Reconstruction After Reconstruction

After four long, hard years and many lives lost, the United States and the Confederate States of America ended the Civil War. After the war divided the country, it was up to the people of America to bring the South back into the Union and make sure that nothing this bad happened again. The way this was done was through the Reconstruction period. This was the idea of the North, with beginning hopes to reconstruct the Union to its former glory. However, after the abolition of slavery, the Union would have to be rebuilt. This was done through several laws and ideas of many different people. In the end, the Union would be brought back together, but would not be like it was before. President Lincoln pondered different ways to reconstruct the Union. Even though blacks were given freedom, most states refused to see this. He encouraged black to leave the country and go to more accepting places so that they would not be discriminated against. However, many black leaders and Republicans argued that this was unfair to the people, why could they not have the same rights as blacks? Lincoln realized this and began to work on making the states government more accepting in time. The process of reconstructing the South was long, and many people did not like Lincoln’s views. Even his own political party, the Republican Party, did not agree with the president. Lincoln was trying to bring the entire Union back together, people and states. However, the Republicans felt that white men who fought against the Union should not be allowed to have their political rights reinstated. Instead, they argued that the freed blacks should be given the political powers, and if they did not own any land, the government should take the land from those who fought against the Union and give it to the freedmen. These ideas did not get through congress and everyone was allowed back into the Union. Congress did try to pass a reconstruction bill that would require extreme loyalty from the southern whites. Lincoln vetoed this bill and it caused many Republicans to become even angrier with him. Lincoln was set to release a policy of reconstruction, that some believed would allow blacks the right to vote and protecting their civil rights. But this did not happen because several days later, President Lincoln was assassinated. Succeeding Lincoln was vice president Andrew Johnson. He considered himself a Democrat, but won the support of the Radical Republicans, who shared the same view of reconstruction as him. The Radical Republicans prepared a reconstruction policy for Johnson; however, he did not cooperate and called congress into a special session. He passed two proclamations, one providing a pardon to all Confederates except those of highest ranking or taxable property worth several thousand dollars. The second proclamation was a new governor for North Carolina that was to call an election of delegates to frame a new …show more content…
Congress overpowered President Johnson’s vetoes for a bill that described new procedures from Confederate States to enter the Union. This bill divided the 10 southern states into 5 districts. These districts were assigned military control, whose jobs were to register all people eligible to vote. It also stated that once a state had adopted a new constitution that gave rights to all people living within, it would be considered reconstructed and would be able to seat its newly elected congressman. After an attempt to impeach Johnson, the end of reconstruction was in sight. The final states to re-join the Union were required to ratify the Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments. The Fifteenth amendment stated that no man should be prohibited to vote based on grounds of race, color, or previous servitude.
Over a decade after the end of the war, Hayes was elected to office. The Democrats attempted to prolong this decision, but their attempt failed. A compromise began between the northern Republicans and southern Democrats. Both parties wished to put the war behind them and continue on with their lives and try to strengthen the American economy. Hayes tried to ease tension and promised to help the levees in Mississippi that were destroyed during the war. Hayes promised to help the South rebuild and brought an end to