The Progress And Aftermath Of Reconstruction Era

As a country, America has gone through many political changes throughout its lifetime. Leaders have come and gone, all of them having different objectives and plans for the future. As history takes its course, though, most all of these “revolutionary movements” come to an end. One such movement was Reconstruction. Reconstruction was a period of time after the Civil War from 1865 to 1877 that was supposed to be the rebuilding of America. It was also the process used to readmit all the Confederate states back into the Union. However, during Reconstruction, a lack of political focus on the effort failed to solve the sectional wounds, and the elimination of the freed slaves' newly gained civil liberties failed to bring about long -term racial integration. With the unpolished policies left by Lincoln, President Johnson and Congress were left to decide the fate of the newly freed blacks as well as the Confederates that had left the Union in shambles. Although the 13th amendment abolished slavery, the Reconstruction Era was a failure to the lives of the Freedmen, because it recreated slavery, it caused hate groups, and it created tension between the congress and president.

The Reconstruction Era to the Freedmen was affected more by negative limits on their opportunities to freedom. Slavery was, at last, formally abolished by the Thirteenth Amendment. Reconstruction was set to protect and help the newly freed African Americans assimilate to the new society and the foreign economy they were placed in. Due to the freedom of these African Americans and the South’s ever-growing hatred towards this group, African Americans were left to suffer harsh discrimination and horrible conditions. African Americans, before the Reconstruction Era, struggled to assimilate with the hateful society they were thrown in, if not still slaves. After reconstruction, African Americans were left without homes, education, jobs, or money. However, the Black Codes caused the most limits on the Freedmen’s rights. Theses laws didn’t let slaves buy land, leave the country/state, caused sharecropping, and made them sign a contract. This caused the former slaves rights to be limited. For example, the contract that the slaves had to sign were actually contracts to make them work for their masters even more. The sharecropping caused the slaves to starve with no money. The sharecropping forced the freedmen to work and get a small portion of the crops they grew. Even though the 13th amendment said slavery was abolished, the Black codes created slavery all over again.

The Reconstructed Era to the Freedmen was affected more by negative limits on their opportunities because of hate groups. The Ku Klux Klan, known as the KKK, started out as a group helping the Radical Republicans, but quickly became a hate group towards the Freedmen and citizens of America. The KKK would attack and harass the freedmen and citizens. The KKK caused the freedmen limits to their right to vote, be a citizen, and live a normal life. These negative limits towards the Freedmen caused tension between the people and the president.

The Reconstruction Era limited the Freedmen’s rights because of the tension between the Congress and President Andrew Johnson. President Johnson and Congress were left to decide the fate of the newly freed blacks as well as the Confederates that had left the Union in shambles. There was controversy, however, on how to go about rebuilding the nation. Reconstruction was the Radical Republicans’, a group of legislators that were in favor of freedmen’s rights, attempt to bring the Confederate states back to normal and unite both the South and the North into a whole country once again. The Radical Republicans were opposed to both plans under “Presidential Reconstruction.” They initiated the “Congressional Reconstruction.” President Johnson would veto the bills that Congress sent, caused little cooperation between the Executive and Legislative branches that affected Freedmen's rights.

Reconstruction had gone through many political changes throughout the era. It was also the process used to readmit all the Confederate states back into the Union. However, during Reconstruction, a lack of political focus on the effort failed to solve the sectional wounds, and the elimination of the freed slaves' newly gained civil liberties failed to bring about long -term racial integration. The unfair rights and negative limits towards the Freedmen caused the Reconstruction Era to be failure. Although the 13th amendment ended slavery, the negative limits towards the freedmen cause the Reconstruction Era to be a failure, because it recreated slavery, it caused hate groups, and it created tension between the congress and president.