Civil War Reconstruction Research Paper

The Civil War and the period of Reconstruction brought significant political, social, and economic changes to American society, and these effects continued into the 20th century. Post Civil War (After the Civil War – The period after the Civil War) - President Abraham Lincoln and Congress were determined to rebuild the nation. Lincoln wanted to restore the Union by readmitting the southern states that had seceded, as well as provide African Americans with more rights. Period of Conflict -

Reconstruction is during which the United States began to rebuild the Southern society after they lost to the civil war. It lasted from 1865 to 1877, and it was initiated by President Lincoln until his assassination in 1865. President Johnson continued Lincoln’s agenda to continue the Reconstruction. Throughout the process of Reconstruction, one of its main purpose was to guarantees for equal rights for all people, especially for the African Americans. Even though slavery was abolished after the civil war, many Southerners were still against the idea of equal rights for all black people, such as the Republicans.

"Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address March 4, 1865" Realistically, the goals of reconstruction was not very reachable all at once. Lincoln basically expected to have all slavery abolished right away as soon as the Civil War ended and to never go back; plantation owners spent their whole lives bossing around African-American slaves and keeping their businesses running smoothly and efficiently. Getting rid of slaves in such a short amount of time and not just slowly letting them all go bit by bit would ruin the master's plans and livelihoods. Without slaves Southerners would lose a lot of annual profit and their way of living would shatter into 1 million pieces. Lincoln seem to be expecting way too much of the Southerners

Many politicians felt this was a white man’s war and slaves had no right to fight this war. Slaves were not allowed to fight, all this changed when Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, it declared “ That all person held as slaves within the Confederate states should be free. Although it did not end slavery in the nation it gave people hope and uplifted the moral of blacks. Fredrick Douglas convinced Abraham Lincoln that African Americans were ready to fight and serve the Union.

During the Civil War President Abraham Lincoln made a second Emancipation Proclamation. On September 22nd, 1862, after the battle of Antietam he issued a opening Emancipation Proclamation declaring all slaves free. This is when the Union Army gave freed slaves “Forty Acres and a Mule”. Then General Robert E. Lee surrendered at the Appomattox Court House, in Virginia which put an end to the Civil War. After the Civil War most of the South was destroyed so Abraham Lincoln made a plan called “reconstruction” that later turns into “Reconstruction Act of 1867”.

Finally the marking of the end of Reconstruction was the Election of 1876 and the new President Republican Hayes. Great upset to the Democrats their solution for Republicans to get anything done in congress was to make filibusters. With the constant and neverending interruption the two parties came to agree on the Compromise of 1877. This meant the removal of troops out of the south. This lead to the south once again being controlled by white Democrats.

One example is the creation of the Ku Klux Klan which was opposed to the rising rights of African Americans and change. There was also a rise of violence and racism against African Americans not only from the Ku Klux Klan but from regular Southerners as well. Many freed men also faced poverty as many business would not hire them because of fear bestowed on the by the K.K.K or by their personal disgust towards them. There were also several discriminatory laws but into place such as black codes and Jim Crow Laws which several restricted the way many “freed ‘men’” could live their

In 1865-1877 (the period after the Civil War) was Reconstruction. President Abraham Lincoln started planning for Reconstruction of the south during the Civil War as Union soldiers. Reconstruction was a time of great pain and endless questions, known as the period following the civil war of rebuilding the United States. This still concluded as a war because it waged by radical northerners who wanted to punish the South and Southerners who desperately wanted to preserve their way of life. The South had started the civil war that caused so much destruction and deaths.

Reconstruction: African American Unhomeliness Rather than deal with an unwelcoming North who had done nearly everything in their power to keep the population of newly freed slaves to a minimum: African American chose, and if not were forced to stay in the Jim Crow south or be sent to prison, sold at auction, or put to death. The false sense of freedom given to the newly emancipated blacks, provided no aid if laws were looked at as subjective and any success given to support their causes, returned with further hate, and violence. As a result the paradox of the time made the failures of reconstruction a result of any success granted during that period. The Emancipation Proclamation signed January 1, 1863 by Abraham Lincoln, declared, that

Reconstruction was a period of time dedicated to rebuilding the nation after the Civil War. The war ended with the South being defeated and their economy being devastated. Many Southerners struggled after the war with rebuilding their land and lives. The President and Congress had to decide the terms for which the former Confederate states would be permitted to join the Union. President Lincoln’s plan for reuniting the country was found in the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction.

At the end of the Civil War between the North and South arose the Reconstruction era. This was a time period of the late 1800s where the united states, specifically the North started to attempt the rebuilding of the South. Abolitionists were eager to see the end of slavery and Lincoln attempted to end slavery. President Lincoln attempted to put in place the Emancipation Proclamation which stated all slaves in confederate states would be free. This was to weaken the southern states; except, the confederate states did not obey.

The American civil war led to the reunion of the South and the North. But, its consequences led the Republicans to take the lead of reconstructing what the war had destroyed especially in the South because it contained larger numbers of newly freed slaves. Just after the civil war, America entered into what was called as the reconstruction era. Reconstruction refers to when “the federal government established the terms on which rebellious Southern states would be integrated back into the Union” (Watts 246). As a further matter, it also meant “the process of helping the 4 million freed slaves after the civil war [to] make the transition to freedom” (DeFord and Schwarz 96).

The African Americans were “free” but were still being treated like slaves. They were given rights but had them taken away and were working for very little pay which was unfair compared to how whites were working for more. The blacks couldn’t even own a house or even rent unless they worked for a white man. They couldn’t even work unless it was for some white person or former owner. This is why reconstruction in the south after the civil war was a big

Reconstruction era, which was followed by post-civil war, was meant to unite the states back together, reconstruct properties, and most importantly, abolish slavery in the South. Although the factors such as amendments legally freed former slaves, yet WRITE THESIS After the end of civil war in 1865, Reconstruction era, which was controlled by President Abraham Lincoln, appeared to quickly coalesce the Northern and Southern states. reconstruction amendments, which were approved between 1865 and 1870, played a huge role on giving legal rights to blacks and former slaves. 13th amendment constitutionally abolished slavery in 1865 and followed up by that, 14th and 15th amendment admitted equal citizenship, protection, and rights of suffrage despite the one’s race or skin color. Former slaves were no longer belongings of their owners.

The Reconstruction (1865-1877) was a period during which the life of the defeated South was to be returned to normal; it was also a time when the Black Americans attained some rights thanks to Lincoln and the Republican part of the Congress and despite Johnson’s intentions. An extremely violent time, it is sometimes called “the darkest period of American history”; still, it brought many important progressive changes to the US. Abraham Lincoln is known for proclaiming the black slaves Emancipation in 1863; he was convinced that it was necessary for the North to win the war. Lincoln believed that the Confederate states needed to be reintegrated back into the US while preserving the abolition of slavery; however, the 16th President wasn’t planning