Essay on Reconstruction After the Civil War - 934 Words

The period of Reconstruction began during the Civil War and ended in 1877. This era is known for the advancements made in favor of racial equality. These improvements included the fourteenth amendment (citizenship and equal protection under the law to blacks) and the fifteenth amendment (voting rights for blacks) of the Constitution. Yet, with the end of Reconstruction in 1877, the Republican Party lost control of the southern governments and the Democratic Party took over. This shift in power was supposed to mark the beginning of the New South in which the virtues of thrift, industry, and progress would become the model characteristics of the South. However, the changes in the South from 1877-1900 reflected traditional attitudes and†¦show more content†¦A major goal of the New South was to improve the regions industrial economy. This objective helped the South increase its number of textile factories dramatically. Since cotton planters had to transport their shipments to no rthern factories in the past, these new factories helped the southern farmers tremendously. Other industries that experienced an increase in production after Reconstruction were the tobacco-processing industry (James B. Duke founded the American Tobacco Company), the iron plus steel industry that boomed out of Birmingham, Alabama, and the railroad companies that helped the South double its amount of trackage from 1880-1890. Despite these industrial advancements, the South would never reach the impact industrialization had on the Northern economy. Also, in those areas of improvement, such as textiles and railroads, a large amount of the financial resources came from the North. The Souths major economic source was still agriculture and this was in bad shape too. Tenant farmers, including debt peonage and the crop-lien system, made up 70% of the Southern planters by 1900. Many African Americans who had just been freed from slavery made up this percentage. They now were apart of a bindi ng economic slavery. Although the South had improved its industry, it had not accumulated its goal of becoming an industrial region like the North. This fact, along with the agricultural hardships, had pushed theShow MoreRelatedThe Reconstruction After The Civil War977 Words   |  4 Pagesend to start something new. One such movement was the Reconstruction. Reconstruction was a time period between 1865 and 1877 following the Civil War, during which people of the United States worked to put the country back together again, introducing a new set of significant challenges. Though, like all things in life, it did come to an end, the resulting outcome had been labeled both a success and a failure. The Reconstruction after the Civil War consisted of failures as well as successes. DespiteRead MoreReconstruction after the Civil War900 Words   |  4 PagesAfter Reading John Hope Franklin’s  Reconstruction after the Civil War  I have a completely new outlook on reconstruction. Some may say that this book, regardless of its historical contribution on Reconstruction, which it tries to demolish William Dunning’s myth of white supremacy. It is also has a very serious attempt to be fair and objective about a very controversial period when race, politics and ideology played a very different role in Society. It is precisely in Franklin’s abilityRead MoreThe Reconstruction of America after the Civil War1078 Words   |  4 PagesThe Civil War left a country divided not only by property lines and borders but by beliefs as well. Not just religious beliefs, moral beliefs also. It left both sides, north and south struggling, trying to figure out what their next move towards reuniting the divided America was going to be. The period following the end of the Civil War would become known as the â€Å"Reconstruction Era.† An era that raised just as many questions as it did answers. A reconstruction of America that seems to carry on manyRead MoreReconstruction After Civil War Essay1503 Words   |  7 PagesReconstruction Reconstruction was a period of time between 1865 and 1877, which was very complex and controversial. It refers to the actual rebuilding of the south physically, economically and politically from the damage of the Civil War. It was an effort to rebuild southern states and also to restore the Union. During this time period, the federal government passed a series of laws, acts and amendments to bring change. Many of these amendments guaranteed the equal rights to African-AmericansRead MoreReconstruction After the Civil War Essay665 Words   |  3 PagesReconstruction was the foremost goal for many after the civil war. Yet, various individuals and political parties held a plethora of contrasting beliefs concerning how to face this reconstruction task. In terms of the Reconstruction, two ideas permeated the political field: who would have the authority to enact these changes and in what ways would national unity be accomplished. It is obvious that throughout this time the power held within the federal government would be challenged by southern stateRead MoreThe Reconstruction Era after the Civil War558 Words   |  2 Pages The Reconstruction Era The Reconstruction Era was looked upon with much optimism, considering that abolitionists and African Americans believed that this process would make it possible for them to achieve their goals. The project was generally meant to assist the South in reintegrating in the Union and in assisting African Americans to become equal to white individuals in the U.S. The Freedmen were apparently one of the main missions that the Reconstruction was designed for and it actually seemedRead MoreAmerican Reconstruction after the Civil War Essay1228 Words   |  5 Pages Reconstruction was a period of time after the Civil War (1865-1877) that was supposed to be the rebuilding of America. It was also the process used to readmit all the Confederate states back into the Union. There was controversy, however, on how to go about rebuilding the nation. Abraham Lincoln proposed a lenient plan. After he was assassinated, Andrew Johnson proposed a very similar plan. The Radical Republicans, a group of legislators that were in favor of freedmen’s rights, were opposedRead MoreReconstruction Policy after the Civil War Essay1176 Words   |  5 PagesPost-civil war the torn nation juggles wide ranges of emotions as they attempt to piece together the shattered unity but didn’t know how to go about doing so. President Lincoln had great plans for the reconstruction but was killed before he could put them into action. He was murdered by John Booth at Ford Theater and passed the next morning. Lincoln’s Vice-president, Andrew Johnson, took ove r and became the new president. Johnson and Congress argued about how to go about the reconstruction and inRead MoreThe Problems of the Reconstruction after the Civil War Essay898 Words   |  4 PagesAfter the conclusion of America’s Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln pitched the idea of â€Å"Reconstruction,† which would bring the southern states back into the Union. President Lincoln, according to many radical Republicans, was too gentle on the south. The government was divided on how to solve the issue of readmitting the southern states back into the Union. In addition to that, the government was not certain on what rights to enumerate to the newly emancipated slaves. These issues became moreRead MoreThe Reconstruction Effort That Occurred After The Civil War1476 Words   |  6 Pages The Reconstruction effort that occurred after the Civil War from 1865 - 1866 had both positive and negative effects on the nation. Leading up to the Reconstruction attempt, there was developing regional differences between the North and South. Slavery was the issue of the decade. North argued that it was inhumane, while the South was quick to point out that many Northerners benefited from slavery. The Presidential election of Lincoln lead to the succession of the South. They believed that the United