The Failure Of Reconstruction In The United States

Following the Civil War, Radical Republicans in Congress held tight control of the fragile nation, forcing policies past a Southern Democratic President and into law. These Reconstruction programs had a few goals in mind, and many, especially the more moderate, Republicans focused primarily on restoring the Union. Additionally, radicals attempted to grant full civil liberties to former slaves. In general, all pursuing Reconstruction wished to reiterate the unity of the United States, and most, especially from the North, wanted to grant partial civil rights to African Americans. However, in trying to reform the South, while the Northerners did succeed in passing much legislation, they did little to reform culture in the South. Consequently,
Southerners ultimately violated the Reconstruction Amendments that so many Republicans heralded as the beginning of a new age, especially the Fifteenth Amendment, which granted voting rights to every citizen regardless of race. Following the doctrine of active resistance against government, Southerners infringed the voting rights of freedmen and Southern Republicans by intimidation or violence, preventing those marginalized from voting altogether or forcing them to vote Democrat. Additionally, general racial violence, with little purpose but to persecute, continued and in some areas, even grew more common and grotesque. Groups like the KKK and other later paramilitary groups beat, whipped, otherwise intimidated, and even killed freedmen who caused trouble for white supremacists in the South. Essentially, even though Congress succeeded in reforming the legislation and government of the South, Dixie culture remained much the
This standing military led many to decry President Ulysses S. Grant as despotic and not looking out for the whole nation’s best interests. Not only that, but widespread rumors of Republican corruption, especially in the cabinet of Grant, spoiled the President’s reputation. Eventually, Supreme Court rulings rendered much of the Reconstruction legislation for which Republicans had fought so hard in the late 1860s and early 1870s completely useless. In U.S v. Cruikshank the Court ruled that voter private individuals could discriminate against another race, even if the federal and state governments could not. Moreover, they declared the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1875, which federally protected the civil liberties of blacks, unconstitutional. With the critical election of 1876 approaching quickly, Republicans were panicking as their power began to diminish greatly, and the expense of reforming the South grew. As the votes began to roll in, it appeared the Democratic candidate, Samuel Tilden of New York, had won the electoral college and the popular vote, but reports of voter intimidation at many polls in the South began to pour in. Congress established a special election committee to decide the election, who eventually voted in favor of the Republican candidate,