...The End of Reconstruction The U.S. needed time to rebuild itself and come back together after the Civil War. The South’s factories and railroads were demolished in the War Between the States. The southern states went from providing 30% of the nation’s wealth and income to only providing 12%. The United States were also learning to accept freedmen into society. Reconstruction was taking place. Thesis: The South ended Reconstruction because of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), the extreme lengths they went to, and the rest of the South just letting it happen. After the Civil War, the United States of America was in desperate need of a reunion of the states. The South was in a bad condition after 4 years of fighting, more than a million casualties, and $337 million spent. It was imperative that some control was established so the Nation could be preserved. This is where Reconstruction came in. It was founded on the idea that “the...
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..."The Morality of Birth Control" by Margaret Sanger, (1921) Margaret Sanger uses several method's within her speech, "The Morality of Birth Control", to convey her strong views on the topic. She uses a strong sense of bias, fallacies, and colorful rhetoric devices in her speech to not only get the attention of the audiences, but to relay a sense of urgency for the actions that need to be taken. One bias that Sanger uses is toward the idea of motherhood without birth control being a condition of ignorance and chance. This may perhaps be the case for a small number of women, but it is not accurate to categorize all women who do not use or believe in birth control in this manner. Margaret Sanger uses vivid examples of fallacies and rhetorical devices in her speech. She uses the words "religious scruples" to drive home the basic need for power and morality. When Sanger refers to the opposition to birth control she refers to them as "this group is diseased, feeble-minded, and is of the pauper element dependent entirely upon the normal and fit members of society for their support." Her vivid imagery evokes not only emotion, but the need for aggressive action. One way that the speaker addressers arguments and counterarguments is when she brings about the point of the two sexes "mixing together”. Sanger brings about the point that opponent to birth control are the same people that were opposed to women working outside the home and mixing with the opposite sex. Margaret Sanger...
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...Who Killed Reconstruction ? Both the north and the south were responsible for killing reconstruction after the civil war. The north did not agree that slavery should be allowed but really just had given up on trying to convince the south. The south on the other hand simply refused to give into what the north was saying. To clarify reconstruction was the rebuilding of the united states after the civil war , this was a very tough time period that lasted up to 14 years. Though reconstruction occurred after the civil war many considered it just as painful as a war for many reasons. The northerners wanted to punish the southerns because of their ways of life and how they treated the african americans. My argument is that both the north and the south are responsible for killing reconstruction. The north may have wanted to end slavery and many other things that the south were doing but had given up on taking action. The northers weren’t so focused on fixing the situation and founded themselves being distracted from the leading situation. They also didn’t have great attitudes but seemed more racist which contributed to the end of reconstruction. “ Although political violence continue in the south”. The south would refuse any change that was...
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...Guillén Mr. Laird A.P. U.S. History 21 January 2010 Reconstruction: A Post-Civil War Failure Viewed as an era as a whole, Reconstruction takes place between the years 1865-1877 or between the Civil War’s end and the Union army’s withdrawal from the South. Reconstruction’s main goals were to integrate newly freed slaves into society, readmitting Southern states whom had seceded from the Union, and recreating Southern property as to better its conditions. At war’s end, the process of reconstruction sought out to solve the challenge that the disembodied Union now faced: what the status would be of postwar freedmen. While the North continued occupying Southern territories, Reconstruction shared very few successes. However, Reconstruction failed to meet its greater purpose. The process of Reconstruction was incompetent in integrating freedmen into American society because of its unstable and strained economy, its political disadvantages and its desire to redesign Southern social structure completely. Financial matters played a key role in Reconstruction’s failure, leading way to public hostility and corruption. Government industrialization plans helped rebuild the Southern economy however; the plans cost a lot of money to the government who financed such plans using tax revenue. Unable to keep up with the ever-growing investments, tax rates skyrocketed resulting in an antagonistic public opinion on Reconstruction. Conditions during this period were bad enough; the Civil...
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...Reconstruction is the period that follows the civil war and is known as the rebuilding of the United States. It was a time full of great pain. Even after the military conflict ended reconstruction was still a war in many different ways. The struggle was waged by radical northerners who wanted to punish the Southerners who greatly wanted to preserve their way of life. Was reconstruction a success or a failure? In many ways, it was both. Reconstruction was a success because it restored the United States. Reconstruction also settled the states’ rights vs. federalism debate that was an issue since the 1970s. (Reconstruction, UShistory.org) In other ways Reconstruction was known as a failure. Radical Republican legislation initially failed to defend former slaves from white discrimination and failed to create changes to the South. The sharecropping system, which was a legal form of slavery that kept African Americans secured to land owned by wealthy white farmers, became common in the South. With minute economic power, African Americans had to fight for their rights by themselves,...
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...Reconstruction of the United states of America was a big failure and here are some reasons why. The government never had taken the biggest step and that was land redistribution. After the civil war slaves were left with no economic rights and basically became peasants to society and had no lives and couldn't live like they would of liked to. “Freeing slaves also led to crippling the land and the foundation of the south.” The reconstruction of the south lasted between the years of 1865 to 1877. Republican legislature failed to protect people who were once slaves from the white people that had been apart of the persecution committee. The supreme court eventually came to totally get rid of anti-progressive legislation to reverse the rights...
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...What is reconstruction? Its the period after the Civil War in which the states that were previously a part of the confederacy were brought back into the United States. (1865-1877) The South did not want the African Americans in office because they believed they weren’t very astute, or intelligent enough. The Northerners believed that the African Americans had the right to be in office, and were trying to aid them. Towards the end of reconstruction the North started caring less about the African Americans that they brought up from the South, and they stopped trying to help them, which in my opinion gave the South an advantage to slide in and finish the job they started. The North inevitably lost and the south demolished the Norths hope, therefor causing the end of reconstruction....
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...Robert E. Lee’s surrender. | plans for Reconstruction were taken over by Vice President Andrew Johnson, who became president after Lincoln’s death. | President Andrew Johnson | to reunite the United States especially those who served the country. | He messed up with the Radical Republicans when he was forgave them and also by allowing Confederates to return to power. | the Republicans took control of the majority in both the House and the Senate and, Congress began passing bills that would change Reconstruction policy. | Radical Republicans | control of Reconstruction, also wanted change for the South | President Johnson vetoed many bills that Congress passed | Republicans and the Radicals joined together, thusly were able to override the president's vetoes and put their plans in action. | Southern Democrats | Change in Congress and remove the last of the federal troops in the south | they had to be approved to make Rutherford B. Hayes president in 1876 | They agreed to accept Hayes if he removed all remaining federal troops from the South and named a Southern Democrat. | PART 2 What was the main issue relating to Reconstruction that divided Republicans at the end of the Civil War? If you had been a member of Congress at the time, what type of plan for Reconstruction would you have supported and why? The main issue with the Reconstruction that split the Republicans at the end of the Civil War was how inventive to be...
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...most all of these “revolutionary movements” come to an end. One such movement was Reconstruction. Reconstruction was a time period in America consisting of many leaders, goals and accomplishments. Though, like all things in life, it did come to an end, the resulting outcome has been labeled both a success and a failure. When Reconstruction began in 1865, a broken America had just finished fighting the Civil War. In all respects, Reconstruction was mainly just that. It was a time period of “putting back the pieces”, as people say. It was the point where America attempted to become a full running country once more. This, though, was not an easy task. The memory of massive death was still in the front of everyone’s mind, hardening into resentment and sometimes even hatred. The south was virtually non-existent politically or economically, and searching desperately for a way back in. Along with these things, now living amongst the population were almost four million former slaves, who had no idea how to make a living on their own. They had been freed by the 13th amendment in 1865, and in the future became a great concern to many political leaders. Still, it was no secret that something had to be done. So, as usually happens, political leaders appeared on the stage, each holding their own plan of Reconstruction, each certain their ideas were the correct ones. One of the first people who came up with a blueprint for Reconstruction was the president at the time, Abraham Lincoln. The...
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...Reconstruction: A Success Only After the Fact Teresa Gil Reconstruction, the act of putting the country back together after the divisive and bloody Civil War, is the era from the end of the Civil War until 1877. Because so much was at stake and there were so many variations about how Reconstruction should be accomplished, this was a period of enormous conflict. In the South, the primary battle was between the Planters who dominated the South economically, politically, and socially, and former slaves, who wanted legal and political equality and the ability to own land. In the federal government, the Republican Party was dominant, and the most outspoken group within the Republican Party was known as the Radical Republicans. They were the northerners who were most bitter toward the planters and the most dedicated to winning equality for former slaves. In 1865, the Radicals nevertheless came to dominate Congress with their calls for significant political and legal change in the South. One of the central conflicts within the government concerned President Johnson’s unwavering conviction that his methods were the only methods and his refusal to change any of his laws. He tried to take charge of Reconstruction, offering a plan by which the southern states would write new constitutions and re-enter the Union without having to allow political rights to the freedmen. When Johnson’s plan was put into effect, many northerners were disgusted by the results. Former Confederate leaders...
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...The essay below was a very strong essay answering the question about Reconstruction. It was an actual essay (word for word) written by one of the students in class. It received 28.5 points out of 30. This was a great essay; about the only comment I would write was that the thesis in the introduction could have been a little more direct: As a country, America has gone though many political changes throughout her 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 time period in America consisting of many leaders, goals and accomplishments. Though, like all things in life, it did come to an end, the resulting outcome has been labeled both a success and a failure. When Reconstruction began in 1865, a broken America had just finished fighting the Civil War. In all respects, Reconstruction was mainly just that. It was a time period of “putting back the pieces”, as people say. It was the point where America attempted to become a full running country once more. This, though, was not an easy task. The memory of massive death was still in the front of everyone’s mind, hardening into resentment and sometimes even hatred. The south was virtually non-existent politically or economically, and searching desperately for a way back in. Along with these things, now living...
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...surrender | plans for Reconstruction were taken over by Vice President Andrew Johnson, who became president after Lincoln’s death | President Andrew Johnson | to reunite the nation by including amnesty for all who swore loyalty to the United States | he infuriated the Radical Republicans who thought he was too forgiving by allowing Confederates to return to power | the Republicans gained an overwhelming majority in both the House and the Senate and, Congress began passing bills that would change Reconstruction policy. | Radical Republicans | change for the South and, wanted to take control of Reconstruction | President Johnson vetoed many bills that Congress passed | many other Republicans joined the Radicals and together, Republicans in Congress were able to override the president's vetoes and put their plans in action. | Southern Democrats | the removal of all remaining federal troops from the South and a change in Congress | they had to approve the decision of the commission to make Rutherford B. Hayes president in the election of 1876 | They agreed to accept Hayes if he removed all remaining federal troops from the South and named a Southern Democrat to his Cabinet. | //////// June 27th 2013 01.04 Rebuilding the Government: Assignment PART 1 PART 2 What was the main issue relating to Reconstruction that divided Republicans at the end of the Civil War? If you had been a member of Congress at the time, what type of plan for Reconstruction would you have supported...
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...Wilkes Booth, entered the Ford’s Theater with the intent of killing the sixteenth president, Abraham Lincoln. Hoping to create chaos within the United States government, Booth and his co-conspirators fatally shot the president and stabbed Rathbone, a young army officer. American rejoicing over the end of the Civil War came to end as news spread of Lincoln’s assassination. With Lincoln’s Reconstruction plan created, Andrew Johnson now took on the role of president of the United States. Abraham Lincoln’s assassination created animosity between Johnson and Congress and an unhappy white population, all whilst paved the way for blacks to vote. Following Lincoln’s assassination, animosity was brewing between Johnson and Congress. Johnson intended to carry out Lincoln’s plan for Reconstruction. His views reflected his steadfast Unionism and his firm belief in states’ rights. In the beginning of his presidency, Johnson wished to have Southern states return to the Union. He granted immunity to former...
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...Guide 1 – Reconstruction The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution officially outlaws slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution is one of the post-Civil War amendments and it includes the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses. It defines who is a citizen of the US. The 14th amendment states that states must provide equal protection to all people. The Fifteenth Amendment (Amendment XV) to the United States Constitution prohibits each government in the United States from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's "race, color, or previous condition of servitude" (for example, slavery). The Civil Rights Act of 1866, 14 Stat. 27, enacted April 9, 1866, is a federal law in the United States that was mainly intended to protect the civil rights of African-Americans, in the wake of the American Civil War. The Act was enacted by Congress in 1865 but it was vetoed by President Andrew Johnson. The Freedmen's Bureau Bill, which created the Freedmen's Bureau, was initiated by President Abraham Lincoln and was intended to last for one year after the end of the Civil War. Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808 – July 31, 1875) was the 17th President of the United States (1865–1869). As Vice President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following his assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the...
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...Devin Sheridan The South After The Civil War The Union victory in the civil war lead to economic decay, social disorder, and political turmoil. Reconstruction was the time period from 1865-1877 which sought to rebuild the south, and with reconstruction brought all new challenges. The unions total war tactics destroyed southern plantations, cities, and factories. Economically, the south post-civil war had a hard time importing and making money off of its main cash crop, cotton. Inflation was also an issue due to the decrease in worth of currency in the south. Socially, emancipated slave’s sought work and validation for the rights they deserved. Politically, the confederate government gave no power to the states and federal government, so it...
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