African-Americans in the South were afraid that any kind of relationship they would form with their former masters would lead to something resembling their enslavement (United States. Congress. Joint Committee on Reconstruction, William Pitt Fessenden, Thaddeus Stevens, United States. Congress). It was clear that it would take long before African-Americans would actually come to become equal citizens.
While the North was initially actively engaged in helping the African-American community in the South as they claimed their right, matters gradually changed and the government abandoned its passion regarding the condition. Racial segregation thrived in the South, especially because white individuals were unwilling to accept black people into politics for the supposed reason that the latter installed a corrupt system that worked against the country's well-being (America's Reconstruction -- People and Politics After the Civil War).
The Federal government lost interest in supervising the Reconstruction process consequent to seeing that conditions would stall and no one achieved any success in fighting for their cause. Reconstruction efforts mainly lead to increased oppression of the African-American public in the South (Civil War and Reconstruction).
The wave of racism observed throughout the South as a result of the Reconstruction was unprecedented, given that whites were ardently devoted to impose their power over blacks. Movements such as the Ku Klux Klan only added to the situation, highlighting its gravity (V: Slavery,...
However, they "were too few in number to provide adequate protection and were not always themselves fully committed to ensuring justice for freed blacks" (Cary Royce 67). The American public wanted reform to happen but few people were actually willing to risk their position in society by supporting black people. As a consequence, former slaves were provided with little support and were practically forced to maintain many of their
To understand the spirit of the Reconstruction crisis, one must understand the reality of the civil war, recognize that the generation of Americans caught up in the web of Reconstruction actually lived, actually confronted a situation, today totally alien to us, where countrymen killed countrymen, where political power involved more than the simple control of administration. (Benedict, 1973, p. 1) Americans were ill equipped to cope with the problem effectively.
Because of the loss of so many men during this war, the country suffered economically. With the abolishment of slavery, the south's economics suffered tremendously. Blacks could no longer be force to work the cotton and agricultural fields for free and many migrated north for better opportunities. This left the south with limited economic opportunities as they were not quick to become industrialized like the north was. Many immigrants settle
(Freeman, 2007). None of the programs was responsible, and freed slaves, especially in rural areas, were left with no property and few prospects following emancipation. Unfortunately, slaves who did not choose to leave their plantations helped establish the precedence of sharecropping, which led to the virtual re-enslavement of a new generation of African-Americans after Reconstruction. Under the practice of sharecropping, a farmer works on someone else's land, and promises to
Reconstruction and Black America According to Foner In spite of the fact that African-Americans were largely at the center of the ideals in conflict during the Civil War, history would largely overlook their experiences in the aftermath of this sustained and bloody conflict. The era known as Reconstruction would be far more frequently described according to White experiences in the succeeding years. Eric Foner's 2002 text Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877,
American Expansion Post-Reconstruction America gave rise to an incredibly transformative society and culture. Modernism was beginning to sweep the land with the industrial revolution, urbanization and westward expansion. How did the underprivileged fare in this new America? What were the experiences and problems of the Native Americans, women, African-Americans, and various immigrant groups at this time? Be specific. Was there a gap between the rhetoric of hope and democracy peddled by
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now