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The Pros And Cons Of Reconstruction After The Civil War

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The Civil War was one that separated our country and shaped its future. The healing process afterwards was not easy, and provided the leaders of the United States with difficult tasks and challenges ahead. Reconstruction after the Civil War was meant to help put our country back together, but it ended up being a disappointing failure. As the Civil War came to a close, multiple questions had to be asked. How would the Confederacy be allowed back and with what punishments? Would black men have full equality? Would Congress or the president establish the new laws? These questions would have to be answered over the next decade. Before the war was even over, President Lincoln was planning for Reconstruction (Reconstruction OL). He had declared …show more content…
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 was a bill proposed which guaranteed black’s rights before the law and would help extend the life of the Freedmen’s Bureau (Foner and Mahoney OL). Johnson was against this, he did not want Negroes having more rights and opportunities. He vetoed the bill and many moderate Republicans started to turn against him for his extreme racism. After they joined the Radicals in this fight, the bill was overturned, the first time in history this happened to a major piece of legislation (Reconstruction OL). Once passed, this Act got the the 14th Amendment proceeded. Soon after that the 15th Amendment was passed, giving African Americans the right to vote (Foner and Mahoney OL). President Johnson was one vote away from impeachment after vetoing the bill since people were so angry with his racism and stubbornness (Reconstruction …show more content…
Whites kept trying to keep their superiority and keep it the same as before. Although still unliked, the freedmen had a new sense of pride for the slight raise of their social status. The white Southerners couldn’t help but have their position feel a bit threatened (Franklin 189). A photo from Harper’s Weekly on September 5th, 1868 shows three white men standing over an African American with their left hands in the air. It’s labeled “This is a White Man’s Government” showing how unwilling white Southerners were to change their way of life (Foner 387). Conservatives continued to try and work against Radical Reconstruction and managed to get their own leaders elected in former Confederate states (Franklin 128). Once states were readmitted, the Democrat party started more seriously to work on overthrowing the current legislature. Negroes had been gaining spots in the Southern government, although they did not dominate and had very little control over it. These leaders were attacked and this was just the beginning of Counter Reconstruction (Franklin

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