Was Reconstruction a Success or a Failure? After the Civil War ended in 1865, America was left divided, and needed a solution to solve the problems that were present before the war. There were problems like Southern Democrats wanting their power back, discrimination against blacks, and many more problems. The solution to this problem was Reconstruction which lasted from 1865 to 1877. The major proposals of Reconstruction were to have political control over the South, establish the rights of the freedman, and to maintain economic control of American society. America went through many changes during Reconstruction, including social, political, and economic changes that were a success to American society because it gave new rights to those who
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Because of Reconstruction, Blacks were able to go to school to get an education, and black literacy increased drastically. In The Second American Revolution, which compares Reconstruction to the American Revolution, James M. McPherson explained, “When slavery was abolished, about 90 percent of the black population was illiterate… But viewed by the standpoint of 1865 the rate of literacy for blacks increased by 200 percent in fifteen years and by 400 percent in thirty-five years” (48). These literacy rates that went up allowed blacks to be able to get educated, and education would be the basis of freedom for the new freedman. Not only did blacks become free, but they became their own people during Reconstruction. In Give Me Liberty, Eric Foner understood the viewpoint of the African-Americans during the Reconstruction time-period. He said, “African-American staked their claim to equal citizenship. Blacks declared an Alabama meeting, deserved, ‘exactly the same rights, privileges and immunities as are enjoyed by white men. We ask for nothing more and will be content with nothing less’” (572). Blacks began to truly believe that they were equal to their white neighbors, and this gave them a new …show more content…
Congress needed a solution to the issue of black inequality, so they came up with some new amendments. These new amendments were the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments. The Thirteenth Amendment was perhaps the starting point that got the ball rolling for equality. In Give Me Liberty, Eric Foner went into detail about each of the amendments, and stated, “On January 31st, 1865, Congress approved the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery throughout the entire Union-and in doing so, introduced the word ‘slavery’ to the Constitution for the first time” (541). Abolishing slavery was the first step for gaining equal rights for blacks because it gave them the ability to be their own person, and to fight for even more equal rights. The second step was Fourteenth Amendment, and Eric Foner stated, “In June, it (Congress) approved and sent to the states for ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment, which placed in the Constitution the principle of citizenship for all persons born in the United States, and which empowered the federal government to protect the rights of all Americans” (566). This made all people born in America citizens, and gave them the same rights as every white (male) in the county, and this mattered greatly because it gave people citizenship, which then raised the question that if all people are citizens, do they deserve the
Because of Reconstruction, Blacks were able to go to school to get an education, and black literacy increased drastically. In The Second American Revolution, which compares Reconstruction to the American Revolution, James M. McPherson explained, “When slavery was abolished, about 90 percent of the black population was illiterate… But viewed by the standpoint of 1865 the rate of literacy for blacks increased by 200 percent in fifteen years and by 400 percent in thirty-five years” (48). These literacy rates that went up allowed blacks to be able to get educated, and education would be the basis of freedom for the new freedman. Not only did blacks become free, but they became their own people during Reconstruction. In Give Me Liberty, Eric Foner understood the viewpoint of the African-Americans during the Reconstruction time-period. He said, “African-American staked their claim to equal citizenship. Blacks declared an Alabama meeting, deserved, ‘exactly the same rights, privileges and immunities as are enjoyed by white men. We ask for nothing more and will be content with nothing less’” (572). Blacks began to truly believe that they were equal to their white neighbors, and this gave them a new …show more content…
Congress needed a solution to the issue of black inequality, so they came up with some new amendments. These new amendments were the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments. The Thirteenth Amendment was perhaps the starting point that got the ball rolling for equality. In Give Me Liberty, Eric Foner went into detail about each of the amendments, and stated, “On January 31st, 1865, Congress approved the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery throughout the entire Union-and in doing so, introduced the word ‘slavery’ to the Constitution for the first time” (541). Abolishing slavery was the first step for gaining equal rights for blacks because it gave them the ability to be their own person, and to fight for even more equal rights. The second step was Fourteenth Amendment, and Eric Foner stated, “In June, it (Congress) approved and sent to the states for ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment, which placed in the Constitution the principle of citizenship for all persons born in the United States, and which empowered the federal government to protect the rights of all Americans” (566). This made all people born in America citizens, and gave them the same rights as every white (male) in the county, and this mattered greatly because it gave people citizenship, which then raised the question that if all people are citizens, do they deserve the