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How Did Reconstruction Succeed

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The American Reconstruction occurred between the years of 1865-1877, when the American government tried to reunite and build the country back up again. As the Civil War ended, the South was in ruin and many of the large plantations were destroyed and no longer had their free labor. The economy and wealth in the South had been destroyed. The government now had to face the great task of rebuilding the South, uniting the North and the South into one cohesive unit and integrating into society the African-Americans, who had been enslaved for so many years. These were not small tasks to accomplish and while there was hope, the reconstruction era failed to achieve these goals. There are two main reasons why these goals were not met. The first was that President Lincoln had shown great leadership during this time and held much promise, but was assassinated before he could complete his job. The second was that although it once looked promising, there were not enough measures put into place to integrate and equalize the former slaves. Although the reconstruction era began to rebuild after the Civil War, it was not able to achieve all of its goals. It took many years after the era to finally unite the States and have …show more content…
Before he was assassinated, Lincoln accomplished much progress in rebuilding the US after the Civil War. He was passionate about abolishing slavery and already showed his commitment and power when he issued the Emancipation Proclamation freeing all slaves forever. He also passed the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction better known as the Ten Percent Plan. This allowed the south the ability to make a “new state government when ten percent of the eligible voters [take] an oath of allegiance to the United States.” Unlike the Emancipation Proclamation, this plan was much easier for the southerners and helped them ease their way back to normal after the

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