After the civil war was over, the North and the South started to execute a plan called the reconstruction. The goal of this was to reconcile the North and South, and to give freedmen (ex-slaves) rights and education. Everything was going really well, and the 13th and 15th amendments to the constitution were ratified, abolishing slavery and giving black men the right to vote. However, the reconstruction started to fall apart in the early 1870’s, and died in 1877. But what killed it, southern resistance or northern neglect? I believe that northern neglect is more to blame, but southern resistance also had a part in the death of the reconstruction.
Resistance of the reconstruction was happening all over the south. There was a group of people, named the Klu klux klan, or the KKK, who were terrorizing blacks, carpetbaggers, and scalawags. Carpetbaggers were white northerners who went …show more content…
They started devoting less and less of their time and attention to the reconstruction. They were more concerned about the corruption in president Grant’s government. (doc. c) There had been several recent scandals, such as the whiskey ring, and the north’s attention was focused on those. (doc. c) Also, the north had its fair share of racism. There were plenty racist political cartoons and messages in the newspapers. (doc. a) In 1873, there was also a money problem. Everyone was worried they were going to go bankrupt, and there wouldn’t be enough jobs. As more and more problems arose in the north, the reconstruction became less and less of an issue.
Overall, both the north and the south killed the reconstruction. However, the north had a greater role in its death, and allowed the terrorism in the south to occur. With their minds focused on their problems up north, the KKK was free to terrorize people in the south, and the north didn’t bother to stop it. The reconstruction was killed by the neglect of the northern
Resistance of the reconstruction was happening all over the south. There was a group of people, named the Klu klux klan, or the KKK, who were terrorizing blacks, carpetbaggers, and scalawags. Carpetbaggers were white northerners who went …show more content…
They started devoting less and less of their time and attention to the reconstruction. They were more concerned about the corruption in president Grant’s government. (doc. c) There had been several recent scandals, such as the whiskey ring, and the north’s attention was focused on those. (doc. c) Also, the north had its fair share of racism. There were plenty racist political cartoons and messages in the newspapers. (doc. a) In 1873, there was also a money problem. Everyone was worried they were going to go bankrupt, and there wouldn’t be enough jobs. As more and more problems arose in the north, the reconstruction became less and less of an issue.
Overall, both the north and the south killed the reconstruction. However, the north had a greater role in its death, and allowed the terrorism in the south to occur. With their minds focused on their problems up north, the KKK was free to terrorize people in the south, and the north didn’t bother to stop it. The reconstruction was killed by the neglect of the northern