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Reconstruction 1853-1877

            There have been many events and processes in American society that diverted public and political attention from the plight of African-Americans in the post war period during the Reconstruction. Abraham Lincoln tried to make his own reconstruction and Congress didn't agree with him. While Andrew Johnson tried to take over after Lincoln's death winning Congress' vote. Frederick Douglas wanted black men to be able to vote. I'll also explain how white northerners stopped caring about Reconstruction and black civil rights.
             It all started with the emancipation proclamation under Lincoln's Reconstruction. He felt that the emancipation was of the slaves was necessary in order to secure military victory (Encyclopedia Britannica). The radical republicans felt the emancipation would not work unless the government could guarantee equality of all citizens including black men. In December 1863 Lincoln declared a general plan for Reconstruction promising to recognize the government of any state that pledged to support the Constitution and the Union and to emancipate the slaves if it was backed by at least 10 percent of the number of voters in the 1860 presidential election (Encyclopedia Britanncia). The radical republicans became furious with this plan.
             They were outraged. The Radicals set up their own plan of Reconstruction in the Wade-Davis Bill which required not 10 percent but a majority of the white male citizens in each Southern state to participate in the reconstruction process (Encyclopedia Britannica). The bill did not enfranchise blacks, but it did impose such stringent loyalty requirements on southern whites that few of them could take the required oath. Lincoln did not agree with the plan at all and later vetoed it (Murrin 600). After Lincoln's assassination Andrew Johnson became president.
             Republicans like Johnson. He was the only senator from a seceding state who refused to support the Confederacy knowing he was a Democrat.


Essays Related to Reconstruction 1853-1877

1. Failure of the reconstruction

Two main racist influences combined in the late nineteenth century to destroy Reconstruction. ... 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. ... With a man like Johnson in White House, Reconstruction was destined to fail. ... Whites felt threatened by Reconstruction because it attempted to equalize them with Blacks. ... All of the evidence is telling, racism was the main cause of the failure of Reconstruction. ...

  • Word Count: 1238
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

2. FAILURE OF RECONSTRUCTION

Two main racist influences combined in the late nineteenth century to destroy Reconstruction. ... Neo-revisionists go so far as to suggest that president Johnson's racist beliefs were directly responsible for the downfall of Reconstruction.10 Although Reconstruction did not actually end during Johnson's term as president, the actions he took during his time in office inhibited the growth, development, and secure establishment of Reconstruction programs in the South. ... With a man like Johnson in White House, Reconstruction was destined to fail. ... Proponents of the Dunning school o...

  • Word Count: 1549
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

3. Shaping Reconstruction: The Impact on American Politics

Thaddeus Stevens, for example, a key member among radical Republicans in congress during the Civil War and Reconstruction, proposed a much more severe Reconstruction plan which called to balance the wealth between former slaves and former plantation owners in the South. ... Stevens also advocated his Reconstruction plan in his speech, which he believed that the former lands of plantation owners should be divided and sold to the newly freed-men in order to achieve the real purpose of Reconstruction. ... The influence they inherited from the Civil War continued to serve them well politically...

  • Word Count: 1062
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

4. Reconstruction

Many historians have come to the conclusion that the period of Reconstruction, between 1860 and 1877 was a revolutionary time in our nation's history. ... One of the key goals of Lincoln's original Reconstruction plan was to rebuild the South. ... The issue of rebuilding the South was taken up by three different groups, each with their own opinions and agendas for Reconstruction. ... Most of the key Reconstruction-era legislature, such as the 14th and 15th Amendments, was passed by Radical Republicans in Congress. ... During Reconstruction, the question of who would control the re-in...

  • Word Count: 899
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

5. Reconstruction

The Freedmen's Bureau was the most important institution during the Reconstruction era. ... Congress began to show that it would take over Reconstruction from the President. Congress appointed a committee of fifteen to handle Reconstruction. ... Congress passed laws regulating the Reconstruction of the former Confederate states. ... Without an economic base for blacks, the successes of Reconstruction were wiped out. ...

  • Word Count: 1368
  • Approx Pages: 5

6. Reconstruction

For the most part, Johnson's plan of reconstruction left the south in its prewar state. ... After overriding Johnson's veto, congress began to develop its own Reconstruction plan. ... Republicans then passed the Reconstruction Acts which instituted the "radical" phase of their plan. ... Grant, Johnson's successor, were filled with scandal and failed to complete the work of reconstruction. ... Reconstruction was an experiment that undoubtedly could not last. ...

  • Word Count: 1277
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

7. Reconstruction

The Presidents during the Reconstruction period. ... The southern reaction throughout the Reconstruction period. ... During the four administrations of government throughout the Reconstruction period, these opinions shifted and resulted in changing Reconstruction efforts. ... Once becoming President of the United States, he acted as though he were a radical republican in his Reconstruction efforts and then shifted back towards the Lincoln liberal republican Reconstruction ways. ... Throughout the Reconstruction period following the civil war, the south was very turbulent. ...

  • Word Count: 2408
  • Approx Pages: 10

8. Reconstruction

This fueled the American economy during a crucial reconstruction period. ... Many southern freedmen moved west during the reconstruction period to start fresh. ... Based on these facts: free land, new crops and technology, and freedom from religious and racial discrimination, America during reconstruction was a land filled with opportunity. While there were many tough roads ahead, for many people reconstruction and westward expansion offered a fresh start, a second chance to succeed in life. ... This supports my view of the reconstruction era. ...

  • Word Count: 328
  • Approx Pages: 1
  • Grade Level: High School

9. Reconstruction

The historians Moore, Stampp, and Randall each provide their individual interpretation of the Reconstruction of the South following the Civil War. ... Randall touched briefly on both the subjects of political corruption and loss of Southern resources to promote his rationale that the Republicans impeded real reconstruction. ... Finally, Randall states that Reconstruction did not honestly begin until the Republicans were removed from power while Stampp downplays that sentiment as extreme. ... Then, during Reconstruction, radical Republicans monopolized the process and spread corruption and f...

  • Word Count: 619
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

10. Reconstruction

The period that occurs after the Civil War is known as the Reconstruction. ... Aspects of radical reconstruction, and violence were one of the means used to undermine Reconstruction. "The reason for this is that the South was humiliated and degraded by Reconstruction." ... Anyone who participated in radical Reconstruction, such as Carpetbaggers and Scalawags were met with violence and potential murder. ... "The Colfax Massacre was the worst massacre of racial carnage in the Reconstruction era. ...

  • Word Count: 1876
  • Approx Pages: 8
  • Grade Level: High School

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