Government policies during the period of Reconstruction following the Civil War were a mixed success. While they brought about significant changes in terms of legal rights and protections for former slaves, they also fell short of fully addressing the economic and social inequalities that persisted in the South. Historians disagree widely over the efficiency of the government's efforts throughout the Reconstruction era. While some contend that the enacted policies were mainly effective in resolving the problems faced by recently freed slaves and reconstructing the South, others contend they failed in several ways. The ratification of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the Constitution was a major achievement of the governmental policy …show more content…
Document 2 says “Black codes enforced in Southern states during Reconstruction prevented freed slaves from exercising many rights.” By enacting discriminatory laws like Black Codes and poll taxes that made it impossible for African Americans to vote or own property, the Southern states still dominated by white landowners effectively undercut the execution of these amendments. The government's rebuilding measures did not offer the required help for the newly liberated slaves and their offspring's economic elevation. The Freedmen's Bureau was powerless to shield former slaves from the violence and intimidation of organizations that support white supremacy. Document 5 also says “the Ku Klux Klan’s riding nightly over the country, going from county to county, and in the towns spreading terror wherever they go by robbing, whipping, ravishing [raping], and killing our people without provocation, compelling colored people to break the ice and bathe in the chilly waters of the Kentucky River… Our people are driven from their homes in great numbers… We would state that we have been law-abiding citizens, pay our taxes, and, in many parts of the state, our people have been driven from the polls - refused the right to vote,” African Americans in the South were tormented by the Ku Klux Klan and other hate groups, and the federal government could not stop this
Not only that, it also allowed African Americans to sue in court, own properties, make contracts and have equal benefits to laws as white people did. Two years later, Radical Republicans in Congress also ratified the 14th amendment
Finally, with the ratification the fifteenth amendment in 1870s, it secured the vote for the African Americans, and it forbid states from denying any citizens from the right to vote based on race, color, or “previous condition of servitude.” These three amendments were significant changes during the Reconstruction period because all people, not just white, can fully enjoy being an American citizen without worrying over their race or
The Union victory was a significant victory that would be remembered for years to come. The Reconstruction era followed soon after. It was intended to accomplish far more than it did, with the main objective of rebuilding the south. There were a variety of significant issues that made the Reconstruction process that much more difficult, initially impacting the overall process in a negative way. It was a struggle between the north and the south during peacetime after the war.
During the reconstruction era the Civil Rights Act of 1875 protected all Americans, regardless of their race, equal treatment in public accommodations, public transportation, and to prohibit exclusion from jury service, however it was not enforced and the supreme court declared it unconstitutional in 1883. The Court ruled that the 14th Amendment prohibited states, but not citizens, from discriminating. This civil rights reversal was devastating for African
The group the KKK was threatening was to anyone who supported the Reconstruction, to put fear into others to not back out and not support
The Civil War, from 1861-1864, was a collection of brutal battles between the North and South as a result of their sectional differences. Although the North won the military victory against the South, the South was able to keep many of its policies in place after the Civil War. During the Reconstruction Period, 1865-1877, it was evident that the South won the Civil War in many ways because of their political and social policies that they implemented or kept in place. While the 13th through 15th amendments changed social issues for a period of time in the South by allowing more opportunities and rights for former slaves, the South continued their social dominance over black people. Also, politically, near the beginning of Reconstruction and
The Capacity of Reconstruction Does a country ever feel guilty? To what extent will powerful individuals come together to quell their guilty conscience and their hypocrisy, or will they atone by superficial means? A country divided, the Republican president Abraham Lincoln sought to unify the United States that had become the Union States and the Confederate States. One-half of the country set on unifying the split country, abolition, and more industrial practices.
The Reconstruction Era of American history was plagued by many problems. One of the most important problems being the recently released from slavery Freedmen. Freedmen were in a tricky situation in which they had just been released from their owner and had nowhere to go, but the Federal Government made many successful attempts to help them out. The Government helped alleviate all the problems Freedmen had from their finances to basic needs and rights, and in doing so, made the period of reconstruction more helpful than harmful for Freedmen. The events of reconstruction were helpful to freedmen as they were not only freed from slavery, they were given rights directly from the federal government.
Essay Questions for Section I 1) The key point of the Reconstruction was to reconstruct the South, in order to, bring it back into the United States. However, there were many issues that the federal government had to deal with during this time period. In my opinion, I would say the primary issue that the federal government was faced with, would be figuring out how to bring the South back into the United States. The other main issue that the federal government was faced with, would be to figure out was what to do with the freed slaves.
They also suffered political changes that still have an effect on us today. The success and failure of rebuilding our country cannot be blamed on the government or the people, as both played equal and critical roles in the whole process. During the reconstruction era, there were many goods that came out of it.
Sources Analysis Freedom During the Reconstruction era, the idea of freedom could have many different meanings. Everyday factors that we don't often think about today such as the color of our skin, where we were born, and whether or not we own land determined what limitations were placed on the ability to live our life to the fullest. To dig deeper into what freedom meant for different individuals during this time period, I analyzed three primary sources written by those who experienced this first hand. These included “Excerpts from The Black Codes of Mississippi” (1865), “Jourdan Anderson to his old master” (1865), and “Testimony on the Ku Klux Klan in Congressional Hearing” (1872).
Former slaves who “tried to vote or participate in politics [were] likely to be singled out for “punishment”” by a terrorist organization named as the Ku Klux Klan, until the Congress passed the Force Bill in 1871 that gave the federal authorities the right to arrest and pursue active members of the KKK. But, the bill appeared to be only figurative as not really much of the Klan’s members were prosecuted (Hazen
Many people were homeless and had no money shortly after the civil war because there homes were destroyed or they were newly freed slaves. The reconstruction era was when the south was joining back with the the union and they were rebuilding their economy. The reconstruction was a hard time for the freedmen because they they had no money or a home and it was hard for them to find jobs to support their family. The reconstruction was overall an unsuccessful era. Politically it was alright because they made rights for the freedmen but economically and socially it was terrible Politically the reconstruction era was good because the government created rights for the freedmen so they weren't fully mistreated and harmed.
Reconstruction caused prejudice and inequality. To elaborate, the creation of the Ku Klux Klan and the Black Codes were both in the time period of reconstruction, which caused chaos and violence throughout the Union. One of the goals of reconstruction was to repair the economy in the South, because it depended on slavery, which was now illegal, due to the thirteenth amendment. The South’s economic system now depended on Sharecropping, which caused former slaves to be in constant debt and was unjust to the black society. The reconstruction time period, was a time of dispute between the Union.
These actions were a direct response to the progress made toward racial equality during the Reconstruction period. The government's failure to address and handle these issues contributed to Reconstruction's failure. During the Reconstruction era, there were both successes and failures, such as the expansion of rights for African Americans, equal access to education, and the participation of African Americans in politics, the goals of Reconstruction were not fully achieved. Despite the mistakes , the