One of the most controversial eras in American history, the period known as Reconstruction saw immense changes in the country's political and social life. The United States government for the first time assumed the basic responsibility of defining and protecting the civil rights of African Americans. For the first time, black men in the South were given the right to vote and hold office, and the previously politically powerless African-American community united with their white counterparts to bring the Republican Party to power. But for all of the rights and freedoms supposedly given to African Americans, there was an equal amount of restrictions placed upon them. While it is believed that African Americans gained both political and economic privileges after the civil war, the regulations and attitudes that went into place made those privileges essentially meaningless.
In the period after the Civil War, many things began to change in the United States. Trying to replace a broken government with a new system not supported by the …show more content…
Northerners became tired of a decade of Reconstruction efforts and had become less interested in the South. In addition, the Supreme Court repeatedly struck down legislation put forth by Radical Republican, issuing rulings that had a devastating effect on blacks’ civil liberties. Meanwhile, the persistent scare tactics of the Ku Klux Klan and other southern white groups drove many Republicans out of office. This gave Democrats a majority in every southern state by 1877. The collapse of Reconstruction deeply affected the future course of American development. The South remained a supporter of the old confederate government, run by the old Southern elite who used the same violence and fraud to suppress African-Americans as they had for the four previous centuries. Not until the 1960s would America again try to come to terms with the political and social plan of
In the period after the Civil War, many things began to change in the United States. Trying to replace a broken government with a new system not supported by the …show more content…
Northerners became tired of a decade of Reconstruction efforts and had become less interested in the South. In addition, the Supreme Court repeatedly struck down legislation put forth by Radical Republican, issuing rulings that had a devastating effect on blacks’ civil liberties. Meanwhile, the persistent scare tactics of the Ku Klux Klan and other southern white groups drove many Republicans out of office. This gave Democrats a majority in every southern state by 1877. The collapse of Reconstruction deeply affected the future course of American development. The South remained a supporter of the old confederate government, run by the old Southern elite who used the same violence and fraud to suppress African-Americans as they had for the four previous centuries. Not until the 1960s would America again try to come to terms with the political and social plan of