Preview

Reconstruction And New Reconstruction After The Civil War

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
311 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Reconstruction And New Reconstruction After The Civil War
After the Civil war America went through a period of Reconstruction in order to rebuild and unify the nation. During this time both the North and South were looking for ways to redefine freedom especially for the newly freed slaves. Abraham Lincoln was assassinated so unexpectedly that no one really knew what he had planned or wanted to do in order to reconstruct the country. Looking back reconstruction was unfinished and created many problems for the nation. President Johnson believed that there was no reason for African Americans to be part of Reconstruction even though the main goals were to unify and give rights and freedom to all citizens. Johnson pardoned all Southern men who took an oath to the Union and let the white men of the South

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    10% of voters in 1860 election had to take oath of allegiance to Union and accept emancipation…

    • 262 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    -Robber Barons were attacked very much, but believed that they had a commandment from God to help the poor (THE GOSPEL OF WEALTH)…

    • 4615 Words
    • 19 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    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.…

    • 2576 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The main issue relating to Reconstruction that divided Republicans at the end of the Civil War was that some of the republicans wanted to punish the south and did not want them to return to pre-Civil war ways. The people that wanted this punishment for the South were known as Radical Republicans. The Radical Republicans wanted to punish the South because they caused severe destruction and the loss of many lives. Other Republicans believed that it should have been made simpler for the South to rejoin the Union. If I had been a member of Congress at the time, I would choose Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson’s Reconstruction plan. The whole idea for their Reconstruction plan was to reunite the nation. It would have just been simpler to let the…

    • 171 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Reconstruction began with Lincoln who believed firmly that the matter was an executive responsibility. His goal for reconstruction was the restoration of national unity through lenient political reconciliation. Lincoln's ideas were clear when he delivered his second inaugural speech saying "with malice towards none; with charity for all". In his Proclamation of Amnesty Lincoln promised amnesty to all southerners that renounced secession and agreed to the abolishment of slavery. His offer was not extended Confederates such as high-ranking civilian and military officers. Pardons restored all property, except for slaves, and gave back full political rights to those who agreed to Lincoln's terms. The plan would call for no mass arrests, no trials for treason, and no executions. Lincoln instead set a plan to allow them to organize a new state government as soon as 10 percent of men who had been qualified voters in 1860 took an oath of allegiance. But Lincoln did not extend a plan for what to do with the freed slaves. There was no program of federal assistance to help the newly freedmen nor were they guaranteed any social or political rights. Lincoln sought restoration for his broken nation, but there was no plan for much needed reforms. When Johnson took over the presidential office after Lincoln's assassination, his reconstruction plans were similar to Lincoln's, but he also added a few of his own. Again, amnesty would not be given to high-ranking officials. Unlike Lincoln though, Johnson excluded men that had property valued at more than 20,000…

    • 771 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One obvious success was the unification of the union. In addition to the re-unification, Freedmen’s Bureau was another success during the Reconstruction. This bureau was created in 1865 to help the poor white farmers and the former slaves after the Civil War. The organization provided food, medical aid, housing, schools, and much more to these people in need (“Freedmen’s Bureau”). Congress had intended the bureau to only be in effect for one year, but this was so beneficial that they extended the life of the program. The Freedmen’s Bureau gained a lot of support around the country, to president Johnson’s dislike. Some of the biggest successes of the Reconstruction were the passing of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments. The Thirteenth Amendment was passed by Congress in 1865 and officially abolished slavery. The Fourteenth Amendment was passed in 1866 and required states to extend an equal citizenship to the African Americans and all of the people who were born in the United States. This virtually overruled the Supreme Court in the Dred Scott case who said that African Americans could not be considered citizens. Finally, the Fifteenth Amendment was ratified in 1870. This amendment gave the millions of African Americans the right to vote. This, however, did not give the voting rights to women and it did not guarantee the right to hold office or prevent states from limiting the voting rights of Africans (Boyer). These beneficial reforms and amendments helped to exemplify the positive legacies that came out of the…

    • 901 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Plans of Reconstruction

    • 486 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Though Lincoln and Johnson’s plan did have similar ideas there were few differences some of which were even seen as illogical, amongst them was the right to grant pardons to the same people that he claimed he wanted to exclude power from. This did not help the reconstruction plan it in fact it irritated Northerners who saw senators of former offices in the Confederacy reclaiming their places in U.S. senates. Under Andrew Johnson's restoration African America’s rights were not safe, as he vetoed the Civil Rights bill. This did not pass since Congress overturned his veto and made the Civil Rights bill an act.…

    • 486 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Protect the freed slaves, put south under martial law to enforce reconstruction and new amendments…

    • 1865 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    With Lincoln's passing, Johnson ran with Lincoln's ten percent plan. (Tindall, Kindle Page 544) In 1866 a Civil Rights act was enstated and granted the free black members of society new rights. (Tindall, Kindle Page 549)Following the Civil Rights Act, "The Fourteenth Amendment went far beyond the Civil Rights Act by establishing a constitutional guarantee of basic citizenship for all Americans, including African Americans." (Tindall, Kindle Page 549) Making a longer story short, the issues revolving around teh reconstruction were bound to have hiccups in that the south had just lost the war, been defeated and still gripped to their beleifs strongly.…

    • 614 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    After the Civil War was over, the South went into Reconstruction. This was the time…

    • 234 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    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…

    • 148 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The reconstruction time period is the most important time period in the history of the United States.…

    • 441 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    After the Civil War during 1863 to 1877, also known as the Reconstruction Era, the Southern economy was in disaster, they had political and social disorders. The Reconstruction Era was to restore the unification of the United States and to give basic rights to African Americans. The Reconstruction Era was a success due to the creation of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendment. Although the Reconstruction was a success, it was also a failure because the Southern Democrats bended the rules and restricted African American’s freedom, restricted their voting rights and created the Black Codes.…

    • 185 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Reconstruction officially lasting from 1865 to 1877 began as President Abraham Lincoln’s efforts to reunite the nation after the civil war. President Johnson continued Lincoln’s agenda initially but differed in terms of advancing civil rights for the newly freed. One of the biggest issues of Reconstruction was to grant equal rights to every American's, especially for the African Americans. Even though slavery was abolished after the civil war, many Southerners, including Johnsons, were still against the idea of guaranteeing equal rights for all black people. As a result, Johnson and the Congressional Republicans clashed, which eventually led to Johnson’s impeachment.…

    • 581 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The “winner” of Reconstruction was the North mainly due to the fact that the South took most of the damage from the Civil War. The Civil War brought destruction to the South, its economy suffered from all the costs, the land suffered from all the battles, the people suffered due to Sherman, and African Americans were fighting a tough battle with the North on their side and the South against them. The South had much more Reconstruction to do than the North, so in the “race” to see who would “win” Reconstruction the North would likely be claimed the victors.…

    • 809 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays