Congress’s Reconstruction Failure “ Law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress” Martin Luther King, Jr.
This quote perfectly resembles what happened with congress during reconstruction, the Republicans who tried accomplish that goal and why the blacks suffered for republican’s failures and were denied their equal rights. There are many reasons as to why congress’s reconstruction plan was unsuccessful, the first and most important was the assassination of president Abraham Lincoln, in addition to that was racism and finally the political defeat of the Republicans. Abraham Lincoln’ reconstruction plan bested both the radical republicans and moderate republican’s plan. Lincoln’s plan was called the “ Ten Percent plan”, with the ten percent plan, a state can be readmitted to the Union as long as 10 percent of their population swore allegiance to the nation.
This plan believe it or not was best for the south, but the south did not realise it until it was too late.
During the period of reconstruction, some if not most of the southerners still saw Lincoln as the ultimate enemy, and was determined to kill him because he was the leader of the opponent, the one that issued the Emancipation Proclamation which gave freedom to all their slaves and also the cause of their economy being in the state of desolation. Lincoln’s death ultimately marked reconstruction for failure, his plan was perfect, President Johnson said he would follow Lincoln’s reconstruction plan but
Johnson did not think like Lincoln, he made choices that Lincoln would not have and that played a key part in the failure of reconstruction.
Another major role that caused Reconstruction to fail was racism and discrimination against the blacks which was mainly inspired by the Ku Klux Klan. The Ku Klux Klan was a secretive and violent organized group that first appeared in Alabama during Reconstruction, their main goals was to assert authority over black laborers, defend the white supremacy and to eliminate the Republican party.
Thousands of members of the Klan statewide used acts of intimidation and violence to oppose and slow down the expansion of civil liberties of the freedpeople that took place during Reconstruction. The Klu
Klux Klan usually attacked at night, they would target a house, surround the building, knock any locked doors then drag their victims out into the yard. Then the Klan would commit many acts of physical and mental torture that included the whipping of men, women and even children.
