Introduction
The American Civil War was fought by two sides: The Union which was fighting to preserve the statehood and the continuity of the United States of America, and the Confederacy which was fighting to preserve their economic interests and in justifying the practice of slavery with it. From the initial battle at Fort Sumter, to the final stages of the Civil War, both the Union and the Confederate forces suffered heavy losses economically, politically, and socially. A rough estimate of about 1,125,000 lives combined fought in the bloodiest war every fought by Americans, (National Park Services). President Abraham Lincoln at the turn of his re-election following the successful Union victory in the war, spoke about his main intentions …show more content…
His approach towards the South in terms of being too lenient with them was evident when, “President Lincoln had authorized loyalist governments in Virginia, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Tennessee as the Union came to control large parts of those states and advocated a ten percent plan that would allow elections after ten percent of the voters in any state took an oath of future loyalty to the Union,” (Fitzgerald). For many members in Congress, this was considered as too lenient and it did not warrant all voters in rebellion states to take an oath of allegiance to the Union. From this inception, we can speculate that the future political moves of the country would come at the expense of not properly insuring the protection and freedoms of formerly enslaved African Americans in the South. It also comes to no surprise that some historians have deemed the Reconstruction era as a “shameful period in American history.” Stammp states that, “various historians have called this phase of American history ‘The Tragic Era,’ ‘The Dreadful Decade,’ and the ‘Blackout of Honest Government,” (p. 4). In a time period where corrupt politicians were making side deals, Reconstruction took many perspectives in promoting successes, but also leaving space in failing to protect the rights of African Americans. What this paper will attempt to analyze is the extent of the successes and legacies of Reconstruction, and the legacy Reconstruction plagued for minority groups in the United States following the Civil
The American Civil War was fought by two sides: The Union which was fighting to preserve the statehood and the continuity of the United States of America, and the Confederacy which was fighting to preserve their economic interests and in justifying the practice of slavery with it. From the initial battle at Fort Sumter, to the final stages of the Civil War, both the Union and the Confederate forces suffered heavy losses economically, politically, and socially. A rough estimate of about 1,125,000 lives combined fought in the bloodiest war every fought by Americans, (National Park Services). President Abraham Lincoln at the turn of his re-election following the successful Union victory in the war, spoke about his main intentions …show more content…
His approach towards the South in terms of being too lenient with them was evident when, “President Lincoln had authorized loyalist governments in Virginia, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Tennessee as the Union came to control large parts of those states and advocated a ten percent plan that would allow elections after ten percent of the voters in any state took an oath of future loyalty to the Union,” (Fitzgerald). For many members in Congress, this was considered as too lenient and it did not warrant all voters in rebellion states to take an oath of allegiance to the Union. From this inception, we can speculate that the future political moves of the country would come at the expense of not properly insuring the protection and freedoms of formerly enslaved African Americans in the South. It also comes to no surprise that some historians have deemed the Reconstruction era as a “shameful period in American history.” Stammp states that, “various historians have called this phase of American history ‘The Tragic Era,’ ‘The Dreadful Decade,’ and the ‘Blackout of Honest Government,” (p. 4). In a time period where corrupt politicians were making side deals, Reconstruction took many perspectives in promoting successes, but also leaving space in failing to protect the rights of African Americans. What this paper will attempt to analyze is the extent of the successes and legacies of Reconstruction, and the legacy Reconstruction plagued for minority groups in the United States following the Civil