RECONSTRUCTION, WHAT WENT WRONG I. Historiography of Reconstruction A. Early Views Journalists, Poets, & Rebels Negative view of Reconstruction Sidney Andrews, The South Since the War (1866) John Dennett, The South as It Is. Southern frame of reference Sidney Lanier (poet) Attempt to justify Civil War B. Early Professional Historians John Ford Rhodes Ohio Democrat Not impartial Blamed North for problems of Reconstruction’ Claimed Black Rule forced on South at point of bayonet John William Burgess Tennessee Unionist Former Union soldier Studied at University of Berlin Organized History Graduate Program at Columbia University Produced historians such as U.B. Phillips and William Archibald Dunning Traditionalist view of Reconstruction Burgess, Phillips & Dunning Basic view: Stressed Southern problems Minimized achievements of Freedmen Regarded White Supremacy as normal in South C. Dunning School And Traditionalism William Archibald Dunning Taught at Columbia University Attracted best historical minds of his day Wrote histories of their own states James W. Garner, Reconstruction in Mississippi (1901)…
The Reconstruction was the period during which the United States began to rebuild after the Civil War, lasting from 1865 to 1877. It was to repair the North and the South politically, economically and socially. After the Civil War, the South’s economy was completely ruined and needed help from the Union government; which they were trying to stay way from. The Reconstruction can be evaluated both as a success and a failure. Its successes were the restoration of the eleven confederate states back to the union, giving African-Americans (ex-slaves) their freedom and rights and providing aid to the freed slaves and poor whites. Its failures were the Anti-African Americans groups such as the KKK, the Black Codes, not protecting the rights of the freedmen and the southern corruption. Although African-Americans were freed and gained their rights because of 13th, 14th and 15th amendments, and the ex-eleven confederate states came back to the union, the Reconstruction was more of a failure than a success.…
Assignment 5: U.S. History to ReconstructionIn 1861 most Southerners thought that the Confederacy was favorite to win the war. The Confederacy’s sheer size – 750,000 square miles – was a major asset, making if difficult to blockade, occupy and conquer. Confederate forces did not have to invade the North: they simply needed to defend. The fire-power of the rifle-musket meant that battlefield tactics now favored the defender. The Union, having no option but to attack, was bound to suffer heavy casualties. Southerners hoped that Northern opinion might come to question high losses. If Northern will collapsed, the Confederacy would win by default. Geography gave the Confederacy an important strategic advantage. In the crucial theatre of the war – North Virginia – a series of rivers provided a barrier to Union armies intent on capturing Richmond, the Confederate capital. Slavery, which might seem to be a Confederate weakness, enabled the South to enlist more of its white manpower than the North.…
Evidently, all the features of the Reconstruction were a failure. It was supposed to help the African Americans to make a social equality with whites going through the 14th and 15th amendment and there was no succeed. At the same time, there was no help on standing them up financially. African Americans…
The confederate states wanted to break away from the united states but failed. However, now they had to rejoin the union. The war had left the souths economy and society in destruction. It would take a lot of effort to reestablish states. The remaking of the states was called reconstruction.…
After the Civil War was over, the South went into Reconstruction. This was the time…
One of the main problems that the country was facing during Reconstruction was Wartime. President Lincoln issued a Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction, which offered Southerners to take an oath of loyalty to the Union and freedom’s legitimacy in December 1863. This idea was known as the Ten Percent Plan. It provided the voting population so they could set up a loyal government. By 1864, Louisiana and Arkansas states recognized a Unionist government. In 1864, congress declined to seat the Unionists voted to the House and Senate from Louisiana and Arkansas (Divine, page 368). A group known as the Radical Republicans wanted black rights protected and therefore would not engage in readmission of southern states. In July 1864, Congress passed…
As a whole, America has gone through many political changes and revolutionary movements. As history takes its course, though, most all of these “revolutionary movements” came to an end. One movement was Reconstruction. Reconstruction was a period in time when America was consisting of many leaders, goals and accomplishments. Eventually, it did come to an end, the result has been both a failure and a success. Reconstruction of the South, though, was definitely a failure in many ways. When Reconstruction began, America had just done fighting the Civil War. Basically, this time period was mainly just that. It was a time of “putting together the pieces” as some people have said. It was a point where America attempted to become an “up and running country once more”.…
What had formerly been ruled by Democratic hardliners was now governed by equally radical Republicans intent on changing the ways of the South. One of the primary goals of Reconstruction was to integrate blacks into Southern society and readmit the states that seceded, but only after blacks had won full political and civil equality (Wormser, “Reconstruction”). This, however, did not align with the idea that most Southern leaders at the time held, and there was an obvious backlash to the Republican…
Southern whites tried to fight back with violence, like making the KKK. When Grant was elected, he passed the Klan Act to remove this group, helping the African Americans, and helping the 15th amendment. That was the beginning of the end. African Americans lost education opportunities since schools were defunded. Republicans were tired since reconstruction took a while, so they let the Democrats control…
The “Reconstruction Era” Is the timeframe in United States history from 1865–1877 that was proceeded by the 1861-1864 Civil War. (* Note: many prominent scholars/historians in the last few decades now believe Reconstruction efforts most likely began during the war approx. 1863.) By the end of the Civil war, The Northern Union’s Annihilative Stratagems had eradicated southern crop and plantations, and decimated entire cities.…
The impacts of the Reconstruction Era was there blacks are still looked down as second class citizens. (“PinkMonkey”) The noble intentions were completely different but sadly did not turn out that way. The impact still denied basic right of African Americans. In reality the government was not ready to break the plantation system and get rid of slaves completely. Many cultural groups gathered to protest against this discrimination. They were trying to prove this injustice in the…
By the end of the Civil War, The United States was in a condition of political confusion, social unrest, and economic downfall. The Union had completely destroyed the South’s economy by freeing all slaves within the rebellious states, which resulted in killing many people due to lack of money. So, how far did the Reconstruction Era positively affect the United States government, our country financially, and our country’s class differences. During the Reconstruction Era, former slaves were given the right to become citizens and vote, which contributes to new opinions in The United States government. Also, the Freedmen's Bureau helped the US economy grew with more workers to help manufacture items and prevent white northerners from creating another…
Reconstruction was a twelve-year period (1865–1877) of rebuilding that followed the Civil War (1861–1865), a conflict between the United States (the Union; states mostly located in the North) and states in the South (the Confederacy). The Confederacy took stand for their independence while the Union fought for the preservation of their region. Each conflicting side had their set goal in the Civil War. However, after the War and Reconstruction the South emerged to be profoundly different from the antebellum South. The long years of Reconstruction brought only more divisiveness and quarrels. Many political, economic, and social factors impacted all areas of southern life, such as disenfranchisement, agriculture, and segregation.…
In the desolate aftermath of the horrific Civil War, the government of the Union now grappled with a formidable foe: reuniting the United States of America. First, the executive branch, initially Lincoln and primarily Johnson, attempted to reconstruct the South, but Johnson, a Democrat from Tennessee, had too few punitive intentions for the South in the eyes of the Radical Republicans in Congress. In the elections of 1866, the Republicans won supermajorities in both houses of Congress and became unstoppable. While Johnson adopted the role of Lincoln, that of the staunch unionist, Republicans wished to forcibly reform the South. Congress organized the South into military districts, granting sole command to itself.…