered Reconstruction. The purpose of the Black Codes was to restore the South’s pre-emancipation system of race relations, which directly worked against Reconstruction. Although the Black Codes were used as a guise for restoring the South’s cotton economy and guaranteeing a stable labor supply after emancipation, they forced many blacks to become sharecroppers and tenant farmers. Under these systems they were employed, either working for keep and food or paying to rent the land, but the binding contracts owners produced over workers created an ever-growing debt cycle. No one could quit, their harvests had to be surrendered and delivered at their own expense, and the negative amount of money left over was the only allotted payment for themselves. The lack of enforcement of Johnson’s Plan kept very similar pre-emancipation circumstances and race relations in the South, the opposite effect of Reconstruction.
The lack of union in the government also demonstrated the failure of Reconstruction. The Congress and President were unable to agree on almost anything dealing with the unification of the country, and the cutthroat and secretive acts of the government showcased two very different parties and opinions working specifically against each other. For the first time in history, Congress passed both the strengthening of Freedman’s Bureau Bill and the 1866 Civil Rights Act despite the veto by the President. It passed the Reconstruction Acts of 1867 to specifically limit the power of the president. And finally Johnson’s impeachment, although he was acquitted, showed the country it was nowhere near being reconstructed despite an apparent plan for it.
The statement that Reconstruction was successful holds some validity, but is mostly untrue. Reconstruction attempted to rebuild the South after the Civil War, and was intended to fix the damages done to the heavily war-stricken areas and help the newly freed slaves integrate into society. However, it is evident that although some improvements were made, after Reconstruction’s trifling end, African Americans were still second-class citizens.
ReplyDeleteAndrew Jackson’s Reconstruction plan recognized many of Lincoln’s 10 percent governments and disenfranchised southerners with property worth more than $20,000. However, Johnson granted pardons to those wealthy aristocrats in abundance. The reinstatement of the planter class led the southerner to form rebellious governments. These governments created laws to restrict and regulate the lives of the emancipated blacks, similar to the slave statutes that were in place prior to the war. Black codes harshly punished blacks who broke their labor contracts, which forced them to work for the same employer for unfairly low wages, despite the fact that most blacks at the time were illiterate, creating the system of sharecropping. Sharecropping kept the freed black workers in debt to the rich planters who wanted to maintain a free labor force; in fact, this system closely resembled slavery itself.
Radical Reconstruction also provoked many secret organizations, the most notorious of which being the “Invisible Empire of the South,” or the Ku Klux Klan. The Klan first used intimidation to keep the blacks and black sympathizers down and out of the polls, but later resorted to violence, cruelly flogging, mutilating, or even murdering those who resisted.
In spite of all the southern rebellion, the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution were passed, granting blacks citizenship and the right to vote. In South Carolina, there was opposition to these amendments, however, such as unfair literacy tests administered by whites that were to the advantage of illiterate whites.
Thus, Reconstruction was mainly a failure. It died, not of its own success, but from lack of money to sustain it.
Although reconstruction allowed for some improvements in our country, it did not “rebuild” the United States. Many things such as racism, lack of funds, and lack of unity prevented the nation from completing reconstruction.
ReplyDeleteReconstruction did have some successes such as the passing of the 14th and 15th amendments. These amendments were disliked in the south and undermined by supreme court decisions and black codes, but the fact that they were passed was a big step during reconstruction. Also many blacks were able to be educated during this time with the help of the Freedman’s Bureau.
One of the major goals of reconstruction was the equal treatment of blacks. The problem arose from the lousy 10 percent plan. This plan pardoned almost anyone who asked to be pardoned. This allowed the south to feel no guilt for their rebellious ways leading to their continued mistreatments of blacks. This also allowed for the pardoned aristocrats to come back in to power, causing nothing to change politically in the south. Therefore the blacks continued to be discriminated against and basically being put back into the slave status. Many blacks were forced to tenant or sharecroppers making very little money, or living in debt. Racist groups such as the KKK made “free” life for blacks even harder.
Our country’s lack of unity at this time also hindered the success of reconstruction. The president and congress felt two different ways about how to go about reconstruction allowing constant battles and the eventual attempted impeachment of Johnson. Scandals during Johnsons term even cause the republicans to split.
Lack of funding cut reconstruction short, ultimately causing the failure of reconstruction.
-jordan tabor
The Reconstruction period following the Civil War was a failure because it didn’t achieve its main goals. Although there were many attempts to attain equality and unity, political, social and economic issues during the Reconstruction divided the races, especially in the South.
ReplyDeletePolitical attempts during Reconstruction, such as the Wade-Davis Bill and congress' passing of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments failed because of the South's decision to not act upon any laws. As the two party system was developed again, it formed a rift between Southerners and the rest of the US. Also, the KKK presented a threat to political revolution in the South as the Klan continually harassed former slaves and fought militias. While gaining momentum at local levels, African Americans were still underrepresented at a national level, thus leaving a large portion of the country out of politics.
Sharecropping emerged in the South, which divided the crop into three shares - one for the landowner, one for the worker, and one for the provider of goods and equipment. This system did not help freed slaves because most of them could never be economically independent. Instead, it created a system not too different from slavery. As a country, the U.S.’s financial situation wasn’t very good during Reconstruction either. U.S. currency depreciated and was low until close to the end of the period.
Social equality was never reached either because white Southerners’ deep racial hatred of blacks. The Civil Rights Act of 1875, outlawing discrimination in public places, only served to segregate people of different races through schools, churches and many other means. Many court cases ended up hurting blacks further by overturning progress made by various acts.
Reconstruction was a failure because although it resulted in one country, it failed to create one people. Reconstruction opened the United States to a bitter separation of people by color that would last over 100 years.
I think that this statement is somewhat valid and invalid at the same time. The most successful part of the Reconstruction era was of course freeing the slaves and giving them some rights. But at the same time those rights were undermined by many angry whites. which led to many things like the KKK and Black codes. And also the unity that the government thought would be brought about during the Reconstruction era never really took place.
ReplyDeleteThe 14th and 15th Amendments were written during this era to give the freedmen the rights that they deserved as human beings but many southerners disliked the new rights. So Black codes were written as a way to keep the blacks in their place and was also a way to show the blacks that they would never be equal to the whites.
In 1868 the KKK began. The KKK also called the "Invisible Empire of the South" was a group of southern males that made it their duty to intimidate blacks in every way that they could. They tried to keep blacks from voting and they even tried to keep them from getting jobs. They felt that the blacks had no right to live among them in regular society. They were also jealous of how successful the blacks were becoming, in government and just in general.
The unity that the government wanted never came into play during the Reconstruction era, just because of all the different views that all the people had. Even the government had different views on how they should handle the reconstruction of the states. Which caused many debates and heated arguments.
Reconstruction was both a success and a failure because the blacks got some rights. But the unity that the states wanted was never gained.
-jessica nickerson
The statement "Reconstruction was a success" is both valid and invalid. The two main goals of the Reconstruction were to rebuild the nation, which was a success, and to provide equality for the former slaves, which was a failure.
ReplyDeleteThe main goal of the Reconstruction was to bring the South back into the Union peacefully. With the different plans by Lincoln and Johnson, many states returned to the union. By the end of Reconstruction, most states had pledge loyalty to the Union and had drafted new constitutions. Issues between states' rights and federalism were also settled. The nation was once again became one even though there were still disagreements.
Although the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments were passed to guarentee black citizenship and rights, these amendments were often not enforced. Former slaves weren't protected as secret organizations such as the KKK emerged to terrorize the freedmen. Klansmen beat, flogged, and lynched blacks to prevent them from getting involved in the political scene. Black codes were also passed by White Southerners to suppress and punish African Americans. The blacks were discriminated against and remained as second class citizens.
Also, the sharecropping system that emerged kept the former slaves at their place--the bottom. This system was essentially another form of slavery. Wealthy white landowners would allow sharecroppers (former slaves) to work on their land in return for 1/2 to 3/4 of their profits. Merchants would also loan the land tenants tools and seeds wih high interest rate. Because of this, the freedmen often got themselves into debt and therefore were tied to the land for generations.
Reconstruction collapse in 1877 due to lack of funds. Although it wasn't completely successful, its effort wasn't completely wasted. United States once again became one nation and the first steps towards racial equality were taken.
This statement is not valid because Reconstruction of the South after the Civil War actually did more harm than good. In fact, many Southerners regarded Reconstruction as a worse period of time than the war itself because their social and racial system was upended. During Reconstruction, blacks received rights in the form of amendments to the Constitution, but none of those laws were enforced. The Southern officials went virtually unpunished and the South found loopholes in federal laws, allowing them to establish prejudiced laws.
ReplyDeleteThe 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments all gave blacks increased rights. The 13th amendment prohibited slavery, the 14th amendment gives blacks citizenship and the right to due process of law. The 15th amendment gives blacks the right to vote. However, the Supreme Court decided that although these amendments were laws, they wouldn't be enforced. This is one of the reasons blacks didn't have equal rights until the Civil Rights Act in 1965, almost 100 years later.
After Southern states were readmitted to the Union, they were allowed to be represented in Congress again. Many Southern representatives were also Confederate war generals or Confederate senators. This infuriated the North because they felt as if they didn't really win the war.
Also, when Southern states were readmitted to the Union, they were allowed to make their own laws. Many states implemented black codes, which were used to keep African Americans as second class citizens. These black codes guaranteed southern plantation owners a stable labor supply now that the slaves were emancipated. They restored pre-emancipation race relations and forced many African Americans to sign unfair share-croppers contracts because they were uneducated and had no other way to find a job.
Reconstruction was a failure because, although the country was unified politically, the people were pitted against each other according to beliefs and African Americans were still second class citizens.
I believe that this statement is not valid, Reconstruction was a failure. Reconstruction was only successful at giving the southern states statehood. Otherwise Reconstruction was a failure because it failed to assimilate blacks into the culture. Reconstruction led to the creation of the Jim Crow Laws, the Ku Klux Klan, and it did not change the social system in the states.
ReplyDeleteDuring Reconstruction the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were created to promote black rights and citizenship. Although the Amendments gave blacks rights they were not fully recognized in the south. Reconstruction led to the formation of the Ku Klux Klan, a hate group formed to protect the interests of white Americans by use of violence and intimidation. The Klan terrorized southern blacks without punishment until the government passed the Force Acts in 1870 which suppressed the Klan’s activity.
During the time of Reconstruction state and local laws in the United States called the Jim Crow Laws were created. These laws mandated racial segregation in all public facilities, creating an idea of "separate but equal". Under the Jim Crow Laws blacks were subjected to a number of economic, educational, and social disadvantages. The Jim Crow Laws spat on the outcome of the Civil War.
Although blacks were guaranteed freedom and rights their position in society did not change much. Many blacks had to perform back breaking and unrewarding work as sharecroppers during the era of Reconstruction. Freed blacks were forced to work for low wages and rent off former slave-owners, creating another type of slavery.
All in all Reconstruction was a failure because it did not assimilate the former slaves into society. Blacks still experienced segregation, had fewer rights, and performed similar work as slaves.
This statement is both invalid and valid because while the Reconstruction advanced American society with the first attempt at giving equality to Blacks, there were still many negative outcomes as a result of this such as sharecropping system and the establishment of the Ku Klux Klan.
ReplyDeleteThe Reconstruction's main goal was to successfully readmit the South into the Union, which is achieved. Slaves were also freed and admitted as citizens of the United States who were given the rights to vote by the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. The Freedman's Bureau was established to help educate the Blacks who were thirsty for knowledge and had the chance to be reunited with their long lost family members. Because of the number of Blacks in the South, many were elected into government positions to represent their population from local levels all the way until national levels in the Congress.
However, many negative results came about after slavery was abolished. For example, White southerners thought that if slavery meant whites ruling over blacks, then freedom must mean blacks would rule over whites. So extreme racists formed the Ku Klux Klan to discriminate and kill blacks to intimidate them and decrease their possible power and control over their former owners. the KKK killed many blacks to stop them from voting and having many other rights.
The system of sharecropping also came about on southern plantations to discriminate the freedmen and continue to keep the black population poor and dependent on their former owners. They had no choice but to sign hard to understand contracts with rules that kept them poor while the owners receive all the profits, and had to work like the slave days while being underpaid. Even in the cities where some blacks left home tot find jobs, the women would work in the house as nannies and maids while men worked manual labors that whites didn't want to do with little pay. Everywhere they went, racial discrimination was always very obvious.
Reconstruction was both a failure and a success in that the country took the first step to freeing the blacks and giving them equal rights. Even though they still had to go through many year of discrimination while remaining second class citizens after abolition, the Reconstruction gave them education and citizen rights for them to take the first step to freedom and true equality.
The statement that Reconstruction was a success cannot be considered a valid statement. Reconstruction was considered seen as more of a failure rather than a success because amendments and laws were not being enforced and even though blacks were given more rights there were still ways to get around it and punish them. Ultimately these rules being broken sparked other southerners to form colts and unfair contracting against the blacks. The white southerners could not cope with free and equal blacks, as this was a result to an unsuccessful Reconstruction.
ReplyDeleteThe 13th, 14th, and 15th amendment was ratified to protect the rights of black citizenship. The 13th amendment was ratified in 1865to prohibit slavery or any involuntary servitude. Although white southerners still got around this by giving blacks contracts that received little to no pay and they could not get out of contract unless they lost belongings of importance or value. The 14th amendment goes along with the thirteenth except adding in due process, which validates a fair trail for anyone. The 15th amendment allows any legal citizen to vote no matter what color or race you are, although this was not enforced. Due to this deficiency of enforcement, the Klu Klux Klan was established. The KKK was established by Nathan Forest in Tennessee as a secret society and was created to scare blacks and others to not vote. The KKK was not a violent group, but as the colt spread it became violent such as killing and torturing blacks. This colt eventually forced military actions to stop the spread and cruelty that was going on, which caused a break in the Reconstruction.
General Grant’s term in office was one of the unluckiest terms due to his cabinet, the corruptions that went on, and this was all during his first term and the reconstruction. The Credit Mobilier caused Grant to seem as though he were trying to harm the country, in a time when the south needed money to rebuild its economy. Grant also dealt with the Whiskey Ring and Indian Ring during his presidency, which were two major scandals on whiskey factories not paying their taxes just paying off the tax collectors. This was one reason why the economic support for the south was not strong during the reconstruction time.
When the confederacy rejoined the union they were forced to employ the Black Codes, which gave blacks more rights and freedom. This however was not supported in the south and the southern states could write their own constitution. Due to the south being able to write their own constitution, many of the Black Code requirements fell short. Which led to sharecropping and unbelievable contracts that were unfair and unjust and given to blacks by the tenant and sharecropping farmer. These contracts denied blacks of their rights and defied the Black Codes and the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments.
Reconstruction in the south was unsuccessful because the south had not changed their views of slavery and equal rights to everyone. African Americans were still treated like slaves in the south and there was no one there to enforce the new codes and amendments. The Reconstruction attempted to give African Americans equal rights and freedom but only ended in an ignorance of the southerners.
I think that the statement, the reconstruction was a success, was valid to an extent. The reconstruction's plan was originally trying to reunite the divided nation together again, which they ended up succeeding in doing, but the reconstruction era ended up creating a lot of disunity with the people. There were also many negative and positive outcomes of the Reconstruction.
ReplyDeleteThe Reconstruction era ended up accomplishing many positive outcomes. The once divided nation was finally recognized as a whole nation after the war. Too accomplish this The Andrew Johnson plan was put into effect. His plan was known as the 10%+ plan, and it made sure that the confederate states had to have new state constitutions, and minimum slavery.
The 13th, 14th, and 15th ammendments were added also to the Constitution during the reconstruction period. These ammendments allowed blacks to have civil rights, the right to vote, and gave many blacks more oppurtunities to succeed. The Freedmen's Bureau also gave blacks better education. This basically allowed many teachers to come down from the north to the south in order to teach many African Americans.
Although there were many positive outcomes from the Reconstruction period, there were also many negative effects of the Reconstruction. Although the 13th, 14th and 15th Ammendments were added, many hostile whites, couldn't accept the fact that blacks were now allowed the same rights as them. This resulted in the KKK being formed. The KKK was a secret society of hostile white, who disliked african Americans.They lynched, beat, and threatened many blacks.
Black Codes were now formed. These were known as Jim Crow Laws, and Racist Laws. These laws treated blacks differently. A sharecropping system was also added. Since blacks were finally allowed to have jobs of there own, and earn money, southerners used a system to keep blacks poor. The Jim Crow Laws basically restored a pre emancipation system of race relations too. Blacks were basically under the control of whites again.
Although there were many positive outcomes of the Reconstruction era, i think that there were many negative effects that make the reconstruction era a failure. Overall, this statement was right to an extent.
Reconstruction was a period after the Civil war to rebuild and unite the North and South together to form a union between the periods of 1865 and 1877. The Reconstruction efforts were meant for good but turned out to be a failure. Even though the 13th,14th and 15th amendments were ratified there was no enforcement on the amendments causing an ill treatment of blacks in the South. The development of the KKK also defeated the purpose of reconstruction. The panic of 1873, caused debts and led to cancellations of vital programs for reconstruction. Therefore I think this statement is invalid.
ReplyDeleteDifferent Amendments were ratified to guarantee the rights of blacks. The 13th amendment was ratified in 1865 and stated that slavery was over. It also said that congress can enforce it by appropriate legislation. The 14th amendment provided constitutional guarantee of rights and security of freed people. It gave black citizenship and due process of law and a national Bill of rights. The 15th amendment gave African Americans the right to vote. Congress passed an enforcement act but the judicial branch claimed that the act was unconstitutional. The south did not follow the rule because of lack of enforcement. Since there was no heavy enforcement on these amendments blacks were still treated poorly. Black codes developed in the south. Black codes were racists laws which did not treat blacks equally. These laws wanted to keep blacks for a stable labor force. Many blacks became sharecroppers and race relations remained the same. Reconstruction was not only necessary for rebuilding towns but also for building better race relations, which it did not achieve.
With the liberation of slaves, white opposition groups formed. One of the most known group was the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).The KKK was originally a fraternity group where the members dressed in costume. It started in Tennessee and soon spread throughout the south. There main goals switched to terrorizing black families who wanted to vote. They lynched, beat and harassed blacks. They were a Secret Society. Many people knew about them in the South but had no opposition to what they were doing to newly freed blacks. White southerners rebelled because their way of life was being taken from them. Reconstruction could not fix this damage in only 12 years.
The panic of 1873 was a huge reason why reconstruction was a failure. It was a 5 year depression where the reconstruction plan was not funded. The large combination of cash was a result of the recently created National Banking System that led to an inflation of the money supply.This recession led to the closing of the Freeman’s Bureau. The Freeman’s Bureau helped newly freed blacks. Over time people just started to forget about the reconstruction and the plans died out. Therefore this statement is invalid
Reconstruction was a success in the sense that it abolished slavery and kept the union together, and greatly improved conditions in the South compared to what they were immediately after the war had ended. However, it was a failure in the sense that it did not achieve enough, and left many issues unresolved.
ReplyDeleteIn many ways, the Reconstruction was successful because it reunited the states as one country, which was the original goal of the Civil War. It also succeeded in abolishing slavery, at least in an official sense, which was a giant step toward equality. Furthermore, it succeeded in securing suffrage for black males, and many black representatives entered government. The Freedman's Bureau helped to provide education for freed people of all ages, and enabled 200,000 blacks to learn to read. The Reconstruction period saw many positive changes for freedmen and the southern economy, and was a drastic improvement from the chaos and destruction that had existed at the war's end.
Although the Reconstruction was a dramatic improvement from previous conditions, it fell short of what was necessary and was in many ways a failure. Slavery lived on through debt cycles in sharecropping and tenant farming, both fundamentally unequal systems which helped to preserve the antebellum social order. The Freedman's Bureau was abandoned in 1872 due to criticism by White Supremacists and lack of funding. The Ku Klux Klan formed a reign of terror during the Reconstruction period and represented the failure of Reconstruction attempts to destroy White Supremacy. Also, Black Codes formed, preserving social inequality and creating problems which would not be dealt with until the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's.
The Reconstruction was both a success and a failure; it was a significant improvement from immediate postwar conditions, but fell short of the changes needed to form a stable and equal society.
The statement “Reconstruction was a success”, I believe, is valid but mostly invalid. Reconstruction attempted to rebuild the South after the Civil War, and intended to fix the damages done to heavily war-stricken areas and helped the newly freed slaves integrate into society and to become equals.
ReplyDeleteReconstruction had some success such as passing the 14th and 15th amendments for African Americans, but they were only laws. The amendments were hated in the south and undermined by the Supreme Court decisions and the black codes which were supposedly created to help the newly freed African Americans but ended up making them into second class citizens. Thanks to Reconstruction in the south, Africans Americans were able to go to school and get an education.
Radical Reconstruction provoked many secret organizations, the most popular of them being the “Invisible Empire of the South,” or the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). The Klan was made up of southern males who first used intimidation to keep the blacks from voting and also intimidate republicans in the south, but later resorted to violence, cruelly flogging, mutilating, and even murdering, mostly by hanging, those who ignored their threat. They felt that the blacks had no right to live among them in regular society and the group of men wanted the south to go back to the way it was before the Civil War.
Also, the sharecropping system kept the newly freed African Americans as second class citizens. This system was essentially another form of slavery. Wealthy white landowners would allow sharecroppers (former slaves) to work on their land in return for 1/2 to 3/4 of their profits from the crops they grew. Merchants would also loan the land tenants tools and seeds with high interest rate such as 60%. Because of this, the freed slaves often got into debt and therefore were tied to the land for generations and generations.
Reconstruction collapsed in 1877 mainly because the government ran out of money to continue it. For all of these reasons, Reconstruction in the south was mostly a failure.
I think that the statement that reconstruction was a success was valid in some ways but not valid in others. Although the main goal of reconstruction was to bring the country together and they did that, the country was not actually together there was a lot of hate and distrust through out the country. KKK sects were sprouting up all over the south trying to keep African Americans from voting and Black codes kept many African Americans down socially and economically, but at the end of the day we were one country so i guess you could say it succeeded to some extent.
ReplyDeleteThe Ku Klux Klan starting of as a non collegiate social fraternity eventually developed into a large group of confederates who could only dwell on the past with nostalgia who wanted to keep african americans down by threatening many to keep them from voting and threatening the african american government officials to step down. This lead to our country although being unified officially being separated and overall not together as one. KKK members often resorted to violence hurting and often killing many abolitionists and african americans. clearly in the south this nation was not together.
The black codes also kept african americans down and separated the country by forcing african americans to be segregated from the rest of us and there fore working against the unification of our country as one. Black Codes were made in an attempt by white southerners to maintain control but really all they did was effectively separate our country even further then it already had been.
The one thing you can look at that makes you think that reconstruction was a success is that at the end of the day officially the United States of America was one country including all the southern and northern states and not only that but the fact that the southern states had agreed to our terms. Although we were reconstructed into one country the reconstruction of our nation was only partially affective.
The idea that Reconstruction was a success is partially valid. Overall Reconstruction was a success because the Secession States were admitted back into the union and the South was rebuilt. However, the Reconstruction period was lined with failures in our government such as the corruption under U. S. Grant, the confinement of black rights, and the economic hardships of the time.
ReplyDeleteThe corruption that occurred under the oblivious Ulysses S. Grant acted as a way for people to take advantage of the South for their own financial and political gain. The Whiskey Ring was where tax collectors were bribed not to collect the excise tax. In Credit Mobiler Scandal the government paid too much to railroad companies and they in turn bribed congressmen to approve the contract. In addition, Republican held most of the power and did what they could to keep the Democrats out of politics. They attempted to keep blacks in the South as a political tool for a strong Republican party there.
The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments were passed in Congress freeing the slaves, giving them citizenship, and allowing them the right to vote. However, the other branches were not as heavily Republican as Congress and without the executive branch and the supreme court to back them up, they meant nothing. The Southern Black codes limited the rights of blacks and kept them on the fields to guarantee a stable labor supply and the system of sharecropping developed. Supreme Court Rulings such as US v. Cruickshank in 1876 said that black rights would be supported in government areas, but could not protect against individual discrimination. This ultimately led to segregation.
The Panic of 1873 started with bad loans that left people and banks poor. This led to a financial crisis and debtors sought the increased circulation of greenbacks, which would cause inflation. This depression made the government less able to pay for reconstruction and was a cause of the end of reconstruction.
The rebuilding of the union was shaky. It was done but with much corruption, economic crisis, and limitations of the rights of blacks. For these reasons, Reconstruction was a partial success.
Despite the few improvements of African American rights and reunification of the Union, Reconstruction was not complete a success during the 1800's America. This is mainly due to the strong racial tensions between white and blacks,Andrew Johnson's presidency, and political corruption.
ReplyDeleteWith the aftermath of the Civil War, the Union being the victor, new laws and plans were formed in support of newly freed slaves. They included public education, government positions, suffrage, right to own land, etc. However, old habits die hard. The southerners weren't about to let the very people who were doing their dirty work become their equals. The South fought hard to have any means to block off African American rights. When elections came, whites would resort to violence to intimidate blacks from voting, many acts of violence being carried out by the KKK. When a newly freed slave decided to go into sharecropping for the first time, whites would use contracts that only favored white owners, basically re enslaving the blacks into working the land, which would lead to a massive debt. The Supreme Court was influenced by white Southerners, allowing them to render the 14th and 15th amendments near useless with rulings of Slaughterhouse cases, Bradwell vs. IL, US vs. cruickshank, and US vs. Reese.
Lincoln's death gave way to his vice president becoming President, the man known as Andrew Johnson. He was a white supremacist who often fought with Congress on which laws to pass concerning African American rights. Johnson would put his new plan into effect, a plan that involved the reunification of the Union in terms of dealing with the South. However, Johnson saw fit to act as though he were an amateur babysitter trying to discipline a couple of nine year olds by deciding to pardon the majority of Southerners. He contradicted his own plan by claiming he will punish former Confederate officials and military officers, but in reality pardoning anyone who merely sent him a letter asking for one. As a result of his leniency, many if not all former Southern congressmen were reappointed in the same exact position before the war, as though nothing had changed. This led to a furious Republican party and the passing of the Black Codes in the South, a set of rules that would restrict African Americans.
Corruption in the U.S. government was clearly seen in Grant's presidency, as the very people who were close to the famed Civil War Union general was also using him for their own gains. A huge scandal broke out when Grant discovered his own Cabinet members were taking bribes. Later, he would find a money laundering ring that used whiskey taxes that were being payed to tax collector as well as Grant's officials being bribed to allow merchants to keep their stores in Native American land so they could overcharge Natives for goods. On top of that, the Supreme Court was heavily influenced by Southern White supremacists, who used their judicial power to weaken the 14th and 15th amendments.
Clearly, the Reconstruction era of America after the Civil War was not as successful as many would think. Racial tensions, bad presidencies, and political corruptions paid a gruesome toll on the young nation seeking to become reunified.
The idea that Reconstruction was a success is false. Slavery wasn't really ended, the KKK was created and gained power as an evil group with a core belief in racial superiority, and the seceded states were let back in, promising that they would ratify and follow the 14th ammendment (which they didn't even do).
ReplyDeleteSlavery didn't really end with the winning of the Civil War. The planters no longer had a free labor source, so they had to turn to the chare cropping system. This system was designed to keep blacks poor and dependant upon the whites to survive. They had to buy everything they needed to till the land on credit with the promise of paying back at the end of the harvest. The land owner also got much of the black man's harvest, so in the end, the ex-slaves were making barely enough to scrape by, and the white men still weren't doing anything.
The Klu Klux Klan also came to power during this time. They started as a scoial group in Tennessee, but quickly became a group bent on suppressing the black population. IF you were a black man who was in Congress or who wanted to vote (because, technically, they now could), you would probably be taken by the KKK from your house at night to be beaten and flogged into submission. The rise of such a group means that Reconstruction was not on the road it wanted to be.
The seceded states were let back into the Union with only a small slap on the wrist. Johnson was much too leniant in the way he dealt with them. He pardoned way too many of the Confederate leaders, which would come back to bite him later (meaning conflict in Congress).
Reconstruction, on the whole, failed miserably. The new form of slavery called share cropping, the KKK, and the much too leniant readmission policies of Andrew Johnson saw to that.
Side note- Sorry this is so late, the school web site was down Sunday morning, then I had to go to the ER sunday evening so I couldn't do it until today.
-Evan van Aalst
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ReplyDeleteThe old south was very much alive in the southern governments. Jackson issued thousands of pardons that allowed southern aristocrats back into congress and back in to power. Although states had to ratify the 14th amendment before they could be readmitted into the union, states came up with black codes, which was a legal way to still deny blacks their rights. Tension was very high in the south between the races
Sharecropping also emerged in the south. This system kept many former slaves on the plantation they had been previously working on. They would work and pay for everything but half of their profits would still go the owner of the land. This system often left many families in debt for years.
The panic of 1873 was the final blow to reconstruction. There was a huge rise in inflation and the money that the government had been using to fund reconstruction was cut off from the south. With no money reconstruction died out and ended up failing.