Reconstruction: SUccess or Failure?

BLog dialogue

Participants will read the National Park Service publications entitled "Reconstruction" and "Slavery: Cause and Catalyst of the Civil War". They will write, and post two response essays related to the texts. Blog 1, What caused the Civil War? and Blog 2, Victories and Defeats Rebuilding the Nation. Participant essays should reflect their beliefs insights, ideas, teaching strategies etc. related to the ideas presented in both the text and additional online resources. In addition participants will respond to a minimum of four of their peer's posts within the blog. All blogs are posted below.

Civil Rights Reading Assignments

Reconstruction: SUccess or Failure?

2/16/2018

81 Comments

It can, and has, been argued that the real winner of the American Civil War was Capitalism. Those who support this belief claim that Reconstruction failed, they argue that Southern Capitalists successfully bypassed Constitutional and Congressional changes and instead implemented laws that institutionalized the economic/ political and social inequities of slavery. Others argue that the Northern vision of a free America was realized at the conclusion of the Civil War. Those who support this position argue that political changes made in the decade following the war, eventually led to radical economic/social and political changes in the defeated South, and over time led to the evolution of an America where all men are treated equally under the law and have access to all the same rights and privileges.

Assignment Participants will read the National Park Service publication entitled "The Reconstruction Era". They will reference the additional readings available from the web links below, when finished, they will write, and post a response essay related to the text addressing the question/s "Was Reconstruction a Success? If so, how? If not, why? Explain your answer. What lessons can be learned from our experience with Reconstruction?". Participant essays should reflect their beliefs insights, ideas, teaching strategies etc. related to the ideas presented in both the text and additional online resources. Participant's blogs are due May 1st. In addition participants will respond to a minimum two of their peer's posts within the blog. Blog Responses are due May, 4th. All blogs are posted below.

Atlantic Magazine: Reconstruction Failed

New York Times: Successes & Failure

Reconstruction Newsletter

81 Comments

Kim Perry

4/22/2018 01:18:35 pm

The North may have won the Civil War in 1865, but the South was in no way ready to capitulate. Following the war, several plans were presented to successfully reunite the Union. Some plans were immediately dismissed while others bore unintended consequences fueled by hate and anger. For a short time, former enslaved Africans not only gained their freedom and rights, but also held government positions. This however, was short lived as the South found new ways to force black laborers into debt, strip them of their rights, and use fear and violence to restrain these newly freed people. On the other hand, the Congress passed the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments, along with the Civil Rights Act in an attempt to protect the rights of African Americans. According to “The Reconstruction Era” by the National Parks Service, “Americans allowed the amendments to be violated repeatedly…yet the structure of the American government was forever changed by these amendments.

Following Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, Vice President Andrew Johnson took office and outlined his plan for reconstruction. He welcomed back those states originally under Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan, and introduced a lenient plan to admit the other rebel states. As stated in “The Reconstruction Era”, Johnson wanted nothing to do with a system that protected black rights, thus, he vetoed the Freedman’s Bureau and the civil rights acts. Conversely, Congress repassed these bills, and for a time (1865-1870), “black men’s voices were added to the national debate over policy.” Between 1867-1869, black men were among the delegates who framed new state constitutions in the South. Johnson, however, encouraged white leaders in the South to reject federal authority and violence ensued. Riots, death, and the emergence of the Ku Klux Klan was on the rise.

With hopeful beginnings, transitioning the slave labor force to free labor was a failed enterprise. Radical Republicans attempted to confiscate Confederate lands, and at the end of the Civil War, the Union had obtained 900,000 acres. William T Sherman set apart 400,000 acres for black settlement and it was up to the Freedman’s Bureau to help these people transition to a productive life. However, in 1965, President Johnson introduced the Amnesty Proclamation, giving land back to the original owners and displacing the freed people. Eager to restore their plantation system, owners found ways to introduce a new form of slavery by enacting the Black Codes and sharecropping. Soon, blacks were accused of crimes or made to pay fines that they could not pay back. The system of indentured slavery was soon instituted.

Perhaps the greatest success of Reconstruction was the passing of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. The 13th amendment abolished slavery, the 14th amendment granted birthrights citizenship, basic civil rights, and equality before the law, and the 15th amendment prevented racial discrimination in voting. The success of these amendments didn’t happen overnight. According to NPS, “southern Democrats established the ‘color line’ winning elections through united white support and violent suppression of the black vote.” Once southerners regained office, they were unwilling to protect black people from their neighbors. Consequently, racial discrimination and violence grew in the South until the Civil Rights movement.

To be sure, there were many failures during the Reconstruction period, but the successes began a slow process of bringing us to our original constitution which stated that “all men are created equal”. This tumultuous time showed the resilience of newly freed African Americans as they faced new struggles in how to survive in a country in which they were viewed as inferior. The ability to hold office and establish schools brought a glimmer of hope for these people who had challenged, petitioned, rebelled, and fought for their freedom. Though racial discrimination in many parts of the South would create a major setback, the fight was not over; a second reconstruction was on its way.

Cherise Bateman

4/24/2018 06:51:46 pm

I agree with your statement, "Congress passed the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments, along with the Civil Rights Act in an attempt to protect the rights of African Americans." These amendments were a step in the right direction to move toward the idea that "all men are created equal." The problem with this idea is that many southerners didn't believe this. They still had hate and anger for many people and especially for African Americans thinking they could become their equal. You stated, "the South found new ways to force black laborers into debt, strip them of their rights, and use fear and violence to restrain these newly freed people." This is absolutely correct and so many people around the country were willing to allow the extreme unfair treatment of African Americans for so long.

Audra Call

4/30/2018 08:01:54 pm

I agree with your last paragraph that there were many failures, but that there were successes which did ignite a process, albeit slow, to bring African Americans to full and equal citizenship. I cringe at the thought of what the blacks would have to continue to go through in order to gain the rights that are declared in the Declaration of Independence, that all men are created equal and they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Kim Gerun

5/1/2018 09:09:10 am

I agree that the greatest successes of the Reconstruction Period are the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. The sad thing is that this success won't see its fruition for another 100+ years because the north was unwilling to stick out the reconstruction process and make sure they were upheld. The fact that even 100+ years later African Americans were still fighting for those same freedoms truly does show their resilience and strength as they continued to fight for the freedoms they deserved.

Marrianne Asay

5/5/2018 09:22:59 pm

There are often unintended consequences to new laws and programs, but I agree with you that in this case, those consequences were fueled by hate. I also really like how you stated that "the fight was not over; a second reconstruction was on its way." It seems that the fight still isn't over, but I also believe the second reconstruction is still an ongoing process. The fact that the reconstruction was a failure in many ways, I also believe that it started the slow change.

Cherise Bateman

4/24/2018 06:05:19 pm

Blog 2: Reconstruction: Success or Failure?

I think that reconstruction was a success. The reconstruction goals to reunite the union and end slavery did happen. The states that succeeded from the union created new state constitutions outlawing slavery and then were readmitted back into the Union. During the reconstruction, the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments were added to the Constitution. The thirteenth amendment abolished slavery, the fourteenth amendment says that people born in the United States are American citizens including African Americans, and the fifteenth gives the right to vote to all citizens no matter of race or color.

In the article, Reconstruction During the Civil War, Thavolia Glymph stated that “the freedpeople hungered for the two things denied them in slavery – land-ownership and education.” During reconstruction schools were set up for slaves to become educated because they had a desire to learn. Many churches were built as places for communities to hold school, social gatherings, political meetings, and to worship. In Kate Masur’s article she commented on Congressman George White’s comments from 1901, “Since the end of slavery, African Americans had accumulated almost a billion dollars in personal and real property, raised millions for education, created 20,000 churches and thousands of schools, and the production of cotton in the South had more than doubled.”

In the article, Reconstruction by Heather Cox Richardson, she wrote, “Most dramatically, Congress now insisted that black men be allowed to vote and hold office, just as white men did.” Sadly, southerners did not agree with the law stating everyone could now vote. It took military to oversee the registration of African Americans because white southern refused to register them, but with military supervising and overseeing registration many African Americans registered. They felt they needed a say in their own government and being able to vote was important.

Deanna Herrmann

4/28/2018 03:59:01 pm

Cherise, I really like all the quotes you included in your essay. It's still so interesting to think, how you mentioned in your last paragraph that, "Sadly, southerners did not agree with the law stating everyone could now vote," that people could go against laws. We see laws today as mandatory to follow or else we get major consequences. So interesting that the southerners were able to go against the laws and choose which ones to follow and which ones not to follow and use violence to get their way.

Kara Budge

5/1/2018 10:44:43 pm

You are certainly more positive than I. Although the things you mention as successes in your post were important I cannot see past the repression and continued subjugation of emancipated slaves. I therefore will always see it as a failure, however I appreciate you reminding us of the positivity that came from efforts of well meaning people during this time.

Jill Johnson

5/2/2018 09:25:36 am

I agree that Reconstruction was a success - at first.

At first there was hope for the freed people.

At first, schools were built for the newly freed to become educated.

At first, many churches were built as places for communities to hold school, social gatherings, political meetings, and to worship, as you write in your essay.

At first, freed people "accumulated almost a billion dollars in personal and real property, raised millions for education, created 20,000 churches and thousands of schools, and the production of cotton in the South had more than doubled.”

At first, it seemed that the Union was going to enjoy an enlightened period in which all men were truly created equal.

But then everything stopped. Lincoln was assassinated and southerner Andrew Johnson became president.

Under Johnson’s Reconstruction plan, southern governments were given free rein to rebuild themselves. Many southern states in 1865 and 1866 successfully enacted a series of laws known as the “black codes,” which were intended to restrict freed blacks’ activity and keep them subservient to a new kind of labor force: Sharecroppers.
https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/reconstruction.

The many successes the freed people enjoyed during the Radical Reconstruction era (1866-1871) - winning elections to southern state government, the South’s first state-funded public-school systems, more equitable taxation legislation, laws against racial discrimination in public transport and accommodations and ambitious economic development programs – were violently taken away.

The determination of some white Southerners to regain power while black Southerners resisted their aggression and the inability of governments to restrain these attacks, made the postwar South one of the bloodiest times in American history. (RC, pg. 91). Nightriding, lynching, whippings, theft, sexual humiliation and rapes terrorized black and Republican voters, distorted and suppressed the vote, intimidated freed people and restored white political supremacy (RC, pg. 89).

At first there was hope, then there was sorrow.

Teresa Louw

5/2/2018 05:25:01 pm

You bring up some good points. However, the 13th amendment was passed before the Civil War was over. Lincoln was still alive. The amendments were very important, but with the mindset of many in the South, they were not taken seriously until much later.

Cody

4/27/2018 02:16:01 pm

When we think of the United States one of the first words we think of is “Freedom.” It is emblazoned on anything related to America. As we all know this was not the case for all of our history. Slavery is the opposite of freedom and lead to the American Civil War. Once the war ended and slavery was abolished, came the area known as reconstruction, where the south was rebuilt and freedom was put in place for all men. This 12 year period failed to bring true freedom as it promised. The vision of reconstruction was not clear, they was unable keep the rights of newly freed slaves, and as violence flared with white supremacy the northern republicans just gave up.

At the end of the Civil War President Lincoln had a ideas to bring unity to the nation. However he was unable to see his version of reconstruction come. With his death the Johnson (from Tennessee) and the congress had to decide the direction of reconstruction. Johnson spoke tuff on traitors but did not want to see blacks have power and would often bring in southerners with open arms. Meanwhile the Congress demanded reparations for the damages and Radical Republicans would have nothing but the outright disgrace of the south. I would like to point out that as the nation was divided with the war, it was still divided on the outcome of reconstruction and could not be truly successful.

With Slavery as the leading cause of the Civil War, it begs the question, that what happens now that slaves are free? To be honest the government didn’t know ether. Some wanted to divide plantations and give Freedmen 40 acres and a mule. Most freed slaves didn’t know how to read or write and had no other source of income. With the amendments freedmen were given citizenship, voting and other rights. For a time they took these rights elected blacks to congress and had success. These were no more than dreams and were soon broken where they could no longer have these rights, by way of black codes and intimidation.

White southerners were resistant to the idea of black people having equal rights to themselves. As a result several organized groups like the KKK and White League, to reinsert white supremacy. They committed violent crimes against Freedmen and their supporters,harming, killing or destroying what little property they had. Thought the Union tried to stop these demonstrations of supremacy, it only drove them to more secretive about their activities. By the end many in the Federal government just gave up.

After years of Civil War the United States had to bring itself together. The nation did a decent job but failed to complete reconstruction. The vision of reconstruction wasn’t clare from the beginning, black codes took freedom given to freed slaves and violence lead to the government giving up on racial issues.

Deanna Herrmann

4/28/2018 03:48:50 pm

Cody, I like all your writings in this insightful essay. I really like what you wrote in your last paragraph, "The nation did a decent job but failed to complete reconstruction." So true that there were so many good intentions that failed. It feels like we are still trying to complete reconstruction in our country even today.

Kim Gerun

5/1/2018 09:14:24 am

I agree with your concluding thoughts and implications. Unfortunately after so much division the United States needed to come together and move forward- the unfortunate by product of this is an incomplete reconstruction and a racism and violence that almost was worse in the south than had previously been experienced. The hope was still there that one day things would be different. I especially agree with your view that the government and country lacked a clear vision for reconstruction from the beginning- which I would argue was its greatest downfall as far as reconstruction is concerned. Without a clear direction and vision how would we know when reconstruction is complete?

Cody

5/2/2018 11:56:05 am

When thinking of the clear view you can also relate this to modern wars, Vietnam had no clear view or objective. Afghanistan when can we say we are done and complete? or will we end up giving up like CW reconstruction? Just a follow up discussion.

Daniel Morris

5/4/2018 09:08:30 pm

I agree that it is difficult to say when reconstruction is complete. How can a specific time period get put on something that would argue is still taking place today? I guess the question would be what exactly does the reconstruction include? I feel like saying that it was 12 years specifically is difficult. To see so many negative organized groups during reconstruction makes it hard to argue that it was a success.

Deanna Herrmann

4/28/2018 09:44:18 am

Deanna Herrmann
Reconstruction: Success or Failure?

“One step forward and two steps back. Nobody gets too far like that.” These lyrics from a song by the Desert Rose Band sums up the feelings I have about The Reconstruction Era. It had its share of successes and its share of failures. President Lincoln made some very good plans toward his goal of holding the nation together. However, because of his untimely death, other factors were thrown in to hinder Lincoln’s reconstruction plans. A new president, white southerners and their feelings and actions, Radical Republicans, acts and amendments all got a piece of the reconstruction pie. Reconstruction started by heading in the right direction economically, socially, and politically, but things started to change. Some were good, and others were not. I feel the reconstruction era was both a success and a failure.

Many good things happened during this period after the Civil War. Slavery ended and black families could reunite. Former slaves could get married legally. They could now make their own money. Blacks could have freedom and power as black men were given the right to vote. The first black politicians were elected. Schools were created for African Americans to become educated. As stated in The Reconstruction Era National Park Service Handbook, “This was one of the most dynamic, inspiring, heart-rending, and transformative periods in American history.” This era marked the passing of good intentions such as: the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments, the Freedmen’s Bureau, the Reconstruction Act, the Civil Rights Act, and the Enforcement Act, as well as many others. But what looked good on paper, did not always come to fruition.

Passing the 13th amendment to end slavery was successful, however some states did not enforce it. Some passed laws, known as Black Codes, which placed many restrictions on Blacks. Share cropping sounded good at first to the man who was no longer a slave and could now have some land. But by the time it was all said and done, the newly freed slaves hardly had any money left over for themselves and had worked just as hard as before. The Freedmen’s Bureau, which was successful in providing assistance to former slaves, was very short lived. The passing of the 14th amendment made it so states could not make any law that would deprive any citizen of “equal protection of the laws.” As noted in the article, Reconstruction: Success or Failure? “This amendment became the first Constitutional guarantee of the principle of equal civil rights regardless of race.” All of these acts and amendments were put in place to help the reconstruction era and its people, however just like the 14th amendment, most of the southern states refused to adopt and/or abide by them.

Again, one step forward and two steps back. Sure, there was an end to slavery, but without proper training and money for land and tools to tend to it, most returned to work on the same plantations which they were slaves on. It seemed that each time something good and positive came about to move reconstruction goals forward,
southern whites resisted the attempts. They used violence and intimidation. Ku Klux Klan and lynchings abounded. Even Radical Republicans could not protect former slaves from white persecution. The Republican control in government was slowly being shifted to the Democratic party. The Democrats hoped to restore things to how they used to be in the south with whites being supreme over blacks. With this idea of legally enforcing white supremacy, author Eric Foner said, “There is nothing inevitable or predetermined in the onward march of freedom and equality.”

The Reconstruction Era did open doors and pave a way for some very good things to happen to slaves and our country. Lincoln’s goal of being united as one country was achieved when all 11 confederate states had been re-admitted into the United States by 1870. However, other dark and ugly doors were opened for continued racism. The Jim Crow era began. Southern states took away the rights of blacks to vote. Establishments which were once allowed to occupy any citizen, were now segregated. In the article, Successes and Failures of Reconstruction Hold Many Lessons, it sums up this point by stating, “The era reminds us that the liberation of four million people from bondage did not suddenly erase the deep racial prejudices born of slavery, nor assure lasting political or economic equality for the former slaves.” As you can see, the Reconstruction Era was filled with some successes as well as some failures, each paving a way to what our country is even today. Just recently two black men were kicked out of a Starbucks and five black women were kicked off a golf course in the United States of America, a land with liberty and justice for all.

Jill Johnson

4/29/2018 03:45:31 pm

I liked that you referred to the lyrics of Desert Rose, "One step forward and two steps back. Nobody gets too far like that,” when describing the Reconstruction era. Progress is often measured by inches.

The Reconstruction Era was successful in that eleven confederate states were readmitted into the Union, Lincoln's reason for waging war.

Written during the heart of the Civil War, this is one of Abraham Lincoln's most famous letters. Horace Greeley, editor of the influential New York Tribune, had just addressed an editorial to Lincoln called "The Prayer of Twenty Millions," making demands and implying that Lincoln's administration lacked direction and resolve.

In response to Greeley's article, Lincoln wrote "As to the policy I "seem to be pursuing" as you say, I have not meant to leave any one in doubt. I would save the Union. I would save it the shortest way under the Constitution. The sooner the national authority can be restored; the nearer the Union will be "the Union as it was." If there be those who would not save the Union, unless they could at the same time save slavery, I do not agree with them. If there be those who would not save the Union unless they could at the same time destroy slavery, I do not agree with them. My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union. I shall do less whenever I shall believe what I am doing hurts the cause, and I shall do more whenever I shall believe doing more will help the cause. I shall try to correct errors when shown to be errors; and I shall adopt new views so fast as they shall appear to be true views. I have here stated my purpose according to my view of official duty; and I intend no modification of my oft-expressed personal wish that all men every where could be free." (https://history.stackexchange.com/questions/what-is-the-context-of-Lincoln).

Lincoln hoped that the Civil War would also "liberate four million people from bondage," but as you write in your essay, "Southern whites resisted the attempts. The Jim Crow era began. Southern states took away the rights of blacks to vote. Establishments which were once allowed to occupy any citizen, were now segregated. "

One step forward, two steps back...

Audra Call

4/30/2018 08:19:20 pm

I too really like how you used the lyrics to the song, "One step forward and two steps back. Nobody gets too far like that." I felt reconstruction was exactly that. There would be moments of success and then a failure. The biggest failure being never really finishing reconstruction which led to the Civil Rights issues in the 1950's and 60's.

Shannon Herbert

5/1/2018 02:30:01 pm

"One step forward, two steps back" is a great way to sum up the Reconstruction Era. I think the possibilities of the Reconstruction Era are often overlooked or overshadowed by its failures. I'm glad that you mentioned some of the potential goodness that could have come out of reconstruction, but we just gave up on it. And, yes, isn't it terrible that as we are having this conversation racial injustice is still so common.

JOHN SPAULDING

2/2/2022 09:47:12 am

The corporate educational system Teaches that all Federal citizens of the Fourteenth Amendment, of July 9, (1868) protection of Rights to "Due Process" and "Equal Protection of the Law". Slaterhouse Case (1873). United States v. Anthony,
(1873).: Jordan
v. Tashiro,
(1938). People v. Hall, (1854). Bouvier's Law Dictionary,
Revised (1856) 6th Ed Vol I, page 211. CITIZEN, also page 362. LEOPLE.

The "presumption of law". See D.C. Code (1901) Chap. 854. An Act to establish a code for the District of Columbia. LOCATION OF DEBTOR § 9-307.

"We the People" stand as We did before the military regulation 14. See Expatriation Act of July 8 1868.

Kristan Norton

4/29/2018 09:14:34 pm

Victories and Defeats Rebuilding the Nation
Checking something off our list - maybe it’s human nature, possibly the American culture, or as Eric Foner stated in his Op/Ed piece in the New York Times “we prefer stories with happy endings.” Whatever the reason, the citizens and government of the United States were in a very big hurry to cross Reconstruction off their list. War (checkmark) Reconstruction (checkmark). We talked about it, we passed a few laws, we sent the military in to supervise, and then we moved on. Was it a success, or a failure? Or is there another answer?
The majority of modern historians and scholars have concluded that Reconstruction was a “Failure”. David Blight notes that “Reconstruction was ushered to a faltering conclusion in 1877. He outlines three main reasons for this failure: 1) economic depression leading to an upheaval in the political power base. The failure of several large New York banking firms in 1873, coupled with the default on expansion bonds by the nation’s largest railroads sent the economy into a tailspin and dramatically affected both businessmen and laborers alike. They fought back by taking their anger to the ballot box and ousting almost every Republican currently in office. 2) Judicial conservatism wherein the Supreme Court challenged the 14th and 15th amendments and ruled against individual’s rights which subsequently strengthened state’s rights. 3) Finally, the election of Woodrow Wilson. As a southern-born politician, President Wilson’s election signaled the full embracing of the rich, white southern society back into the United States government after the Confederate state’s succession. This perfect storm of events created a new philosophical plan in Washington DC, interpretation of law which brought about a resurgence of white supremacy in the South, and an entire population of freedmen who were left, once again, without protection, means or representation.
On the other hand, we can find events that would most definitely be labeled as successes. During Reconstruction, the United States Congress passed the 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution. These two significant changes provided that ALL people born in the United States were citizens with equal rights and protection under the law. They were given the right to vote and that right could not be denied or abridged. These amendments continue to add new opportunities to our citizens today. A large number of freed black men were registered to vote and vote they did. Following the passage of these and other civil rights laws, about 2,000 African-American men took office in their local areas and 17 were elected to Congress. Ultimately, one of the largest successes of the Reconstruction was the initial goal of President Lincoln: the Union was reunited.
I propose however that Reconstruction can neither be considered a failure nor a success, at this period of time. We are still in the Reconstruction of our country. The “new birth of freedom” is a work in progress for the black posterity of slaves, women, Native Americans, LGBTQ , and children. At the turn of this century, Representative John Conyers of Michigan, proposed legislation that would require the United States government to issue an apology for allowing slavery in our country. The state of Oklahoma has paid reparations for the families of an early 20th century race-related riot. Yes, we have had setbacks, but unless we quit trying to improve the civil rights of ALL citizens we have not failed. Each success that blesses this nation, regardless of whether it came about in the late 1800’s or in the year 2025 helps to reconstruct and strengthen our nation.

Ann Zito

4/30/2018 08:59:37 pm

I think you are so right that there was lots of good that came about because of the Reconstruction - public education in addition to the voting that you mentioned. I also like what you say about who Reconstruction is still going on. Slavery was a part of our country for longer than it has been abolished, and excising those ideologies takes time. One of the articles pointed out that blacks got the vote much quicker in the United States than they did in England. It is clear that the fight for equality for all, as referred to in the founding documents of our country, still has a ways to go but that it got its start with the Reconstruction.

Dave Ringle

5/1/2018 09:15:34 pm

Ann, you are very right. There are a lot of things that came about during the period of Reconstruction and the relative speed that blacks got to vote and go to schools is quick. Many nations see the United States as the great democracy and strive to emulate what we have. Many do not realize that it has taken us a very long time (over 200 years) to get to where we are today. We are by no means perfect but to see how far we have come as compared to other countries. We have done pretty well.

Dave Ringle

5/1/2018 09:21:24 pm

Kristan, thanks for your post. I wholeheartedly agree with your checklist analogy. As a kid I loved getting my moms chore list and being able to check the things off until I was "free". I think that we as educators do this as well. We have our list of units that we need to cover and once they are done, check. I think that (I am very guilty of this) I teach the Civil War and have a few days or maybe a week to cover Reconstruction. I "get it over with" and move on. Perhaps (more likely probably) I will build more time into the Reconstruction period because as we are learning - there are important lessons to learn from this era that are not getting taught the way they should.

Kara Budge

5/1/2018 10:47:53 pm

Indeed, we are still in a reconstruction of our country. I appreciate that viewpoint. In view of the reparations for families of the riot, I continue to think about the reparations offered to interred Japanese individuals made in the 80's and can't help but think that some type of reparation would be fair. Even an apology.

Becky Rees

4/30/2018 02:56:16 pm

Reconstruction failed, but it was a precursor for the main Civil Rights movement in the 1960s and ‘70s, and so there were positives that happened because of it. Traditional interpretations of scholars like William A. Dunning, and John W. Burgess who claim that reconstruction was “the darkest page in the saga of American history.” These men held that blacks were incapable of exercising political rights, that radical Republicans were pushing black suffrage and so whites tried to restore white supremacy to overthrow the governments set up under Reconstruction. At the same time, the Progressive School portrayed radicals as having a reputation to be agents of northern capitalism, who really only pushed black suffrage so that Northern economics could dominate the South. In 1935, the black activist W.E.B. Du Bois published his Black Reconstruction in America where he disagreed with the scholars of the time because they couldn’t “conceive Negroes as men.” This work was largely ignored. (What if Reconstruction Hadn’t Failed?) Finally, in the 1960s, with a change in the nation’s politics and change in racial attitudes, Reconstruction Revisionism destroyed the traditional assumptions. President Johnson was seen as a racist politician and that Radicals were actually committed to black rights. Reconstruction was then seen as social and political progress for blacks. Post-revisionist scholars claimed later that reconstruction was meaningless though because of the continued racism and failure to distribute land kept blacks from achieving their true autonomy. However, the latest generation of scholars and the traditionalists are both able to agree that Reconstruction was a time of radical change. (Successes & Failures-Foner)
“A desire for independence from white control, for autonomy both as individuals and as members of a community being transformed by emancipation.” Before the war, free blacks had created several institutions, but because of this new freedom, Foner argues that these institutions were “consolidated, expanded, and liberated” from the supervision of whites, and that these became the focal points of black life, which was essentially laying down the foundation for the modern black community. Blacks also created new institutions like political organizations. For example, in Tennessee, these delegates promoted black education, protested violence and contract frauds to the Freedman’s Bureau, and tried to secure justice in the courts for blacks. Even though blacks were gaining new freedoms, freedom did not take away the hardships blacks faced. A new set of labor arrangements transformed the south, sharecropping was one example that sometimes reversed the effects of emancipation. (Reconstruction Newsletter)
Congressional Reconstruction was an amazing experiment in “interracial democracy.” Although many democrats fighting against black suffrage believed that blacks weren’t politically ready for political rights, freedmen demonstrated their independence by the power of the ballot to affect their freedom. However, “it remains a tragedy that the lofty goals of civil and political equality were not permanently achieved” because the black community fell victim to violence and fraud.
States went above the 14th and the 15th amendment by passing laws such as a poll tax in Delaware, and new residency and registration requirements in Georgia, which severely reduced the amount of black voters in these states, which didn’t help republicans in the south. The growth of the KKK was also a detriment to republicans in the South. Congress finally passed a series of Acts to counteract these terroristic threats from the KKK. The most influential was the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, where for the first time, certain crimes committed by individuals were enforced by federal law. But, by 1872, the federal government’s willingness to prosecute led to a decline in violence, and therefore accomplished: “acquiescence in the rule of law” which no southern government had been able to do.
Although Reconstruction ultimately failed, it was truly remarkable because “it was attempted at all and survived as long as it did.” The institutions created or consolidated after the Civil War, for example, the black family, school, and church became the base from which the civil rights movement sprung forth in the sixties and seventies. And, a return to the laws and amendments of Reconstruction, helped push the legal strategy of the modern movement. However, both the failure and success of Reconstruction are issues that still stir the pot in American politics. Questions such as who is an American citizen and what rights come along with citizenship? The question of Federalism- both are Reconstruction questions. Our judicial system is imbedded in Reconstruction especially with the 14th amendmen

Becky Rees

4/30/2018 02:57:09 pm

which recently has provided a basis for courts to overturn state and local laws. Reconstruction then is really an unfinished revolution that still affects us even today. Foner states, “Yet this itself offers a timely lesson – that there is nothing inevitable or predetermined in the onward march of freedom and equality. Reconstruction and its aftermath remind us that rights in the Constitution are not self-enforcing, and that our liberties can never be taken for granted.” (Successes & Failures)

Shannon Herbert

5/1/2018 02:11:29 pm

Great response! I understand your perspective, but I'm not sure I would say that Reconstruction's failure resulting in the Civil Rights Movement is necessarily a "positive." I'm sure that African-Americans would have rather worked it out after the war rather than deal with the years of sharecropping, Jim Crow, segregation, lynchings, etc. that necessitated the Civil Rights movement.

Raechel Bunnell

5/1/2018 09:21:23 pm

Sure, it would have been better for African Americans to NOT need the civil rights movement during the 60s and 70s, but I can see what you are saying in that there were great opportunities for learning and growth for all American people. People all around the world looked to our Civil Rights movement as inspiration for their own quests for freedom and rights for oppressed peoples. And I'm not sure that a non-racist South, or the rest of US without racism was even a social possibility during the 1870s, and that our nation needed tv and media to really see the harm that racism was doing to our nation.

Daniel Morris

5/4/2018 09:15:03 pm

I like your connection that you have of reconstruction to the Civil Rights movement. I also believe that the time period of reconstruction was lengthy and that the Civil Rights movement was a result of reconstruction. I guess its such a hard question for me to answer because I don't know how to actually define what would make reconstruction successful. Was it strictly political? Was it all about the rights of all people? When you look at the fact that it ended the conflict and allowed the Southern states to rewrite their constitution in a way that did not allow slavery, that is a win. But then you look at things like the Black Codes, you realize that on paper it might have looked good, but it wasn't really much better at all.

Logan

4/30/2018 04:25:10 pm

Blog 1, What caused the Civil War?

“An informal survey conducted in 2011 by James W. Loewen, published by the Southern Poverty Law Center, found that 55% to 75% of American teachers—“regardless of region or race”—cite states’ rights as the chief reason for Southern secession. This attitude is also reflected in a Pew Research Center poll from that same year, which found that nearly half (48%) of all Americans agreed: the Civil War was fought over states’ rights. Only 38% of those surveyed attribute the conflict to slavery.”
https://qz.com/378533/for-the-last-time-the-american-civil-war-was-not-about-states-rights/

“No respected historian has argued for decades that the Civil War was fought over tariffs, that abolitionists were mere hypocrites, or that only constitutional concerns drove secessionists,” states University of Virginia historian Edward Ayers. I was taught in school the Confederacy’s struggle was a noble cause for states’ rights. That was a million years ago. I’m not seeing much has changed. In 2010, Texas school officials insisted Jefferson Davis’ inaugural address be given equal prominence with Abraham Lincoln’s in the state’s social studies curriculum. In 2011, Virginia state officials admit its state-adopted textbook taught that thousands of loyal slaves took up arms for the confederacy. Only 8 percent of high school seniors can identify slavery as the central cause of the Civil War. A report form the Southern Poverty Law Center states schools are not including slavery in their curriculum and teachers are unprepared to teach it. "But when you want to teach about contemporary issues, it all goes back to slavery and the foundation of the nation." says Jackie Katz, US History Teacher. So why are we ignoring or straight out lying about the foundation of our country?

States’ rights in the South were seeking to protect the right to buy and sell people. The Civil War was fought over the issue of slavery.

Let’s begin with the Confederate Constitution which mandates legal and federally protected slavery across state borders. Where’s the states’ rights in that?

“In all such territory the institution of negro slavery, as it now exists in the Confederate States, shall be recognized and protected by Congress and by the Territorial government; and the inhabitants of the several Confederate States and Territories shall have the right to take to such Territory any slaves lawfully held by them in any of the States or Territories of the Confederate States.”- Constitution of the Confederate States; March 11, 1861
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/csa_csa.asp

South Carolina was distressed about the US not violating states’ rights. In the Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union, South Carolina seceded in part due to the fact that the federal government would not violate northern states’ rights to abstain from slavery and associated policies.
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/csa_scarsec.asp

With the exception of South Carolina, very declaration of succession from Confederate States evoke the necessity of the preservation of slavery significantly more than states’ rights. They were leaving the Union to protect white citizens’ right to own people.

“Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery—the greatest material interest of the world,” - A Declaration of the Immediate Causes which Induce and Justify the Secession of the State of Mississippi from the Federal Union
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/csa_missec.asp

“We hold as undeniable truths that the governments of the various States, and of the confederacy itself, were established exclusively by the white race, for themselves and their posterity; that the African race had no agency in their establishment; that they were rightfully held and regarded as an inferior and dependent race, and in that condition only could their existence in this country be rendered beneficial or tolerable.” -DECLARATION OF CAUSES: February 2, 1861-A Declaration of the Causes which Impel the State of Texas to Secede from the Federal Union.
https://www.tsl.texas.gov/ref/abouttx/secession/2feb1861.html

There is overwhelming evidence the cause of the Civil War was slavery. We should begin with reading the southern states’ declarations, the Confederate Constitution, and Alexander Stephens’ “Cornerstone Speech” in which he states the following.
“our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite ideas [as those of slavery foes]; its foundations are laid, its cornerstone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery, subordination to the superior race, is his natural and normal condition. This, our new g

Logan

4/30/2018 04:26:34 pm

“our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite ideas [as those of slavery foes]; its foundations are laid, its cornerstone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery, subordination to the superior race, is his natural and normal condition. This, our new government, is the first, in the history of the world, based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth.”

http://www.tolerance.org/hardhistory
https://www.splcenter.org/news/2018/01/31/splc-report-us-education-american-slavery-sorely-lacking
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/150-years-later-schools-are-still-a-battlefield-for-interpreting-civil-war/2015/07/05/e8fbd57e-2001-11e5-bf41-c23f5d3face1_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.8cbd0091fe07
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/five-myths-about-why-the-south-seceded/2011/01/03/ABHr6jD_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.18df57fb17e8
https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2018-02-01/students-dont-know-slavery-was-a-central-cause-of-the-civil-war-report-shows
https://www.salon.com/2013/03/16/the_south_still_lies_about_the_civil_war/
http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2015/jun/25/gavin-mcinnes/tweet-civil-war-was-about-secession-not-slavery/
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/dec/20/american-civil-war-usa
https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/849066
https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/06/150-years-of-misunderstanding-the-civil-war/277022/
https://www.csmonitor.com/Books/chapter-and-verse/2015/0708/The-famous-1861-Cornerstone-Speech-that-aimed-for-hard-truths-about-the-Confederate-battle-flag
https://www.civilwar.org/learn/articles/reasons-secession
http://keranews.org/post/american-slavery-isnt-taught-well-schools-texas-or-across-us-report-says

Logan

4/30/2018 04:35:02 pm

Blog 2: Victories and Defeats Rebuilding the Nation

"How the facts of American history have in the last half century been falsified because the nation was ashamed. The South was ashamed because it fought to perpetuate human slavery. The North was ashamed because it had to call in the black men to save the Union, abolish slavery and establish democracy."
-W.E.B. Du Bois, Black Reconstruction in America, (1935).

Reconstruction failed because it did not established permanent economic and political equality. The successes achieved during the Reconstruction Era were curtailed and later reversed. President Andrew Johnson who ushered in the Reconstruction Era was a racist. Johnson was a unionist as well as a staunch defender of slavery and white supremacy. He did everything he could to sabotage the Reconstruction efforts. In addition, the Supreme Court declared the Civil Rights Act of 1875 unconstitutional in 1883. The court also stated that Congress lacked the constitutional authority under the 14th Amendment to grant equal protections under the law to blacks and that only states and local governments could do so. These court rulings allowed the establishment of Jim Crow which, in the words of Lawrence Goldstone, “...would last almost a century and was virtually as odious as slavery itself.”

During the Reconstruction period, equal political and civil rights were temporarily established. However, white power was challenged. Reconstruction was succeeding which was seen as a problem by former Confederates. Establishing a system of equality for all races was referred to in my middle school history text as “horrors”. These “horrors of reconstruction” have been used in the US, South Africa, and Australia to justify exclusion of nonwhites from political rights. Using terrorism, the white Democratic Party rule was reestablished throughout the south and by 1877 Reconstruction ended before it could fully succeed. By 1890, the Northern Republican Party became more conservative and they chose to turn to issues other than political and civil rights. Reconstruction eventually came to be seen as a misguided attempt to uplift the lower classes of society.

Reconstruction did not provide economic and political equality. Reconstruction did not improve this country’s systemic problem with racism. Racism that continues today as strong as ever. The denial of racism is the heartbeat of racism. Dr. King said,“Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will.” The denial needs to stop. In his Ambassador of Conscience acceptance speech, Colin Kaepernick stated, “Racialized oppression and dehumanization is woven into the very fabric of our nation-”. We as Americans are still unwilling to commit ourselves to a process of truth and reconciliation which is what Reconstruction should have been. Until we do so, racialized oppression and dehumanization in our nation will continue.

Logan

4/30/2018 04:35:36 pm

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/26/lynchings-sadism-white-men-why-america-must-atone
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/five-myths-about-reconstruction/2016/01/21/0719b324-bfc5-11e5-83d4-42e3bceea902_story.html?utm_term=.f47260f9a68c
https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/web-dubois-reflects-purpose-history
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/29/opinion/sunday/why-reconstruction-matters.html
http://facingtoday.facinghistory.org/why-reconstruction-matters-after-this-election
https://www.npr.org/2011/02/24/133960082/the-supreme-courts-failure-to-protect-civil-rights
http://www.tutufoundationusa.org/2015/06/03/does-the-u-s-need-a-truth-and-reconciliation-process/
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11522910/On-the-Civil-Wars-150th-anniversary-black-people-are-still-being-killed-in-the-USA.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/21/sports/colin-kaepernick-amnesty-international.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/get-there/wp/2018/04/05/black-homeownership-is-as-low-as-it-was-when-housing-discrimination-was-legal/?utm_term=.3db300b71713
http://theconversation.com/andrew-johnsons-failed-presidency-echoes-in-trumps-white-house-91139
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/10/what-if-reconstruction-hadnt-failed/412219/

Kara Budge

5/1/2018 10:50:48 pm

I am in complete agreeance with you. While there were some successes of reconstruction, the failure to achieve human equality overshadows everything else. It made it so that the issue could not be laid to rest because our country was not living up to the ideals and principles it was founded upon.

Teresa Louw

5/2/2018 05:35:57 pm

I agree with your statement, "Reconstruction failed because it did not established permanent economic and political equality." It was a temporary bandaid for a huge mortal wound. Ultimately, causing increased infection. So much had to be redone, or undone.

Selene Mansfield

4/30/2018 07:13:42 pm

Reconstruction was a necessary period in our country’s history, and there are a handful of concrete changes that constitute successes. Even though white supremacists found many ways to continue the oppression of black Americans, the ratification of the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments during the reconstruction period cannot be ignored. These basic freedoms and citizenship rights allowed black Americans to begin strengthening their communities by reuniting families and building schools and churches (Reconstruction-Newsletter). In theory, they also allowed these new citizens to work and vote.

Unfortunately, many of these strides enacted on paper held little to no practical value in the lives of African Americans. How else could anything be true when the nation’s president, Andrew Johnson, was referred to as “a hero who had valiantly attempted to save the country from the specter of “Negro Rule” (What If Reconstruction Hadn’t Failed?). Indeed, The Reconstruction Era tells us that “Johnson wanted nothing to do with a system that protected black’s rights.” With this sort of leadership from the top, it is no wonder that a society founded in racist ideologies managed to manipulate laws to continue the oppression of black people in the South. While laws put in place briefly allowed for black citizens to hold office, white southerners responded by overthrowing the South’s biracial governments, partly by terrorist violence, and instilled a long period of legally enforced white supremacy (Successes and Failures).

Even though many black citizens had to continue to resign themselves to their lack of governmental representation, they still had many hopes for improving their lives and communities. One of the most fundamental changes of the Reconstruction Era was the opportunity for slaves to transition into paid labor positions (The Reconstruction Era). However, because the majority of former slaves were illiterate and they were confronting blatant prejudice, many of these recently freedmen were limited to sharecropping. It didn’t take long for them to realize that after they had shared their crops and paid their debts, they frequently could not make any money – yet they were trapped into these labor positions (Reconstruction – Newsletter). Whites also found it easy to use the enforced illiteracy of blacks to bar them from voting, thus limiting them ability to enact change that could benefit their communities.

Overall, Reconstruction was a time of great, but ultimately failed, promises for black Americans. The laws put in place during this time would eventually lay the foundation for the Civil Rights movement where African Americans could finally garner greater protections and civil liberties, however they were frequently manipulated or ignored during the time. The shattered hopes of the black community as they realized that the freedom they had been promised wouldn’t live up to their expectations must have been devastating. The Reconstruction Era writes that “the psychic impact on African American individuals and communities is incalculable.” It is in this way that Reconstruction most truly failed – by denying our citizens the rights they were legally entitled to, we failed to live up to our ideals and values as a Nation.

Raechel Bunnell

5/1/2018 08:59:52 pm

The feeling of walking off of their plantations as a free person must have been exhilarating. "Shattered hopes" is such a powerful way to illustrate the letdown that awaited them as the former slaves tried to take advantage of their freedom.

Audra Call

4/30/2018 07:51:06 pm

Audra Call
Blog 2
Reconstruction: Success or Failure?

After the Civil War, the South was in ruins socially, economically, and politically. Their way of life was just ended. Homes and lands were destroyed, 4 million slaves were set free without a way to survive, and thousands of loved ones had died. Because of the deaths of so many husbands, fathers, and sons, women were left to care for their families and continue with the jobs they were doing while their men were at war. “The death of nearly 260,000 Southern soldiers meant that women would continue to fill many roles in society, even as they struggled to help surviving husbands and sons adapt to the reality of defeat” (Reconstruction Newsletter). In addition, the United States was now left with the issue of bringing the Confederate States back into the Union, and deciding the fate of all those who rebelled against the Union. Before Lincoln’s assassination, he made it clear to the North and South that forgiveness was the key. The South was not going to be punished for their role in the Civil War. However, he did want pledges of loyalty to the Union from the Confederate States. Lincoln wanted a quick reconstruction with little help from the Federal Government, and the South being allowed to re-create their own constitution in each state. While Lincoln’s plan did not come to fruition, a type of reconstruction did occur which some believe to be a success and others a failure.

The time of reconstruction after the Civil War was undeniably a time of great challenges and triumphs. The book The Reconstruction Era, describes this time period as “one of the most dynamic, inspiring, heart-rending, and transformative periods in American History. It was in many ways the nation’s Second Founding.” Similar to the end of the American Revolution, the United States was once again trying to determine what kind of country we would be. What do we do with the South politically and economically? Does the South just rejoin the Union without being penalized? Now that the slaves were free, were they automatically free citizens with all of the same rights, including the right to vote, as the whites?

After Lincoln’s assassination, it seemed the new president, President Andrew Johnson would continue to carry out Lincoln’s reconstruction plan. He would readmit each of the seceding states if they declared secession was illegal, make them swear allegiance to the Union, and ratify the 13th Amendment. If the South agreed to these terms, then they would not have to pay off any war debts/damages that occurred during the Civil War. However, President Johnson soon made some changes which the Radical Republicans were vehemently against. While Lincoln’s plan wanted to require the most high-ranking Confederates and wealthy southern landowners to take a loyalty oath to the Union, Johnson did not think it necessary. In fact, Johnson made no attempts to assess needs such as land, voting rights, and protection under the law of the former slaves. He also supported states rights instead of a strong federal government. “He denied former slaves from gaining the right to vote and then pardoned more than 13,000 former Confederates because he believed that ‘white men alone must manage the South’” (Reconstruction Newsletter). As a result, Congress decided to take some steps of their own. Congress adopted two bills, the Freedmen’s Bureau and the Civil Rights Act of 1866 which guaranteed equality for blacks and protection from discrimination. Congress also made it so new southern state governments allowed the blacks to vote same as the whites. The 14th amendment was also passed “which forbade states to deprive any citizen of the ‘equal protection of the laws.’ This amendment became the first Constitutional guarantee of the principle of equal civil rights regardless of race” (Reconstruction Newsletter). Despite these changes, most some southern states still refused to acknowledge African Americans as being citizens with equal rights. This led to several serious violent outbreaks towards the African Americans. This violence caused Congress to quickly pass the Reconstruction Act of 1867 in order to protect the rights of former slaves.

Audra Call

4/30/2018 07:52:32 pm

Audra Call
Blog 2 CONTINUED...

The ongoing battle between the Radical Republicans and the Democrats continued even to almost impeaching President Johnson. Soon, a new election came about and Ulysses S. Grant, former Union General of the North, won the presidency. This election included 500,000 African American votes, “most of them for Grant, bringing home the importance of the African American vote to the Republican party” (Reconstruction Newsletter). Not too long after, the 15th amendment which states “that no one can be kept from voting because of race, color, or previous condition of servitude,” came into effect due to the Republicans fear of the southern whites trying to limit the black vote. Subsequently, southern whites reverted to more violence including the group who called themselves the Ku Klux Klan, otherwise known as the KKK. This was a secret group which believed in white supremacy and sought to restore it politically and economically. In response to the KKK, Congress passed another act called the Enforcement Act of 1870 which allowed the Federal Government more power to punish those trying to prevent African American voting and equal citizenship. Notwithstanding the many trials African Americans went through during the time of Reconstruction, they also experienced a surge in advancement as a race. During this period, they served politically in every capacity “from members in Congress to state and local officials.” Public school systems were also opened for the blacks to receive an education otherwise denied to them as slaves. Also, there was a desire to promote the region’s economic development which would lead to better jobs and a more desirable way of life for the African Americans. For the first time in history, blacks and whites were sharing political power.
Was reconstruction a success or a failure? Depending upon the perspective, it could be easily considered both. The Union was reunited and became one nation again. That was the main goal of Lincoln. However, since Lincoln’s full plan of reconstruction could not come to fruition which involved “malice towards none, and charity for all,” due to his assassination, one might suggest reconstruction was a failure. Lincoln just wanted forgiveness for all and for everyone to help each other get back on their feet from such a devastation as the Civil War. Could this have happened if Lincoln remained alive? No one will ever know, but we do know that President Johnson did not follow through with what Lincoln wanted and the Radical Republicans wanted to treat the South extremely harsh. There were also two sides continually battling for or against black suffrage and equality. While many former slaves still suffered after the war, reconstruction did allow for many successes for the African American. For example, the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments were successfully passed, abolishing slavery, giving blacks equal citizenship and the right vote. Politically, there were many blacks serving on state, local, and federal levels for the first time in history. In addition, public education was given to blacks which would allow them to learn to read and write, a right they had never had before. Economic opportunities were also more readily available, and black churches gained autonomy. In spite of these successes, reconstruction also failed the African Americans. Most southern states did not comply with the new laws giving blacks their new freedoms and many in Congress soon became complacent in enforcing those laws and protecting the blacks. In the article, What if Reconstruction Hadn’t Failed? Reed states, “It was tragic that by the 1870s, white northerners, tired of dealing with the South’s racial problems and ready to move on, effectively abandoned Southern blacks to the mercies of people who had not long before thought of and treated them as chattel.” Many also tried to hold the African Americans back using sharecropping as a way to and legal means to ensure the blacks would still work on the land which was ultimately still owned by whites. In conclusion there is evidence on both sides with lead to success and failure. Even so, I do agree with Reed in her article, What if Reconstruction Hadn’t Failed? “There is little reason to doubt that if the United States had started the process of rewriting the script on race relations during the late 19th century, instead of delaying it to the 1950s and 1960s, many problems that have their origins in the country’s troubled racial history might be closer to resolution.”

Ben Byrd

5/4/2018 07:45:15 am

I think you make a really good point about the the importance of Lincoln's death to the effectiveness of Reconstruction. We can only speculate, but it would have been interesting to see how things would have turned out had Lincoln been around. It's almost as if the assassination of Lincoln halted Republican political momentum and doomed Reconstruction to ineffectiveness.

Ann Zito

4/30/2018 08:51:08 pm

Reconstruction - Failure

As the American Civil War drew to a close, the nation faced a multitude of problems. Their president had recently been assassinated, and with the surrender of the Southern armies, there was a country to piece back together. The issue of millions of freed slaves complicated the already daunting task of rebuilding the South and the United States as a whole. This time of rebuilding, called the Reconstruction, failed to produce lasting positive effects for the people of the South. This failure was mainly due to the fact that they fought against efforts which were being mandated by Congress and because this resistance was supported by President Andrew Johnson.

The Radical Republicans who were running Congress had idealistic plans for the Reconstruction of the South. They created a “Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, commonly known as the Freedmen’s Bureau, to supervise the transition from slavery to freedom and to oversee the disposition of confiscated property. But there were no clear directives, no blueprint for a post-emancipation system of labor or landownership.” (From Slavery to Free Labor in the South, Hahn, pg. 59) The newly formed governments of the former Confederate states took advantage of this lack of organization by enacting Black Codes which were aimed at preserving as much as the antebellum structure as possible. “The real ’tragedy’ of the Reconstruction was the determined and sustained opposition to the program that consequently keep the goals of the farsighted men in Congress for being achieved.” (What of Reconstruction Hadn’t Failed?, Gordon-Reed) The white Democrats who regained power in the Southern states were move interested in trying to preserve a past that they had lost than trying to move forward.

Through all of the struggles of Congress were made that much harder by the United States President, Andrew Johnson. Johnson, who had been born and raised in the South, “did all he could to obstruct the implementation of congressional initiatives.” (An Army of Occupation, Simpson, pg. 117) He sped up the readmittance of the Southern states while Congress was not in session and by means of a very lax set of conditions. All they had to do was withdraw their right of secession, swear allegiance to the Union, and ratify the 13th Amendment. (Reconstruction: Success or Failure, pg. 4) Congress was livid, and when they passed the Fourteenth Amendment over Johnson’s veto, and sent it to the states for ratification, “the president urged southern states to stand firm, and every southern state but Tennessee rejected it.” (Constitution Reconstruction, Les Benedict, pg.82) Further, Johnson “removed military officers who attempted to enforce the {Reconstruction} act. (Reconstruction: Success or Failure, pg. 6). These actions led Congress to impeach the President, and fell just one vote shy of removing him from office. Like many of the Southern whites who had enjoyed prosperity in the antebellum Confederacy, Johnson thwarted efforts at moving the South and the country as a whole into a new, unified era in favor of preserving the status quo.

The reluctance of Southern white Democrats and the interference of President Andrew Johnson are major reasons why the Reconstruction failed. Blacks were freed from slavery only to find themselves in a society that would fight for another century to keep them as second-class citizens.

Raechel Bunnell

5/1/2018 09:24:53 pm

t was so unfortunate for the nation to get Andrew Johnson after Lincoln. They went from one of the most successful presidents to one of the least, who practically undid the social battles won during the war.

Ben Byrd

5/4/2018 08:02:51 am

Your point about Johnson as an inhibitor to the success of Reconstruction is spot on. It's as if all of the groundwork that was done in preparation for bringing the union back together was destroyed with the death of Lincoln.

Ben Byrd

4/30/2018 09:49:23 pm

The time period in United States known as reconstruction is continually evolving in the eyes of historians. It is commonly referred to as the era after the Civil War ended in 1865 until 1877 when the federal government finished pulling troops out of the South. However, many believe that reconstruction really began during the Civil War and that it didn't end until the 1890's or later. Whatever you consider the time period of reconstruction to be, one thing is clear. The efforts to restore the union following the bloodiest conflict in the nation's history led to a different and ever changing American society; one where blacks found long awaited freedoms only to see those freedoms restricted in new ways. Despite the many failures of reconstruction, it seems that ultimately it has to be considered a success because, despite our problems, the United States is still together as a nation over 150 years later.

There were no shortages of problems during reconstruction. The South was badly wounded and eternally scarred by the outcome of the Civil War. Not only did they lose the war, they lost their way of life, and with that their identity. An economic system built upon the backs of slave labor was destroyed. How would the South respond to it's economic foundation being uprooted? The dynamic between whites and blacks in the South was flipped on its head by the passing of amendments that outlawed slavery, defined citizenship, and declared voting rights. How would whites in the South react to the evolving freedoms bestowed upon blacks by the Federal Government? In many cases these questions were answered with hatred and resistance. The violent Ku Klux Klan emerged with the goal of silencing the black vote. Violence against blacks and resistance to federal programs were commonplace in the in the South during reconstruction. Slave labor was replaced with a system of sharecropping that continued lured blacks into a cycle of poverty. Without the ever present shadow of Federal troops stationed throughout the South, it's unlikely that any Southerner would have assimilated to the "New South" envisioned by the Northern Republicans. Even with those who did toe the line, their actions following the withdrawal of the troops reveals a lot about their true feelings about a united country.

With all of the problems that took place during reconstruction, it's easy to label the time period as one of failure. However, the positives of the era cannot be overlooked. Even though to many, reconstruction did little to improve the lives of blacks in the South, new laws were enacted that would lay the groundwork for a nation headed in the right direction. For the first time, blacks were able to own their own land. New schools and access to education were no longer unobtainable. These new realities created a sense of hope, that blacks could find happiness and success in their own lives, independent of white society. These cultural changes caused ripples of hate throughout the South. To go from slavery to freedom and expect there to be a seamless transition was always a pipe dream. Of course there were going to be issues. That does not excuse the actions taken by those who would continue to hate and discriminate, but it does show that it was always going to be a process. What would the process have looked like without reconstruction? Where would the nation be today?

"Reconstruction and its aftermath remind us that rights in the Constitution are not self-enforcing, and that our liberties can never be taken for granted." this statement by Eric Foner in his New York Times article really underlines what we can learn from reconstruction. The rights of all Americans is what makes America great and must be fought for and protected.

Becky Rees

5/4/2018 09:10:19 pm

Ben, I agree with you that Reconstruction really laid the groundwork for what was to come- even though it was almost a 100 years later where there were major changes, but that blacks were finally able to be somewhat independent of whites and create lives for themselves.
Due to their former status of slaves- it wasn't going to be an easy fix- it would be a long process to overhaul white's thinking that had been established over generations of time.

Erin Wirthlin link

4/30/2018 10:45:24 pm

The Era of Reconstruction Defines the Future
“By the turn of the 20th century it did not appear that the Reconstruction Amendments had worked a major change in the American constitutional system” (“The Reconstruction Era”, National Parks Service). How much can one gain if the government around them can do little to nothing to protect their rights? Both John Locke and Thomas Payne could at least agree on one major idea in regards to the purpose of governments, and that is that they are set up to protect the rights of the people. I then ask, what good is a government if it fails to fulfill its main purpose of assuring that the rights of the people are protected? With this premise we look at the time of Reconstruction in the United States after the Civil War and try to determine if it was a success or a failure. I believe that this truly is debatable. In other words, how are we defining success and what are we really defining as the “Reconstruction period”? I could go on to list the many successes and failures during the time period including the many failures and successes of presidents as well as congresses to accomplish the tasks at hand. I could critique Andrew Johnson on his reconstructive paralysis after his impeachment, or Congress on their inability to get the executive branch (especially in the states) to execute the laws that they established, or a court system that allowed for segregation to be legally established, or the tragic murders and violence inflicted upon blacks during that time period in order to be able to show the failure of Reconstruction. Gordon-Reed wrote, “It was tragic that by the 1870s, white northerners, tired of dealing with the South’s racial problems and ready to move on, effectively abandoned Southern blacks to the mercies of people who had not long before thought of and treated them as chattel… That blacks have had to ‘fight’ for the rights of citizenship, after the Fourteenth Amendment purportedly made them citizens, reveals the disconnect.” I could also list the early Civil Rights Act, the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments, the Freedman’s Bureau, free labor movements, and provide a picture of its success. Rather than look at Reconstruction as a success or a failure I’d like to look at it as a time period of change and struggle that would define America for years to come.
Going back to the beginning quote, the Reconstruction Amendments didn’t bring about the hoped for change in the early 1900’s. Reconstruction led to an era of progressive movements that would be the cause of a much more advanced America and many new Constitutional Amendments that were meant to improve people’s lives. Sadly it would also lead to decades of movements for Civil Rights on behalf of blacks, Native Americans, Latinos, and more. These movements would lead to a rise of normal everyday citizens who would fight day in and day out for the rights of others. Great Americans would rise up to continue reconstruction for years to come. Gordon-Reed wrote, “There is little reason to doubt that if the United States had started the process of rewriting the script on race relations during the late 19th century, instead of delaying it to the 1950s and 1960s, many problems that have their origins in the country’s troubled racial history might be closer to resolution.” Looking all the way to today we see the roots of our history and the effects of Reconstruction. To say that Reconstruction ever really ended is also to keep a blind eye to the events occurring in our day.
Some of the greatest understanding that has been gained from reconstruction is the understanding that the government, as powerful as it is, cannot solve all of our problems. Some problems have been so deeply rooted that digging them up causes deep rifts in society and between people. Reconstruction has played a role in defining the struggles of our day and the constant reminder that there is a necessity to provide equal rights to ALL people. Did the government look for ways to provide the rights that it was originally meant to uphold and protect? Somewhat. Did it do everything that it could to protect those rights though? Definitely not. So, was Reconstruction a success or a failure? Yes.

Cody Owen

5/2/2018 08:12:09 am

I like the questions you pose to bring up the debate of did it succeed or not.

Becky Rees

5/4/2018 09:14:42 pm

I love that you have taken both sides of the issue and that reconstruction is not over in the least provided all that is going on today- also the thought of the government not being able to solve everything for us- it has to be a change within us all- which is why this has lasted for so long.

Teresa Louw

5/1/2018 11:51:04 am

Was Reconstruction a Success?

The “Reconstruction” after the Civil War was a complete debacle. Why? One reason was due to the fact that there was a quick change in presidencies, caused by Lincoln’s death. When President Andrew Johnson took over as president he basically become morally unraveled under pressure. Johnson and Congress did not see eye to eye either. Congress was in complete disarray, much like today, and could not come up with a solid solution. But mostly it was caused by a lack of creativity and compassion. I’m not sure people would have done a better job today. With a lack of heroes, it makes it a hard unit to teach.
After Lincoln’s death, it’s as if people just looked at each other and said,”Now what?” The dealing with traitors and leaders of the Confederacy could not be agreed upon. The integration and the ability to educate the slaves became a debate. Many who wanted to free the slaves would never accept them as their equal, let alone their former owners and those brought up with dehumanizing ideas in the South. President Johnson had said very strong opinions about the traitors, but his ideas changed after becoming The President of the United States. Few really knew what he believed, or where he stood. With his changing stance on former confederates, many of them went on to make life extremely difficult for a former slave. You see the creation of the Klu Klux Klan, and the Black Codes. Angry, vindictive, racist people became leaders in their communities, states and in Congress.
Congress also lacked leadership and vision. Many ideas that the Radical Republicans sought to endorse were admirable. However, they could not get them past or implemented to the extent they should have been. Johnson’s surprise alternative reconstruction plan really through them for a loop. They knew that former slaves would be at a disadvantage, and they felt there was little they could do about it. Their best option, yet poorly supported by the locals, was the Freedmen’s Bureau. This initiative was their way to help with the transition of slaves to citizens. With its downfall, in less than five years, many former slaves were only given the shallow end of the swimming pool of freedom. Because of the lack of support, many sought opportunities in the north. Some were successful in the north, while others still experienced a different type of prejudice or slavery.
As I read through the different articles and the text, I realized how little I teach of the Reconstruction. I could think of a few little connections I make through our study of immigration, or the reading of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, but overall I tend to skip over it rather quickly. So, I decided to research different picture books that teach reconstruction, and surprisingly I found a few that I could use. At the same time I thought of two questions I could also pose to my 5th graders, “What would you do with the integration of slaves, and the punishment of those involved with heinous crimes of war?”, and “How is a government similar today to the government after Abraham Lincoln died?” Allowing students to think more critically and creatively about the problems during Reconstruction, would help them understand the trickiness of the situation.
President Andrew Johnson knew it was tricky. Congress knew it was tricky. However, where was the compassion and creativity. How do you allow Black Codes and Jim Crow Laws to even exist? Allowing white supremacy to flourish and supercede thoughts of creating a United States of America where “all men are created equal”. This is absolute shamefulness. Who’s the hero? No wonder we have had the Civil Rights Movement, because there has been a lack of compassion for the underdog. So, now in 2018, we are still Reconstructing. We have so many wrongs to correct, failures to admit, and most of all we have the need to be that courageous citizen who stands up for each other.
That is my responsibility. I must do a better job at teaching Reconstruction so that my students feel an obligation to become that person who stands up for what is right, and not necessarily popular. They need to learn compassion for those who have been given less and that need a bigger voice. With correct insights they can view the Reconstruction as a tragedy we must all learn from. Students must realize that they need to do all that they can to preserve each others rights, whether that means running for political office, or just making an effort to be an informed voter. As ten and eleven years olds, they can make a difference right now in their communities and families. How they choose to treat one another and stand up for one another will be a pattern for their future.

Shannon Herbert

5/1/2018 02:07:17 pm

Wow! It's a brutal truth, but I agree with you. It's an era with a lack of creativity, compassion, and a lack of heroes. Perhaps some of the freed people could have emerged as heroes if they hadn't been abandoned by a nation ready to give up and be done with it. Or if we hadn't tasked the Freedmen's Bureau with righting pretty every wrong and then defunding them after a few short years. And, yes- we are still reconstructing in 2018.

I also really like your extension about how teaching Reconstruction can help teach our students how to act with kindness and root for the underdog.

Ann Zito

5/1/2018 05:37:43 pm

You make a lot of really solid points. While some good things happened, such as public schools and getting blacks the vote, they were almost immediately take away from the freed slaves. As W.E.B. Dubois stated, "the slave went free; stood a brief moment in the sun; then moved back again towards slavery." It became almost worse for the blacks in the South with the arrival of groups like the KKK.

Also, I'd love to know what picture books you have found to use! I love your idea of giving it to fifth graders to see what solutions they come up with.

Shannon Herbert

5/1/2018 01:02:27 pm

The task must have been overwhelming: rebuilding an entire nation that had been uprooted and nearly destroyed by civil war. Was Reconstruction successful? Successful for whom? If we are considering the perspective of White southerners recovering from their loss of the civil war, Reconstruction was a period of hardship and persecution until its end in 1877. If one considers the view of freed slaves, Reconstruction was a brief period of progress only to be interrupted by nearly a century years of setbacks until the civil rights movement. As Heather Andrea Williams says in The Reconstruction Era, “It took time to put slavery firmly in place in America, but once established, the institution lasted in the South for more than two centuries. The ending of slavery in the South also took time” (65). To think that the end of an institution so embedded in Southern society and critical to its economic, political, and social landscape could be ended and resolved in eleven short years is foolish. Ultimately, Reconstruction was a success until doomed by its premature end.

In the political arena, former slaves made great progress for a brief period of time during Reconstruction, only to endure further setbacks after the era’s end. “When 10 of the 11 former Confederate states held conventions between 1867 and 1869 to frame new constitutions, black men were among the delegates. With the right to vote, African Americans were elected to federal and state offices including two to the U.S. Senate and 20 to Congress” (The Reconstruction Era 75). This progress is amazing considering that many of these representatives had been slaves only a short time before. Yet, as federal troops withdrew from the South and Reconstruction ended in 1877, the South quickly lapsed into its former ways. Southern Democrats quickly took control across the South by 1877 and demonstrated that they had no intention of sharing power with freed slaves. Violent white-nationalist forces worked quickly to undo any of the progress that former slaves had made, and by the 1880s, there were very few black representatives left in the South.

Constitutionally, the period of Reconstruction offered much hope and promise to freed slaves. At first, the passage of Black Codes across the South indicated that white Southerners still intended to assert their power over blacks. Congress responded with the 14th and 15th amendments, which “superseded the authority of the states to define the rights of their residents” (The Reconstruction Era 76). Indeed, Benedict calls it a “Second Founding that rededicated the nation to the original principles of the Declaration of Independence” (79). Republicans in Congress sought to protect and extend the rights of former slaves, which led to many of them voting and even former slaves holding public office in the years following the war. However, as support for the 14th and 15th amendments faded, Reconstruction was ended and “Americans allowed the amendments to be violated repeatedly and with impunity” (77.) The amendments forbade states from violating one’s voting rights, but offered little to no protection against individuals intimidating and threatening former slaves from voting. Thus, what had begun as bright glimmer of hope for former slaves seeking access to the American dream ended with a betrayal of those whose labor built this nation.

Socially, newly freed blacks were dealing with an array of issues, from trying to reunite with lost family members to finding jobs or land post-slavery. The Freedmen’s Bureau was created in 1865 to help former slaves and poor whites in the South. It helped them find work, reunited families, built hospitals and schools, resettled war refugees, helped them to find lost relatives, and assisted them with receiving fairness in court. The Freedman’s Bureau was specifically meant to manage the land confiscated during the war, but the promised forty-acres and a mule never became a reality for the freed slaves. During Reconstruction there was an increase in black education and literacy, and with the Bureau’s help, many black colleges were established across the South. Nevertheless, these gains were short-lived. Funding was cut for the Bureau in 1868, and by 1869, the Bureau was discontinued. With more time and better resources, this government agency could have changed the course of our nation. Former slaves could have continued to progress and improve their lives instead of being forced back into subjugation.

Thus, the Reconstruction Era could have been immensely successful if the country hadn’t lost the will to see it through to completion. With the work of equality only minimally accomplished, the nation ceased to support Reconstruction and ended it, turning their backs on the individuals whose hard work and forced labor built this country. As Virginia freedman Bayley Wyat said, “Didn’t we clear th

Shannon Herbert

5/1/2018 02:01:53 pm

the land and raise de crops. . . And den didn’t dem large cities in de North grow up on de cotton and de sugars and de rice dat we made” (The Reconstruction Era 57). The hasty end to Reconstruction was a betrayal to African-Americans for which this country still has not answered.

Elaine Grant

5/1/2018 08:59:47 pm

I really like your insights into the success of Reconstruction. Successful for whom? By whose standards? I agree that it was successful in some ways and for some people, and that it would be inaccurate to claim it wholly successful. There are many facets to the Reconstruction process. I thought your comments addressed the difficulties and some of the successes of this challenging time in American history very well.

I also really liked the quote you used in your last paragraph. When I read that in the book, I thought it was a poignant and thought-provoking question. I agree with your analysis and conclusion.

Kim Gerun

5/1/2018 08:21:57 pm

Reconstruction: Success or Failure?
No one will dispute that the period of reconstruction following the Civil War had both success and failure. The real question is which had the stronger lasting impact- the successes or failures?
The 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments are the greatest successes from the period of reconstruction and yet they will see failure in the years following the end of the reconstruction period. Ultimately the fact that those very amendments would not be upheld for another 100+ years is the strongest evidence of the failure of reconstruction.
From the onset of the Civil War Abraham Lincoln knew that at some point the country would have to find a way to heal and move forward. Upon issuing the Emancipation Proclamation he guaranteed that a large part of the "moving forward" would include the freeing of slaves throughout the country. Early on Lincoln made plans for the country to heal this was the modest punishment of the 10 percent plan. Punishment because getting 10% of the 1860 census population to take an oath and give allegiance after 5 years of fighting and hundreds of thousands men dead, 10% would be very difficult to accomplish for states to be able to be readmitted to the union. His plan seemed a good mix of justice and mercy. Unfortunately, Lincoln would be assassinated before he got a real chance to put his plan fully into action in bringing the south back to the union. From that point on the country found itself in another war of sorts- between President Johnson who wanted to punish the south but feared freed slaves having too much power and Congress who were set on punishing the south as much as possible. Without a clear vision or plan for how to help the country heal and move forward reconstruction was doomed to fail. When would reconstruction be fulfilled? How would the American people know when it was complete? After passing the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments on the surface it would be easy to argue that it was "Mission Accomplished;" through the law everything was taken care of- slaves were freed, made citizens and given especially the right to vote. Unfortunately just because the laws are in place that does not change society and force people to abide by the law. Corruption, cost of reconstruction and 12 years without major change without a clear vision to move forward caused people in the north to be jaded by reconstruction and call for a premature end allowing the south to flourish with racism, black codes, the KKK and find a way to further subject freed slaves in the south to intimidation that would leave them somewhat helpless in a nation that didn't want to see the problems and do more to help them.
Reconstruction absolutely had success, in the long term and with a lot of fight through the civil rights movement. Reconstruction was the first step in that process. Unfortunately in the short term it did and/or allowed more damage than it did good.

Kristan Norton

5/3/2018 05:26:37 pm

Kim, I really enjoyed your response. As I was reading your points what really stood out to me was how hard the government worked to try to find a plan which would make life better in our war-torn country, yet how in many ways “good” wasn’t “good enough”. When I look at how we govern ourselves now with instant communication between all areas of the country, ease of travel, brilliant economists, sociologists, and public relations firms, there are still numerous problems. The leaders in the Reconstruction period had none of that. Somehow, they were still able to keep the country moving forward, and started the rebuilding process. It makes me very grateful that they did indeed pass those amendments. It only marginally helped the black slaves, but it still gives our country hope for the future and something to continue to build upon.

Raechel Bunnell

5/1/2018 08:55:27 pm

Some of the immediate goals of the reconstruction were a roaring success. Slaves were freed, 2000 positions in government were filled by African Americans, as well as equal protection under the law and the right to vote guaranteed by the Constitution. Money and military was put forth to improve infrastructure and assist the newly freed people the opportunity to vote. The immediate goals were fulfilled by the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution. All of the newly freed African Americans had economic, social, and political needs that would undo 200 years of involuntary servitude. They would need fair access to land, education, and assistance in the voting process. Unfortunately, this needs would not be fulfilled as racist Southerners blocked them from every goal.

New President and Southern Democrat, Andrew Johnson undid much of the ideological progress of Congress and the Republicans in their intentions to enfranchise blacks and punish the South. If the punishments of ex-Confederates would have stood, they might not have been as politically powerful if they couldn’t vote, hold office, or retain their wealth. While the Republican controlled Congress was not in session, Johnson “reconstructed” the South on his own, offering presidential pardons to those who pledged allegiance. This opened the door for the Black Codes, Jim Crow laws, and a growth of racism that only continues to this day. White planters stopped blacks from being landowners as sharecropping and tenant farming. Many impediments had the look of legitimate laws as voting was restricted- literacy tests and poll taxes were upheld with the Supreme Court case Williams v. Mississippi (Masur, 2016). The growth of the Ku Klux Klan during the Reconstruction period was a less legal and more radical way that freedmen would be denied their rights. Violence and intimidation drove black people away, and often North. But there was not always a welcome in Northern cities, as the Chicago Race Riot of 1919, and the resurgence of the Klan after the nationally popular movie Birth of a Nation was produced in the same time period. Interestingly, the film portrayed Reconstruction Era South as a place overrun by lazy, sex-crazed, and socially uncouth freed blacks that were preying on their women and ruining politics (Gordon-Reed, 2015). The 1950s and 60s produced a galvanized movement against segregation and racism that would show the world the awfulness that the Civil War did not solve. Slavery was not gone, but had morphed into possibly a worse situation for African Americans. With slavery, there was not hope, education, or communication. Under Jim Crow- institutionalized racism, and individual racism, there was a knowledge of the world without segregation. There were many educated leaders and laymen in the movement who inspired and spoke out against the wrongs that had existed since Reconstruction.

If we limit the Reconstruction period to a few short years, and list the goals as simple- no slavery, bringing the South back into the Union, and universal manhood suffrage, then it would be a success. But if we extend the definition- time period, voting in action, economic success for former slaves, and punishment of the South, I don’t think we would find the same accomplishment. There have been too many racist laws, too many black votes not counted, too much violence against blacks in their homes, churches and communities- to say that Reconstruction was a success.

Dave Ringle

5/1/2018 09:09:19 pm

Reconstruction. A period in which the United States strived to put back the pieces after a bloody Civil War with over a half million people dead. Much has been debated about this period of time. The issue of was it a success or a failure is debated and I honestly cannot really answer strongly one way or the other. I will strive to explain why I feel both ways. I feel that ultimately, Reconstruction is what it says it is- a period to reconstruct or rebuild the nation.

Slavery was a heated discussion before and during the Civil War. Slavery as has been stated was a major cause or catalyst to the Civil War. Should people/states be able to decide to maintain a lifestyle that is "immoral" and brutal? Should the national government decide the fate of states and their economies? Are people that work for another a "person" or are they property? Is having money more important than having people be free? These were some of the questions debated.

Reconstruction was a success. At the end of the Civil War, African Americans were now "free". A few Constitutional Amendment stated such. Blacks were allowed to vote, own property and not be slaves any more. The Freedman's Bureau was passed to assist black become more acclimated into society and to strive to fix any injustices. After hundreds of years of slavery being a peculiar institution, after a 4 year war, slavery ends. This is a victory right?

Reconstruction is a failure. After the Civil War, the lacks were "free". However, a strong, lingering feeling of racism remained in many people's lives. As the North began to implement plans against the South, the southerners resented these programs and found ways to not allow them.There was a group of extremists, the Ku Klux Klan, that would intimidate, bully, commit acts of violence, and even murder these former slaves. The desired help and assistance that was supposed to be for the blacks, never, if ever was given.

"Reconstruction poses a challenge to Americans’ historical understanding because we prefer stories with happy endings. Unfortunately, the overthrow of the South’s biracial governments, accomplished in part by terrorist violence, was followed by a long period of legally enforced white supremacy. Yet this itself offers a timely lesson – that there is nothing inevitable or predetermined in the onward march of freedom and equality. Reconstruction and its aftermath remind us that rights in the Constitution are not self-enforcing, and that our liberties can never be taken for granted." (Successes and Failures).

Yes there some positive things brought about by the period of Reconstruction and there were many negative ones as well. However, like the quote says, this is a lesson that for things to happen, we cannot just assume they will automatically happen. t took another 100+ years for life to be better for African Americans. Are we perfect, by all means no, have we, and do we continue to make great improvements? I would argue, YES.

Kara Budge

5/1/2018 10:54:13 pm

Because of your second to last comment, "it took another 100+ years for life to be better" I would argue that reconstruction was a failure. Because of that, reconstruction was incomplete which makes it far from a success. I appreciate you looking at both sides of the issue.

Mandee Webster

5/4/2018 09:04:06 pm

I am going to piggyback on your comment about it taking another 100+ years. I often reflect on how far we have come since the reconstruction era. But I also feel the Civil War was just yesterday (when you compare it to history as a whole). These things take time to improve. I think we need to give ourselves credit for what we have accomplished.

Mandee Webster

5/1/2018 09:47:37 pm

The Reconstruction Era definitely had it’s problems and many can argue that it was a failure. In many aspects, it was. But it also had many successes that we can’t overlook.
While reading the introduction to The Reconstruction Era, I was hit with the retaliation that reconstruction did not really start post civil war. There were events that led up to what we often think as the reconstruction era that helped pave the way. Runaway slaves fled to free states or aided in military assistance with the Union. There was also a rehearsal for Reconstruction that took land in South Carolina Sea Islands and transformed it in away that replaced slavery with a type of freelaboor. Former slaves were given small amounts of land that in return and they worked to provide for their family as well as their community. They were able to work more with growing food and devote less time to staple crops. They also had a voice in the day to day operations. However, many freedmen ended up going to work for white landowners for little pay or as sharecroppers.
The reconstruction era brought forth and important question… What about voting? The war put women in a role that showed the country how they should not be stereotyped below men, for they proved they could take on the rolls men did as they went off to war. However, blacks also took on rolls they would not have had the opportunity for had they not participated the civil war; such as military experiences. On page forty-two of The Reconstruction Era, the author talks about how military services had always been seen as a key to citizenship. If blacks filled those shoes, shouldn’t they be allowed to vote as well? It is easy to reflect back and see how suffrage was a needing addressed in order to hear the voices of citizens beyond wealthy white men. Yes voting rights were cut off during the Reconstruction Era, but it brought a very important right to the table. The Reconstruction Era opened up the doors to such issues that would be addressed and corrected many years down the road.
A major problem the country faced was how they were going to transition away from slavery, yet still have productive industry. Slaves had a different idea as to what freedom looks like than northerners. Slaves had a tight connection to agriculture and being able to use land as a freeman was essential to their culture. Special Field Order No. 5 issued by Maj. Gen Williams had these needs of formal slaves in mind. This special order set aside 400,000 acres of land in South Carolina and Georgia for blacks to be able to use as settlement. This is where the saying “Forty acres and a mule” comes from. Families were given 40 square acres to farm develop and worked as well as the help of mules.
As explained in “What If Reconstruction Hadn’t Failed?”, there are a lot of What Ifs… Of course hindsight tells us Reconstruction could have gone smoother. The articles suggests that a different political course may have resulted had blacks had strong say via voting. Perhaps schooling and living conditions would have been better. We will never know the answer to the What If questions that may run through our head. However, I also can’t help but wonder… What if the south had succeeded in reinstating slavery, or What if southern states never joined the union? How different would our country be today? A quote that stands out to me, that I think applies no matter the era we are in, is “Reconstruction and its aftermath remind us that rights in the Constitution are not self-enforcing, and that our liberties can never be taken for granted.” (NYT Successes and Failures).

Ben Byrd

5/4/2018 09:26:35 am

I like your point about slaves having a different idea about what freedom looked like compared to the Northerners. I think this difference is fundamental in understanding why Reconstruction programs had varying degrees of success.

Marrianne Asay

5/5/2018 09:34:00 pm

Your final quote really stood out to me in the reading as well. Our constitution isn't self-enforcing, if it were, the issue of slavery and voting rights would be guaranteed for all men and women. I had some of the same "What If?" questions that you did. One of the things I wondered is if the 40 acres and a mule had truly been given to all former slaves, or if their rights had been protected instead of ignored. I guess we will never know, but we can make a difference in our own interactions and within our own sphere of influence.

Marrianne

5/1/2018 09:59:56 pm

“It has come as a great revelation to me,” I wrote her, “that abolition is different from the desire for racial equality. Color prejudice is at the bottom of everything. If it’s not fixed, the plight of the Negro will continue long after abolition.” (Sue Monk Kidd, The Invention of Wings). Although this quote is from a piece of historical fiction, it is a reminder that the end of the Civil War, nor could the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments abolish prejudice and the deep seated racism that gripped the hearts of southerners, as well as many northerners. The many policies, laws, and programs implemented to bring about change, could only go so far in reconstructing a country that was so divided. Many of the programs that were instituted at the close of the war that were meant to help the newly freed slaves, were ended too soon, or were inadequate to truly meet their needs. And finally, the political struggles that plagued reconstruction with codes, bills, acts, and laws, many which were often unenforced in the South, thwarted a truly successful reconstruction.
Emancipation for African Americans was a difficult, long, dangerous process for many. Many Northerners and abolitionists, who were opposed to slavery, were also opposed to full suffrage for African Americans. The centuries of slavery had created a culture of white domination over black, of servitude, and dependence on free labor. Sentiments and opinions handed down for generations couldn’t be changed overnight. Freeing a slave didn’t free him or her from the bondage of racism. While reconstruction sought to help the freed slaves, it couldn’t eliminate the hatred.
Some of the programs instituted as part of reconstruction, such as the Freedmen’s Bureau, with its schools, help with food and housing, and allocating portions of confiscated lands to former slaves, helped many at the close of the war. The Bureau however, was underfunded and many of the programs that could have been instrumental in helping former slaves become truly self reliant, were eliminated. The Bureau did a great deal of good, and was a sign that the government was willing to stand up for the freed slaves, but it didn’t last, and with its demise, much of the needed help was never given. (Additional information about the Freedmen’s Bureau can be Found here - https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/freedmens-bureau) Some of the policies such as allocating lands to freed slaves, created additional hostility from Southern landowners, and landowners who had lost their lands. Former slaveholders often held back the progress of the former slaves through deception and control, through sharecropping and tenant farming. According to the Official National Parks Service Handbook: The Reconstruction Era, “They owned the land, had significant resources, retained their political rights, and were experienced in terrifying black people.” They did not want to see a change in the social structure and culture of the south.
Lincoln’s plan, Congress’ split views, and Johnson’s policies, created what some have called a stage for disaster. We will never know if Lincoln’s lenient plan, which included a Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction, would have been successful or not. Congress was split in their views. The radicals believed in harsh punishments, a full end to slavery, oaths of loyalty, and that African Americans should be given the right to vote, while white pro-confederates would be denied that right. Johnson began his term with harsher reconstruction plans, but by May of 1865, his views had seemed to soften, and he appeared to show more support for a south that was led and managed by white men. Congress was able to override some of Johnson’s policies, and approved the Fourteenth Amendment, which gave equal protection under the law. Unfortunately, many in the south found ways to thwart this amendment. The KKK, lynching, threats, intimidation, and eventually laws were passed in southern states that undermined the Fourteenth Amendment.
Reconstruction wasn’t a complete failure, but it was not a success. Complicated issues have complicated solutions. There are unintended consequences to every law. Sometime, even hindsight can’t fully unravel the complexities, and sometimes the true history can never fully be seen clearly. As Sue Monk Kidd’s fictional character said, “Color prejudice is at the bottom of everything. If it’s not fixed, the plight of the Negro will continue long after abolition.” In order for Reconstruction to have been truly successful, these prejudices would have had to have been fixed. In order for our country to continue healing from the scars left by slavery and the civil war, our prejudices also need to be eliminated.

Selene Mansfield

5/2/2018 08:30:08 am

I think that's a great quote to start with. While the abolition of slavery is obviously integral to the history of our nation, we still find ourselves rife with racial inequality. Understanding that even white abolitionists in the North preserved a mentality of white dominance and perpetuated privilege is necessary to understanding our current political climate and the systemic discrimination that still occurs.

Erin Wirthlin

5/3/2018 10:14:28 am

Hey Marianne!
I love it! "Reconstruction was not a complete failure..." So true. I stated in my post the following, "Was Reconstruction a failure or a success? Yes." There are so many facets that play a role in historical events that it's not always clear, even with hindsight, how successful an event or time period really was. Did Reconstruction accomplish everything that everyone had hoped? No way! Did it do some good? Yes. Did it do enough? Probably not. We've learned a lot from the time period though, and that's amazingly beneficial! Thank you so much for your post!

Mandee Webster

5/4/2018 09:09:55 pm

I really like how you did not take a solid stand on this issue. I found it hard feeling like I had to choose one way or the other.

I do like how you talked about the programs that were intended to help freedmen ending too soon. It makes me wonder if they would have done anything differently if they could see what we know now, and if they would have made changes to programs.

Elaine Grant

5/1/2018 10:36:13 pm

Was Reconstruction a Success?
The question of whether Reconstruction was a success requires more than a simple “yes” or “no” response. As mentioned in Shannon Herbert’s blog, when considering the success of Reconstruction, the definition of success and the question of success for whom is raised. If success is measured by results, including long-lasting positive rebuilding of the South with justice and equality for all, then the answer is a resounding no.

While the “Radical Republicans” saw the end of the Civil War and defeat of the South as an opportunity to advance their agenda of punishing the Confederates by taking away some of their lands and rights to govern themselves, their hopes were dashed when shortly after the assassination of Lincoln, the new President Andrew Johnson reneged on his previously hardline stance against the Confederate States. It is difficult to understand his position change, but the change was drastic and permanent. Andrew Johnson became a staunch Democrat and actually tried to undermine the Republican Party and their push for Civil Rights for freedmen. This had a major impact on the Reconstruction effort and effectiveness.
Radical Republicans saw Reconstruction as a means to punish the South and force them to accept the newly freed slaves as equals. They also thought the former Confederate states should have to agree to strict rules and loyalty requirements before being allowed to regain representation in Congress. They had looked to President Johnson as one who would implement and enforce strict requirements for re-entry into Congress and believed his stance would be harsher than Lincoln’s was. This underestimation led to catastrophic results as President Johnson made it easier for Southern states to be readmitted to the Union and regain their seats in Congress. This created more division and helped the South feel justified in resisting the mandates of the Federal Government.

Not all Republicans were radical, but all were committed to providing and protecting rights for African-Americans. President Johnson had no interest in equality for Blacks and was sympathetic to the plight of the former Confederate states. This division contributed to distrust and hostility between Republicans and Democrats. Congress passed laws and amendments designed to ensure equality and rights for freedmen, but they were opposed by Democrats and the President.The division between Congress and the President grew even more when Congress insisted that Blacks be allowed to vote.
Heather Cox Richardson describes the result of this division between the President and Congress. “Johnson recoiled at Congress’s plan and told southern leaders to ignore it…They would back Johnson’s plan, readmitting southern leaders under the new constitutions they had written, ending legal slavery but circumscribing the lives of former slaves into roles that looked much like those of the pre-war years…In the rest of the former Confederate states, Johnson’s stance encouraged Democrats to reject federal authority and attack their black neighbors.” Of course, more violence ensued and lives were lost and property was destroyed but, “Rather than calming the mobs, Johnson encouraged them. “

The attitude and actions of President Johnson and subsequent Presidents such as Rutherford Hayes underscores one of the major setbacks to successful Reconstruction. The North mostly fought for equality and rights for all citizens. In order to accomplish their goals, they passed three amendments abolishing slavery, granting citizenship and equal rights and protection, and giving all males over 21 years of age the right to vote regardless of race. The South responded by resisting what they saw as federal encroachment on their way of life and their values. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments and public education opportunities for Blacks were direct, positive results of Reconstruction. The formation of hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan, the acceptance of Black Codes, and segregation laws were negative results of Reconstruction.
The complexity of the process of Reconstruction, the division in the government between Congress and the President, the ingrained, institutionalized racism in the South, and the Republican Party’s inability to change much in the South and abandonment of effort to continue trying to do so contributed to the failure of Reconstruction as a successful means to permanently change the status of Blacks in the post-Civil War era. However, the brief freedoms such as the right to vote and to be elected to Congress gave Blacks a taste of rights they would have to struggle for and fight for over the next 100 years. Reconstruction failed in its original purpose, but succeeded in giving freedmen a view of what could and should be, which gave them a goal and a hope for the future.

Selene Mansfield

5/2/2018 08:35:16 am

I really liked that you emphasized the question about the definition of success and for whom. The answer completely changes based on the perspective that you take. I think you did a good job of balancing the positives and negatives of Reconstruction.

Kara Budge

5/1/2018 10:41:07 pm

Was Reconstruction a Success? If so, how? If not, why? Explain your answer.
While Reconstruction was never going to be an easy task and would never be agreed upon by a majority due to the wide range of opinions, I would have to argue that Reconstruction was indeed a failure. Due to the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments however, I would say it wasn’t a complete failure. These reconstruction amendments were fully realized until after the Civil Rights Movement.
The infrastructure of the South was reconstructed with seeming ease compared to the issue of newly emancipated slaves. The objective of getting the South back on its feet economically speaking was progressing rapidly. However, a good deal of the South had been damaged in the war, even whole cities were destroyed. Foner, in his New York Times piece stated that “Reconstruction poses a challenge to Americans’ historical understanding because we prefer stories with happy endings.” For newly emancipated slaves in the South a happy ending was not to be had. “With slavery abolished and the Confederacy defeated, many white Southerners felt their status was threatened; they resorted to violence in their efforts to regain control” (NPS). The brutality which was unleashed by the white southerners was like nothing seen pre-war. With about 3,500 black people being lynched in the South and no recourse or representation by the court system – black people did not come out ahead during this time period.
As soon as the War was over, African Americans were continually mistreated – denied several promises and found themselves in conditions little better than slavery as tenant farmers sharecropping the land. Had Thaddeus Stevens proposal been realized (a real long shot), or President Lincoln’s 10% plan I have confidence that race relations would be improved today. I would go so far as to say that reconstruction ignored the plight of the newly freed blacks and it would be completely appropriate for the government to officially offer an apology and reparations for this ugly time in our history.

Kristan Norton

5/3/2018 05:10:36 pm

Kara, your response brought about an "ah-ha" moment for me. I have continued to think about this success/failure question this entire week, but it wasn't until I read your response that I realized, this issue could be one more piece of evidence we add to the list of unjust treatment of black citizens in our country. Your statement "the objective of getting the South back on its feet economically speaking was progressing rapidly”, made me realize that the federal government was very successfully reconstructing those projects that the southern white citizens needed, but the southern black citizens were quickly left to face the retribution from those in the Confederacy who had lost the war. These planters had to rebuild their egos after their devastating loss to the Union, and they did it by once again targeting the black communities. I appreciate your writings and the added insight I gained from them.

Kim Perry

5/4/2018 02:21:29 pm

I have an article titled. "Are Apologies Still Appropriate For Today" that I have my students read. I agree: apologies are needed. I also have a 1946 Presidents Report that shows 5 states reporting over 500 lynchings per year, and we know that continued through the 50's.

Elaine Grant

5/4/2018 11:01:29 pm

I think that it is difficult to assess whether Reconstruction was a failure because it is so multi-faceted, which makes it possible for it to be successful in some areas but fail miserably in others. I completely agree that the plight of the Blacks in the South following Reconstruction was a huge mission fail. Unfortunately, no one really knew how to protect them and assist them in a transition from slavery to landowning citizens. While some people recognized the need for this, others just looked to appease the South and help them rebuild after their defeat. This shows that Blacks were not seen as equals yet, which opened the door for horrible abuses and terror organizations such as the KKK to emerge.

Jill Johnson

5/1/2018 10:41:28 pm

Blog 2: Reconstruction: Success or Failure?

Reconstruction: Success or Failure? Success or Failure for Whom?

For Abraham Lincoln, Reconstruction was a success. The Union would be whole again.

For the freed people, Reconstruction was a failure. They hungered for two things: land-ownership and education which were eventually denied (Reconstruction Era, page, 29).

For the Southerners: a success. The land that had been confiscated by the Union Army and distributed to the freed slaves were reverted to its prewar owners.

As the Civil War came to an end in early 1865, Lincoln had no clear plan to welcome the South back into the Union but was determined to do so. Lincoln emphasized regularly that the sole reason to go to war was to save the Union; his personal views on slavery, he insisted, had no place in the matter. (RC, pg. 30).

But Lincoln was assassinated before he could see the Confederate states rejoin the Union in June of 1868. Reconstruction would fall to his Southern successor, Andrew Johnson. https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/reconstruction.

Under Johnson’s Reconstruction plan, southern governments were given free rein to rebuild themselves. Many southern states in 1865 and 1866 successfully enacted a series of laws known as the “black codes,” which were intended to restrict freed blacks’ activity and keep them subservient to a new kind of labor force: Sharecroppers.
https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/reconstruction.

The many successes the freed people enjoyed during the Radical Reconstruction era (1866-1871) - winning elections to southern state government, the South’s first state-funded public-school systems, more equitable taxation legislation, laws against racial discrimination in public transport and accommodations and ambitious economic development programs – were violently taken away.

The determination of some white Southerners to regain power while black Southerners resisted their aggression and the inability of governments to restrain these attacks, made the postwar South one of the bloodiest times in American history. (RC, pg. 91). Nightriding, lynching, whippings, theft, sexual humiliation and rapes terrorized black and Republican voters, distorted and suppressed the vote, intimidated freed people and restored white political supremacy (RC, pg. 89).

By the mid-20th century, the courts, rather than Congress, were the institution to which American turned for protection of rights. By that time the Supreme Court felt empowered enough to do what Congress had been unable to do after Reconstruction – protect the rights that had been guaranteed by the era’s constitutional amendments (13th, 14th and 15th amendments). The Court’s decision to do so, helped fuel the civil rights movement and what many have called the nation’s “Second Reconstruction.” (RC, pg. 87).

Ben Byrd

5/4/2018 09:30:28 am

Your point about the determination of the white Southerners is a great point. The failures of reconstruction are a direct result of the determination of those Southerners who fought to retain their power in any way possible. For those people, the war was still going and they were determined to keep fighting.

Elaine Grant

5/4/2018 10:39:19 pm

I really liked the questions you asked about the success of Reconstruction. Rather than provide a quick "yes' or "no" response, it bears looking further into the questions and analyzing who benefited and who did not. This exercise shows rather quickly that Reconstruction failed in some ways and for some people, but also succeeded in some ways for some people.

Daniel Morris

5/2/2018 11:48:42 am

After a hard fought battle that left the nation with many lives lost, much of the landscape destroyed and a division of neighboring states, the question of how to reunite a once "United" States of America was under way. It was not just about bringing together a country politically, but figuring out how to bring together people of all different backgrounds, how to create a country that acknowledged Native Americans and people of all descent and how to fix an economy that allowed all states to thrive. I feel as though this is not a question that can be answered with a simple yes or no, and many still argue if and when reconstruction began and ended.

When you look at the time period following the civil war, the south was put in a position where they had to decide how they would rebuild a broken economy. Because the institution of slavery was built upon violence, similar tactics that included violence was the answer that many southerners turned to after the war. (The Reconstruction Era pg. 91) Immediately following the war, the Ku Klux Klan was slowly formed by small groups who opposed African Americans freedom. This led to the persecution of innocent African Americans and the Klan groups continued to grow as word spread across the Nation of their attacks.

Although there was many horrible acts of aggression going on, there was still many great things that were helping the Reconstruction process. The southern states were required to rewrite their own constitutions to abolish slavery and then they were admitted back in to the Union. That was a big accomplishment. Also, the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments, also known as the Civil War amendments, were put in to the constitution which abolished slavery, gave citizenship and then gave citizens the right to vote. There is not denying that these are extremely large accomplishments that progressed our nation further than it had ever been before. While accomplishments like this were important, there was still States that were finding ways around these progressions.

Because of Black Codes, many of these new accomplishments became unrealistic. The Black Codes were designed to keep the African Americans from gaining any control while still following the rules they agreed to when the states had rejoined the Union. Overall, I feel like even though there was still so much evil that existed, the reconstruction was a success and we are still seeing the benefits from the groundwork that was set during this time period. There will always be issues with equality, but we have come so far and will continue to grow as a Nation as we have more people willing to stand up for their rights as a citizen of the United States of America.

Erin Wirthlin

5/3/2018 10:19:16 am

Hey Daniel!
How are things!?! I love what you said! "We are still seeing the benefits from the groundwork that was set during this time period." I 100% agree. Whether success or failure, I believe that it's more important to see what has come from the time period and how the United States has built off of the time period. We must use historical understanding to help us build a greater future and Reconstruction has been a time period with much to learn from. Thank you for your post!

Kim Perry

5/4/2018 02:14:17 pm

I so agree with this line: "Because the institution of slavery was built upon violence, similar tactics that included violence was the answer that many southerners turned to after the war." It didn't take the South very long to come up with a way to re-enslave the African Americans.

Amanda Rogers

5/17/2018 03:21:35 pm

Reconstruction: Success or Failure?

The Civil War ends and there are four million freed men, women, and children. A country torn apart and the society of the Antebellum South completely dissolved. From the ashes a new country is to be formed but looking at it over one hundred years later, was the reconstruction of the south a success? From what I have studied I would say not entirely. Reconstruction was not just about accepting and reuniting the southern states back into the union but it was about preserving the new rights of newly freed African Americans. With this in mind I believe Reconstruction was ultimately a failure. The lenient readmittance of southern states back into the Union, prevalent violence, and lack of Northern support after 1877, ultimately lead to the failure of the Reconstruction.
When the war ended Southern states were expecting a more difficult readmittance to the union; however, when Andrew Johnson became president he had very basic expectations. Due to these expectations many states found loopholes into getting around fully ratifying the 13th Amendment. These loopholes would further allow individual states to find ways to not completely support and uphold further policies and bills. Yes the 14th and 15th Amendments were created to protect basic civil rights and to stop discrimination in voting but clearly they did not completely protect the people since many policies in individual states were created in order to stop the African American to the voting booth. It would seem that Johnson did very little to help reconcile the Southern social status and instead did a lot to continue the antebellum way of life. Johnson went as far as calling Congress illegal until all states were properly a part of the Union. He vetoed the freedmen's bureau which would have allowed land for freed African Americans. This land would have given them the opportunity to provide for their own futures and by putting them in a more positive social structure that landowners are privy to (Heather Cox Richardson; Political Reconstruction). However, I believe Johnson was far too lenient in allowing them back into the government.
During Reconstruction military from the North were sent to the states to ensure the policies and laws were being upheld. Naturally the South disliked the presence of the military since it represented their recent loss in the war and the loss of their Antebellum society. However, despite the presence of the military violence was prevalent throughout the south. The creation and rise of the Ku Klux Klan, Red Shirts and White League lead to many lynchings and abusal of freedoms that ought to have been protected. How could the military and the federal government allow such an abuse to continue? Schools and other buildings burnt down demonstrations, and murders were just a few of the acts of violence that occured. If the government really wanted to protect the Black American would they not have done more?
It is my thought that around this time and especially in 1877, the government had lost its energy to continue upholding the policies and law. This continued the racist society in the South that was not checked by any power. Kate Masur and Gregory Downs state that one of the most important things to come from Reconstruction was the realization that the people must defend their own rights and not expect the government to do so. I agree that this is important and not to be overlooked but is the violence acceptable? Are the injustices that lasted over ninety years to be seen as a small problem in light of this realization?
I think it can be said that there were important and profound policies and laws created. We were a nation racked by differing ideas of morality and equality and to remedy that is not easy. However, despite that being said it is my belief that more could have and should have been done. There is so much that occurred during this time and I chose to only take a look at a few policies and situations that had a strong influence on Reconstruction. However, it must be said that freedom and Liberty weren’t given to all who lived in the United States. Native Americans were still considered a race that would never progress but would merely be rid of by the expansion to the west (Ari Kelman; Reconstruction in the U.S. West). The Jim Crow laws furthered discrimination and segregation in the South and lead our country into a very difficult time that still affects us today. Reconstruction was no easy feat but surely with more aid and continuation of several policies that were gotten rid of there could have been a smoother transition. Ultimately the Reconstruction time period was a failure in their goal to unify two nations and provide provisions and freedoms for a people recently enslaved.

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