Although slavery existed predominantly in the South before the Civil War, the morals and ethics perpetuated by the racism associated with it had an effect on all of Americ

After the Civil War, white southerners felt threatened by the political power wielded by newly freed Blacks. Radical Reconstruction only built upon this fear, and according to many historians the fear soon led to the emergence of a new form of absolute racism under the guise of the Reconstruction era Democratic Party. Although not all ex-slaveholding Confederates were Democrats, a vast majority pledged their allegiance to the conservative values of the political party which brought about the end of Reconstruction. Not all Reconstruction era southern Democrats were racist, but the stated Democratic Party platform in just about every southern state included the goal of establishing Black Codes to limit Black suffrage. The Black Codes were undeniably racist. They restricted the civil rights of ex-slaves and in many areas leaving them completely helpless. As Conservatives (Democrats) gained control of the majority of the chairs in the legislatures in the South, there was little that supporters of Black equality could do to prevent the end of Reconstruction.

Andrew Johnson, the leader of the post-Civil War Democratic Party, was himself a "confirmed racist." Johnson was a working-class southerner who measured up almost exactly to the revisionists' descriptions of the poor white Democrats who used racism to end Reconstruction. Born in North Carolina, Johnson eventually moved to Tennessee, where he worked as a tailor. Like many of his racist fellow party-members, Johnson disliked Reconstruction and wanted to see it end in as quickly as possible. Johnson frequently engaged in racist discussions about Reconstruction and the status of Blacks in American society. In one such discussion, he was heard to say, "Damn the negroes. I am fighting these traitorous aristocrats, their masters." Clearly, Johnson was a racist, but what

Some topics in this essay:
Black Codes, America Reconstruction, According Dunning, House Reconstruction, North South, Reconstruction Reconstruction, Reconstruction Southerner, Democratic Party, Civil War, Proponents Dunning, democratic party, black codes, racist values, reconstruction historians, cause failure, failure reconstruction, primary cause, governmental structure, post-civil war, civil war, responsible downfall reconstruction, cause failure reconstruction, primary cause failure, racism primary cause,