By the end of the Civil War, the South wasin a state of political upheaval, social disorder, and economicdecay. The Union’s tactics of total war destroyed southern crops, plantations,and entire cities, and hundreds of thousands of emancipated slavesrushed to Union lines as their masters fled the oncoming Union army.Inflation became so severe that by the end of the war a loaf ofbread cost several hundred Confederate dollars. Thousands of southernersstarved to death, and many who did not starve lost everything theyowned: clothing, homes, land, and slaves. As a result, by 1865,policymakers in Washington had the nearly impossible task of southernReconstruction.
Reconstruction encompassed three major initiatives: restoration ofthe Union, transformation of southern society, and enactment of progressivelegislation favoring the rights of freed slaves. President AbrahamLincoln’s Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction—issued in 1863,two years before the war even ended—mapped out the first of theseinitiatives, his Ten-Percent Plan. Under the plan, each southernstate would be readmitted to the Union after 10 percentof its voting population had pledged future loyalty to the UnitedStates, and all Confederates except high-ranking government andmilitary officials would be pardoned. After Lincoln was assassinatedin 1865,President Andrew Johnson adopted the Ten-Percent Plan and pardonedthousands of Confederate officials. Radical Republicans in Congress,however, called for harsher measures, demanding a loyalty oath from 50 percentof each state’s voting population rather than just 10 percent.Although such points of contention existed, both presidents andCongress agreed on one major point—that the southern states neededto abolish slavery in their new state constitutions before beingreadmitted to the Union.
The Radical Republicans also believed that southern society wouldhave to be completely transformed to ensure that the South wouldnot try to secede again. The Radicals therefore attempted to reshapethe South by enfranchising blacks, putting Unionist and pro-Republicangovernments in southern legislatures, and punishing southern planterelites, whom many politicians held responsible for the Civil War.As “carpetbaggers” (northerners who moved to the South after thewar) and “scalawags” (white Unionists and Republicans in the South)streamed into the South, southerners denounced them as traitorsand falsely accused many of corruption. However, through organizationslike the congressionally approved Freedmen’s Bureau, the U.S. governmentdid manage to distribute confiscated lands to former slaves andpoor whites as well as help improve education and sanitation andfoster industrial growth in rebuilt southern cities.
Ultimately, the most important part of Reconstructionwas the push to secure rights for former slaves. Radical Republicans,aware that newly freed slaves would face insidious racism, passeda series of progressive laws and amendments in Congress that protected blacks’rights under federal and constitutional law. The Thirteenth Amendmentabolished slavery, the Civil Rights Act of 1866 andthe Fourteenth Amendment granted blacks citizenship, the Fifteenth Amendmentgave black men the right to vote, and the Civil Rights Act of 1875 attemptedto ban racial discrimination in public places.
Reconstruction was a mixed success. By the end of theera, the North and South were once again reunited, and all southernstate legislatures had abolished slavery in their constitutions.Reconstruction also laid to a rest the debate of states’ rightsvs. federalism, which had been a pressing issue since the late 1790s.But Reconstruction failed in most other ways. When President RutherfordB. Hayes ordered federal troops to leave the South in 1877,former Confederate officials and slave owners gradually returnedto power. Southern state legislatures quickly passed “black codes,”imposed voter qualifications, and allowed the sharecropping systemto thrive, ensuring that the standard of living did not improvefor freed slaves. A conservative Supreme Court aided southern Democratsby effectively repealing the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendmentsas well as the Civil Rights Act of 1875.By 1877,northerners were tired of Reconstruction, and violations of blacks’civil rights were essentially going ignored. Ultimately, the rightspromised to blacks during Reconstruction would not be granted fullyfor almost another century.
FAQs
The Reconstruction Era lasted from the end of the Civil War in 1865 to 1877. Its main focus was on bringing the southern states back into full political participation in the Union, guaranteeing rights to former slaves and defining new relationships between African Americans and whites.
What was the main purpose of Reconstruction between 1865 1877? ›
The Reconstruction Era lasted from the end of the Civil War in 1865 to 1877. Its main focus was on bringing the southern states back into full political participation in the Union, guaranteeing rights to former slaves and defining new relationships between African Americans and whites.
What were the key questions to answer during Reconstruction? ›
Guiding Questions
- To what extent did Reconstruction forge a “more perfect union”?
- Did Reconstruction extend or undermine democracy in the United States?
- Why did Black Codes and Jim Crow exist?
- How did local and regional differences affect the ways in which Reconstruction was implemented?
The Reconstruction era (1861 to 1900), the historic period in which the United States grappled with the question of how to integrate millions of newly freed African Americans into social, political, and labor systems, was a time of significant transformation within the United States.
What were the main points of the Reconstruction? ›
Reconstruction encompassed three major initiatives: restoration of the Union, transformation of southern society, and enactment of progressive legislation favoring the rights of freed slaves.
What was the main reason that explains the end of Reconstruction by 1877? ›
With the ability to trade withdrawing federal troops from the South in exchange for maintaining the White House, Republicans saw a way out, which effectively ended Reconstruction in 1877.
What were the most important issues addressed during the Reconstruction period 1865 1877 )? ›
The Reconstruction era was the period after the American Civil War from 1865 to 1877, during which the United States grappled with the challenges of reintegrating into the Union the states that had seceded and determining the legal status of African Americans.
What were the 3 big questions of Reconstruction? ›
AP US History 🇺🇸
The three big questions of Reconstruction were: What do we do with the former Confederates? What do we do with the formerly enslaved people? Who should be in charge of deciding #1 & #2: Congress or the President?
What were all 3 Reconstruction plans? ›
A plan for Reconstruction, the time period after the Civil War that was marked by a sense of rebuilding, was desperately needed. Three different proposals for bringing the Southern states back into the Union were considered: President Lincoln's, Vice President Andrew Johnson's, and the Radical Republican Plan.
What was the biggest problem during Reconstruction? ›
The most difficult task confronting many Southerners during Reconstruction was devising a new system of labor to replace the shattered world of slavery. The economic lives of planters, former slaves, and nonslaveholding whites, were transformed after the Civil War.
Reconstruction was a success in that it restored the United States as a unified nation: by 1877, all of the former Confederate states had drafted new constitutions, acknowledged the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, and pledged their loyalty to the U.S. government.
What was Reconstruction and why was it needed? ›
The Reconstruction implemented by Congress, which lasted from 1866 to 1877, was aimed at reorganizing the Southern states after the Civil War, providing the means for readmitting them into the Union, and defining the means by which whites and blacks could live together in a nonslave society.
Why is the Reconstruction Era important? ›
Reconstruction refers to the period, generally dated from 1865 to 1877, during which the nation's laws and Constitution were rewritten to guarantee the basic rights of the former slaves, and biracial governments came to power throughout the defeated Confederacy.
What were 3 benefits of Reconstruction? ›
Innovative legislation was not forthcoming to help ease the discrimination that many newly freed slaves felt in the South. However, the Reconstruction Amendments did their part: they officially ended overt slavery, gave citizenship to newly freed African Americans, and established the right to vote regardless of race.
Why was Reconstruction a turning point in American history? ›
Reconstruction marked a turning point in the nation's history. With the ratification of the 14th and 15th Amendments, the country could begin to heal from the Civil War and promote the suffrage of formerly enslaved men.
What were the positive and negative effects of Reconstruction? ›
White Southerners also benefited from the Reconstruction as manufacturing, transportation, land ownership, and education expanded. On the negative side, however, Reconstruction led to great resentment and even violence among Southerners.
What 4 factors contributed to the end of Reconstruction? ›
But there were specific reasons why Reconstruction came to an end and those had to do with violence, corruption, race, factionalism and the election of 1876.
What happened in the Compromise of 1877 and the end of Reconstruction? ›
The Compromise of 1877 was an informal, unwritten deal that settled the disputed 1876 U.S. Presidential election; through it Republican Rutherford B. Hayes was awarded the White House on the understanding that he would remove the federal troops from South Carolina, Florida and Louisiana.
Why did the Reconstruction fail? ›
The combination of white intimidation, a significant economic depression in the South, and the Democratic Party winning control of the House of Representatives in 1874, resulted in Reconstruction beginning to fade away.
What effects did government policies of Reconstruction have on society from 1865 1877? ›
Explain the effects of government policy during Reconstruction on society from 1865 to 1877. Reconstruction altered relationships between the states and the federal government and led to debates over new definitions of citizenship, particularly regarding the rights of African Americans, women, and other minorities.
Answer and Explanation: The most successful reconstruction plan was the one proposed by President Lincoln. Named the Ten Percent Plan, the plan was successful because it provided a reasonable process for the Confederate states to rejoin the United States government quickly.
What were some of the issues with Reconstruction? ›
It was during Reconstruction that a century-long era of racial hierarchy, lynching, white supremacy, and bigotry was established—an era from which this nation has yet to recover. Most Americans know very little about the Reconstruction era and its legacy.
What were the Radical Republicans 3 main goals for Reconstruction? ›
They were led by Thaddeus Stevens in the House of Representatives and Charles Sumner in the Senate. The Radicals were known for their opposition to slavery, their efforts to ensure emancipation and civil rights for Blacks, and their strong opinions on post-war Reconstruction.
What three major events occurred during the Reconstruction Era? ›
- Reconstruction. ...
- Frederick Douglass. ...
- Assassination of Abraham Lincoln. ...
- The Ten-Percent Plan. ...
- 40 Acres and a Mule. ...
- Sharecroppers.
The Compromise of 1877 was an informal agreement between southern Democrats and allies of the Republican Rutherford Hayes to settle the result of the 1876 presidential election and marked the end of the Reconstruction era.
What were the 3 parts of the Union's three part plan to conquer the South? ›
Based on this strategic environment, General Winfield Scott developed an initial plan which consisted of three steps: 1) the blockade of the Southern seaports; 2) the control of the Mississippi River; and 3) the capture of Richmond, Virginia, the capital of the Confederacy.
What was one bad thing about Reconstruction? ›
Violence, mass lynchings, and lawlessness enabled white Southerners to create a regime of white supremacy and Black disenfranchisem*nt alongside a new economic order that continued to exploit Black labor.
How did Reconstruction affect the economy? ›
Southern agriculture gradually changed and improved. New methods of farming allowed people in the South to raise larger crops. Northerners invested large sums of money to build railroads and factories in the South. As a result, people began moving from the farms to the cities looking for jobs.
Who was in control of Reconstruction? ›
In early 1866, Congressional Republicans, appalled by mass killing of ex-slaves and adoption of restrictive black codes, seized control of Reconstruction from President Johnson.
How long did Reconstruction last? ›
After the Civil War, the South entered a period (lasting from 1865-1877) called Reconstruction, when the federal government oversaw the reconstruction of the government in Southern states.
Reconstruction is generally divided into three phases: Wartime Reconstruction, Presidential Reconstruction and Radical or Congressional Reconstruction, which ended with the Compromise of 1877, when the U.S. government pulled the last of its troops from southern states, ending the Reconstruction era.
When did Reconstruction start? ›
What important events happened during Reconstruction? ›
February 3: The 15th Amendment is ratified. February 23: Mississippi is readmitted to the Union. March 30: Texas is readmitted to the Union. July 15: Georgia is the last former Confederate state to be readmitted to the Union.
What are two facts about Reconstruction? ›
Interesting Facts about the Reconstruction
The Reconstruction Act of 1867 divided the South into five military districts ran by the army. President Andrew Johnson granted pardons to many Confederate leaders. He also vetoed a number of Reconstruction laws passed by Congress.
How did the Reconstruction Amendments change the role of government? ›
The Reconstruction amendments, which consisted of the thirteen, fourteenth and fifteenth Amendments, fundamentally changed the role of the government by expanding its power and authority over civil rights and liberties.
What are the Reconstruction Amendments from 1865 to 1877? ›
The Reconstruction Amendments: Thirteenth Amendment, 1865, Fourteenth Amendment, 1868, and Fifteenth Amendment, 1870 - Bill of Rights Institute.
Was Reconstruction 1865 1877 successful? ›
Reconstruction was a success in that it restored the United States as a unified nation: by 1877, all of the former Confederate states had drafted new constitutions, acknowledged the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, and pledged their loyalty to the U.S. government.
What was Reconstruction 1863 1877? ›
Between 1863 and 1877, the U.S. government undertook the task of integrating nearly four million formerly enslaved people into society after the Civil War bitterly divided the country over the issue of slavery.
What was the purpose of the Reconstruction quizlet? ›
The purpose of the Reconstruction was to help the South become a part of the Union again. Federal troops occupied much of the South during the Reconstruction to insure that laws were followed and that another uprising did not occur. The Union did a lot to help the South during the Reconstruction.
What impact did the Reconstruction Amendments have? ›
Innovative legislation was not forthcoming to help ease the discrimination that many newly freed slaves felt in the South. However, the Reconstruction Amendments did their part: they officially ended overt slavery, gave citizenship to newly freed African Americans, and established the right to vote regardless of race.
Reconstruction (1865-1877), the turbulent era following the Civil War, was the effort to reintegrate Southern states from the Confederacy and 4 million newly-freed people into the United States.
Why did Reconstruction fail? ›
The combination of white intimidation, a significant economic depression in the South, and the Democratic Party winning control of the House of Representatives in 1874, resulted in Reconstruction beginning to fade away.
What were the negatives of the Reconstruction? ›
On the negative side, however, Reconstruction led to great resentment and even violence among Southerners. Terrorist organizations, like the Ku Klux Klan, struck fear into the hearts of African Americans and anyone who cooperated with the Republican governments.
What was the most important success of Reconstruction? ›
What was a major result of the Reconstruction period? One major achievement of the Reconstruction era was the passage and ratification of the Reconstruction Amendments. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the US Constitution abolished slavery, granted citizenship rights, and allowed Black men the right to vote.
What were the 3 plans of Reconstruction? ›
The Lincoln Reconstruction Plan. The Initial Congressional Plan. The Andrew Johnson Reconstruction Plan. The Radical Republican Reconstruction Plan.
What was the final outcome of Reconstruction? ›
Reconstruction ended with the contested Presidential election of 1876, which put Republican Rutherford B. Hayes in office in exchange for the withdrawal of federal troops from the South.
Why was the Reconstruction plan made? ›
Officially titled the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction, the Ten Percent Plan was devised by President Lincoln to speed up both the conclusion of the Civil War and the associated reunification effort under reconstruction.
