After a war that divided the nation into two and claimed the lives of thousands of men, the country was devastated. The relations between the North and South had crumbled, causing the country to desperately need reunification. Many changes were made in American society after the Civil War in an attempt to reunify the United States and improve the country as a whole; however, these changes were primarily detrimental to society. These changes developed across eras in American history, including reconstruction, westward expansion, and industrialization. The following periods American history incited an incorrigible level of exploitation that ultimately governed the rest of the country during the respective period and afterwards: reconstruction
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Reconstruction failed to properly address one of these issues, which was destructive to society. The main and only goal for the North was to reunify the country. Both Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson developed few requirements for confederate states to be readmitted into the North. This leniency allowed Southern states to rejoin the Northern states without completely changing their former ideals. Congress attempted to bolster reconstruction with the 13th amendment; however, the amendment only abolished slavery and did not give rights to former slaves. Immediately after this, “Black Codes” were enacted that essentially limited the rights of African Americans economically and politically and limited access to opportunities. The Black Codes were harmful to society as African Americans were now free, but continued to be exploited. African Americans were stuck in a situation that limited them from becoming productive members of society. At this point in time, “every Southern state except Arkansas and Tennessee had passed laws by the end of 1865 outlawing vagrancy” (Douglas A. Blackmon, 17). This meant that is was possible to arrest an African American man for not being under the protection of a white man, despite being a “free person” in the United States. In some states, African Americans …show more content…
This unification venture was fueled by greed and was as unfavorable to society as the attempt to unify the South and North. The main goal of western expansion was to gain access to resources and reap the rewards, and the government was very determined and willing to do whatever it took to achieve the resources. The most important thing to bring economic development to the west was the transcontinental railroad, but the costs were tremendous. No one was willing to start such a costly project, so the government was forced to improvise. The government passed the Pacific Railroad Bill of 1862, which gave the companies western land for free with the promise of extinguishing Indian titles, yet these incentives were deemed not enough. The 1864 version of the aforementioned bill doubled the amount of land that companies would receive. Keeping in mind that Indian tribes already owned the land, these acts were harmful to society as they exploited the tribes by pushing the Indians off of the land, without any form of consent, for the sake of economic greed. Furthermore, the Homestead Act of 1862 also gave away land owned by Indians, without consent, to United States citizens. This was also destructive to society at the time as it expedited the death of the Indian
Reconstruction failed to properly address one of these issues, which was destructive to society. The main and only goal for the North was to reunify the country. Both Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson developed few requirements for confederate states to be readmitted into the North. This leniency allowed Southern states to rejoin the Northern states without completely changing their former ideals. Congress attempted to bolster reconstruction with the 13th amendment; however, the amendment only abolished slavery and did not give rights to former slaves. Immediately after this, “Black Codes” were enacted that essentially limited the rights of African Americans economically and politically and limited access to opportunities. The Black Codes were harmful to society as African Americans were now free, but continued to be exploited. African Americans were stuck in a situation that limited them from becoming productive members of society. At this point in time, “every Southern state except Arkansas and Tennessee had passed laws by the end of 1865 outlawing vagrancy” (Douglas A. Blackmon, 17). This meant that is was possible to arrest an African American man for not being under the protection of a white man, despite being a “free person” in the United States. In some states, African Americans …show more content…
This unification venture was fueled by greed and was as unfavorable to society as the attempt to unify the South and North. The main goal of western expansion was to gain access to resources and reap the rewards, and the government was very determined and willing to do whatever it took to achieve the resources. The most important thing to bring economic development to the west was the transcontinental railroad, but the costs were tremendous. No one was willing to start such a costly project, so the government was forced to improvise. The government passed the Pacific Railroad Bill of 1862, which gave the companies western land for free with the promise of extinguishing Indian titles, yet these incentives were deemed not enough. The 1864 version of the aforementioned bill doubled the amount of land that companies would receive. Keeping in mind that Indian tribes already owned the land, these acts were harmful to society as they exploited the tribes by pushing the Indians off of the land, without any form of consent, for the sake of economic greed. Furthermore, the Homestead Act of 1862 also gave away land owned by Indians, without consent, to United States citizens. This was also destructive to society at the time as it expedited the death of the Indian