Reconstruction After The Civil War Essay

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America has had many challenges as a nation since its formation. One of the greatest challenge was the reconstruction of the union after the civil war. During this 12-year period from 1865 to 1877 America tried to reconstruct itself by readmitting the southern states back into the union under the terms and conditions acceptable to the north. After the horrors of the Civil War, the nation’s effort to reconstruct encountered many successes and failures due to the differences between the north and south.
The civil war left a disintegrated nation. One that was split in two, the south who wish to preserve the institution of slavery and the north who had abolish slavery and were pushing for racial equality. President Lincoln had a plan but he …show more content…
The revolutionary changes of the Radical Reconstruction brought angry white racist together who created supremacy organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan. These organizations targeted those who challenged white supremacy. They used violence, arson, assault and murder to terrorize Americans. Three enforcement acts were pass by congress to counter racial terrorism but by the early 1870’s the support for the reconstruction lost strength. Radical Republicans at the same time weekend their political stand against racism and by 1874 after an economic depression affected most of the south the Democratic Party won control of congress. The reconstruction period came to an end in 1876 with the Compromise of 1876, a compromise made by republican candidate Rutherford B. Hayes in which he acknowledges Democratic control of the south in exchange for the certification of his election. All national efforts to protect the rights of African American citizens were disavowed under the presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes.
In conclusion, the reconstruction era had success and failures. Some of the failures we can see during this area were the rise of terrorist groups like the Ku Klux klan, lack of economic opportunities, and enactment of black codes. The success was that the union was reunited, the formation of associations like the Fredman’s Bureau and the laws and amendments to the constitution that became the foundation for the civil
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