Reconstruction Failure Essay

1865 was the start of a brand new period in American history; Reconstruction. After the Civil War, the United States was left in ruins so the North helped the South rebuild and make it easier for them to rejoin the Union. Northerners and Republicans tried to help, but their efforts weren 't very successful. Reconstruction was a failure. During Reconstruction, African Americans gained many rights , but these rights didn 't last very long. Their voting rights were restricted, segregation laws were put into place, and even secret societies were made to threaten and endanger African Americans. Life wasn 't any better for African Americans or the Southerners after the Civil War. During Reconstruction, African Americans gained a very important right through the 15th amendment, the right to vote, which stated that, " The rights of the citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." This right was very important, but it didn 't last. In 1890, Conservatives from the South wrote new state constitutions that required all people to pay a poll tax two years prior to an election if they wanted to vote. This discriminated against African Americans and poor whites because most of them were very …show more content…
One of the main goals of the Civil War was to abolish slavery and create equality for all citizens. Reconstruction was supposed to help Southerners accomplish this goal. However, African Americans didn 't end up with perfect equality in 1865 and they still don 't have it in the year 2015. The racism after Reconstruction took away African Americans ' voting rights, they segregated colored and white people, and they even threatened them. Reconstruction was able to give African Americans many rights, but none of these rights lasted. The goals were not accomplished and therefore Reconstruction was a