Grievances Of The Reconstruction Era

The Reconstruction era following the Civil War managed to accomplish various goals regarding the freed slaves, the south, and the nation. This positive growth, especially for the African Americans was brief. In the efforts to reconstruct the southern society and integrate the freedmen, the southern whites, who were previously prosperous began to feel betrayed and neglected. There were many grievances, such as arguing that the Freedman’s Bureau infringed their rights and wanting the Union to withdraw its forces.1 The southern legislatures even passed laws such as the Mississippi Black Code, which prevented interracial marriage, court access for blacks, introduced vagrancy laws, and promoted the formation of vigilante and lynching groups. There
was also the emergence of the infamous KKK. The lynching and vigilante groups like the KKK were, as Stephen Hahn argues, built on traditions of affirming domination and place fear in people’s hearts.2 Furthermore, republicans in the north faced limitations while rebuilding the south. The republicans were fatigued and did not want to keep their forces in the south any longer, financial concerns arose due to debt from the war, and there were still numerous other concerns to focus on. The economic recession in 1873 made managing the south even more burdensome. This further allowed the southern whites to turn things in their favor, and restrain the African Americans socially and economically.2 Thus it can be concluded that there was a momentum of progression in the aftermath of the Civil War, however, heavy resistance from the southern whites forced the progression back.