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FAILURE OF RECONSTRUCTION

            The tumultuous period of American history which we now refer to Reconstruction began in 1863 when Abraham Lincoln first outlined his Reconstruction program, but its inevitable end and relative lack of success had been predetermined more than two centuries before, with the arrival of the first Europeans and their slaves in North America. To claim that Reconstruction failed solely as a result of one specific reason or another would be crude and unobservant, but the specter of racism clearly lay at the heart of all reasons imaginable.1 The horrible racism that eventually brought Reconstruction to its knees persisted during the 1860s and 1870s in a number of different forms. Two main racist influences combined in the late nineteenth century to destroy Reconstruction. The most important of these influences was the popular racism which had inherently existed in both northern and southern colonial America since the establishment of the institution of slavery in the seventeenth century. The second important influence was the standards of racism supported by the first Reconstruction president, Andrew Johnson.
             Although the institution of slavery existed predominantly in the South before the Civil War, the morals and ethics perpetuated by the racism associated with it permeated all of American society--the North as well as the South. The only way that southern slaveholders maintained their status as such throughout the course of American history was through the societal indoctrination of certain religious, economic and moral principles which--the slaveholders argued--justified the institution of slavery. If generation after generation of Southerners had not been brainwashed into thinking that Blacks were inherently inferior to whites, slavery would not have perpetuated itself. The perennial inculcation of these racist values soon fused them with the very essence of the South itself. In effect, the end of Reconstruction was conceived as soon as slavery became a part of the Southern consciousness and way of life.


Essays Related to FAILURE OF RECONSTRUCTION

1. Reconstruction:success/failure

... rights to blacks during reconstruction was proven. In the end, reconstruction was a failure. There were still many problems to be addressed, racial discrimination was becoming more of an issue then ever, the federal troops left the south leaving the people unprotected, and the rights of land and power had changed for the worse over the course of time. The goals of Reconstruction were for change, and ... the reuniting of the Union. Both goals ... for never came, or even came close to it. After the death of one of America's favorite Presidents we saw the end of the Civil War and Reconstru...

  • Word Count: 621
  • Approx Pages: 2

2. Failure of the reconstruction

... of racism as the primary cause of the failure of Reconstruction, there are many historians who argue in support of other causes. The most popular opposing school of thought contends that the structure of American government and its written Constitution were responsible for the downfall of Reconstruction. These historians discount racism as the primary cause of the failure. The school of ... historiography that best exemplifies this opposing school of thought is that of William Dunning. Proponents of the Dunning school of Reconstruction ... Black Codes, both racially motivated, played th...

  • Word Count: 1238
  • Approx Pages: 5
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3. Arguements For Reconstruction

Arguments for why Reconstruction was not a failure The Reconstruction implemented by Congress reorganized the Southern states after the Civil War, readmitted them into the Union, and defined the means by which whites and blacks could live together in a non-slave society. Reconstruction was successful because it accomplished what it achieved, reintegration of African-Americans into the American political and social society. ... guaranteed citizenship, while the 15th Amendment guaranteed blacks the right to vote. In the first time in history, America was creating a truly interracial democracy....

  • Word Count: 269
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4. Why Reconstruction Was a Failure

... Civil War after the battle of Appomattox Court house, a new era had dawned. Soon after, President Lincoln was gunned down and assassinated in Ford's Theatre, by a Southern supporter and actor, John Wilkes Booth. Chaos quickly spread and the nation's stability was still unsteady. Nonetheless, Reconstruction was a failure because many political differences still existed, the South was stronger politically more than ever, ... discriminations against freed blacks. When the South was able to be in Congress again, they were stronger than ever. Before Reconstruction, slaves were counted as thr...

  • Word Count: 583
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5. reconstruction

... twelve-year time period after the Civil War, also known as the Reconstruction, was considered by many people to be a failure. Although the two main goals of the reconstruction, giving blacks civil rights, and re-uniting the Confederate and Union states, were met, they weren ... 't stretched out to completion, and at the end, left blacks worse off then they were before. Besides failing to project equal rights, in the process they as in the government failed to fulfill the promise of ... and African Americans. Which in a sense was just legalizing slavery, not abolishing it. These so called...

  • Word Count: 371
  • Approx Pages: 1
  • Grade Level: High School

6. Reconstruction after the Civil War

... had variables act upon it that were not completely expected. Because of this, Reconstruction ended in 1877 and was said to be a failed attempt. The ending of Reconstruction left white governments in power in the South. Both have their contributions to the failure of this historical Era. The North mostly caused the end of the Reconstruction, but both North and South made mistakes eventually leading to the end ... of Reconstruction, twelve years after the end of the Civil War. The blame of the unsuccessful plan could not be placed completely on one side. The South had its ... didn't work...

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7. The Memphis, Tennessee Race Riots of 1866

... today. During the process of Reconstruction, the nation faced social issues on how to handle the now freed African Americans. One of the main issues with the African Americans were that "80 percent of freed African Americans over the age were illiterate" (388, Americans Textbook). This encouraged Congress to establish the Freedmen's Bureau in 1865 (Reconstruction Success or Failure?). The Freedmen's Bureau ... cared for former black slaves and poor whites in the South after the U.S. Civil War (1861-65). While "some 4 million slaves gained their freedom as a result of the Union victory in...

  • Word Count: 869
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8. Reconstruction

... laid, and the country was once again united, overall, Reconstruction was a period of political strife, shortcomings, and general failure. After the war, the South was left in a state of complete turmoil. Passing armies had shattered the South's agricultural economy with the burning of buildings, destroying of crops, and killing of livestock. Southern industry was also badly hurt, as assets needed ... bills and declared them unconstitutional. By vetoing them, the president marked his alienation from Congress and set off a chain of events leading towards failure. After overriding Johnson's ...

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

9. Reconstruction paper

... laid, and the country was once again united, overall, Reconstruction was a period of political strife, shortcomings, and general failure. After the war, the South was left in a state of complete turmoil. Passing armies had shattered the South's agricultural economy with the burning of buildings, destroying of crops, and killing of livestock. Southern industry was also badly hurt, as assets needed ... bills and declared them unconstitutional. By vetoing them, the president marked his alienation from Congress and set off a chain of events leading towards failure. After overriding Johnson's ...

  • Word Count: 1331
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

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