Failure Of Reconstruction Research Paper

The American Civil War conserved the Union and unchained the slaves. However, during Reconstruction, an inconsistent quantity of political focus on the effort failed to solve the sectional wounds, and the removal of the freed slaves' newly acquired civil liberties failed to bring about enduring racial integration. After the war, the Union needed to effectively reunite with the South on equal footing, revitalize their economy, and rebuild their ruined landscape. Nevertheless, divisions in the federal government over Reconstruction caused a disappointment to accomplish these goals. Lincoln first proposed the Ten Percent Plan, which offered a merciful way for Southern States to rejoin the Union. However, after Lincoln's assassination, Andrew Johnson, became president and initiated his own plan for Reconstruction. Although his plan initially worked, former Confederates eventually worked their way into the government …show more content…
There were several hopeful periods during Reconstruction when progress was made for freed African Americans. The first was the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments guaranteeing African Americans certain civil liberties. Also, several African Americans were elected to Congress and numerous others served in state and local governments. However, the rise of the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacy groups, in lieu with the Black Codes, began to intimidate freed slaves and push back their civil liberties. Also, in the Slaughterhouse Cases, the Supreme Court helped severely limit the rights of African Americans. In addition, the sharecropping system, placed many African Americans into positions of gratitude, evocative of the dependence of slavery. Partly due to the failure of Reconstruction to provide racial equality, African Americans would be free but oppressed, second-class citizens well into the 20th