Civil War Reconstruction

Words: 569
Pages: 3

Alex Lopez Lena
HIST- 1302
Barry D Wolfe
Jul-16

At the end of the Civil War, the South was left shocked, not only psychologically, but also economically, and even spiritually. The death of over 200,000 Southern soldiers meant that Reconstruction would force Southern women to fill many roles in society, as the surviving husbands adapted to the losses of fellow soldiers and the reality of the northern Victory. At the end of the Civil war, the new united nation was met by three gargantuan problems: The political problem, the social problem and the constitutional problem. These three problems combined together put the country’s reconstruction direction at risk, as well as the northern states deep desire to keep moving forward and re-interpret the nations constitution, but despite these three major obstructions the United States of America successfully reconstructed a once divided nation.
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Lincoln died approximately at 7:22am the next morning on April 15, 1865. The assassination was nothing but the product of change, mere friction within a fundamental revolution. Andrew Johnson stepped in to office after former president Lincoln’s death. At first Johnson seemed to favor the ideals of radical Republicans in Congress, which favored the Blacks right to vote and the punishment of the Southern Confederates for all the damaged they caused during the civil war. Johnson however, soon switched routes by allowing former rebels to reclaim back land, hold office, and vote. This type of political conflict was to be expected after a Civil War, and a important question was raised: Do we take back the South with open and forgiving arms or do we punish them for the damages caused by the Civil War? Johnson slowed down Reconstruction not by using a gentler whip to punish the South, but by denying former slaves land, the right to vote, and prudent protection under the