Unfinished Business
Mike Sauer
Strayer University
Abstract
This paper has been written for an academic audience. The paper focuses on the perceived benefits and risks associated with the use of computers. The paper argues that while computers have introduced many benefits, there are also significant risks that should be considered. Through the use of computers, and society’s dependency on them, risks to privacy, identity, and credible information have been introduced. One should be more suspicious of the benefits associated with using computers and should understand the inherent risks associated with storing personal identity information, online transactions, and unfiltered information on the Internet.

Unfinished Business The Civil War ended in 1865 with the North defeating the South and, as a result of the defeat, the South had been removed from the Union. At the time our president was Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln needed to come up with a plan to bring the South back into the Union. This period after the war came to be known as “The Reconstruction”. During the reconstruction many events took place that would change the way the present day U.S. is. There were major turning points during this period which would have long lasting impacts on American society, the American economy, politics, and culture. Identify 3 major historical turning points. The following paragraphs will explore the major turning points during the period, their impacts on the modern day U.S., how things may have been different had Lincoln not been assassinated, the affects of industrialization and urbanization, and will provide examples of laws that were passed against non-whites. There were many significant developments during the period between 1865 and 1900. Of those three that were significant were the establishment of the Freedmen’s Bureau, the passage of the Civil Rights Act, the passage of the fourteenth amendment, and the passage of the fifteenth amendment. The establishment of the Freedmens Bureau was significant in that it was the first time where a government body had been established to address the needs of the newly freed slaves in the south. Throughout the time period the freedmens bureau would attempt to create a new social order and address the need for education, food, and medical care for blacks in the south. In addition the Freedmens bureau sought to improve the economic balance between rich whites and poor blacks through the redistribution of lands in the south. Although the Freedmens bureau sought to improve the life of the newly freed blacks, they were not always successful. They faced opposition from the old order whites in the south that sought to restablish the laws that were in place prior to the abolishment of slavery. In support of the Freedmens efforts and while the southwas not active in the government, the republicans passed the Civil Rights Act. The Civil Rights Act was designed to counteract black codes which had been established in the south by the former slave owners who sought to have things return to the way that they were dring the slavery days. The Civil Rights Act also granted all citizens mandatory rights. The fourteenth amendment was also passed during this time. The fourteenth amendment aimed at granting citizenship to all of the newly freed blacks in the south. In addition, another significant turning point was the passage of the fifteenth amendment. The fifteenth amendment was designed to provide voting rights to the newly freed blacks so that they too could have some control in the government and vote for politicians that had their best interests at heart. These turning points were significant and would have a long lasting impacting. The impacts from the major turning points would be felt for years to come and play a part in the current U.S. society, economy, political system, and culture. Our society today is one that integrates many different cultures including the blacks who had once been bound by slavery. Politically, everyone who is a citizen of the U.S., and not a convicted felon, has the right to vote as a result of the fifteenth amendment. Economically speaking, had in not been for the freedmens bureau, many blacks would not have been able to obtain education and as a result, may not have been able to obtain jobs which would pay them a decent wage. Culturally the current U.S. embraces many cultures and allows citizens to have their culture regardless of whther they are black or white. The turing points of the time had long lasting impacts; however they may have been different had Abraham Licoln not been assainated. In 1867, the President of the United States, Abraham Licoln, was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. Booth was a sympathizer with South and killed Lincoln while he sat in a theater in Washington D.C. Lincoln had a plan for reconstruction which he would not have the chance to lobby for and implement in the South. Lincolns plan called for the “10% Rule” which meant that the Southern States could be brought back into the Union once 10% of the population had taken an oath to abolish slavery. Lincolns plan was perceived to be lax by some. Radical republicans thought that Lincolns plan made it too easy for the South and wanted the radical republicans wanted more punishment for the south. Had Lincoln not been assassinated his plans may have come to fruition and as a result, the punishment for Southerners may have been lessend and the resulting hatred between South and North may not have been as prevalent. Southerns may have been more likely to accept the plans coming from the North if they hadn’t been so harsh towrd southern. This harshness and resentment may have led Southerns to fight back by enacting things like the black codes which aimed to preserve the dominance that southern whites held over blacks prior to the abolishment of slavery. Had Lincoln survived, his lax plans and policies may have been implemented and the south may have been more receptive to accepting his terms. Had Lincoln survived, his plans and policies may have been enough to keep the southern happy and they may not have sought to segregate the blacks with the Jim Crow laws and they may not have felt the need to form groups like the KKK. Had Lincoln not been assainated, Andrew Johnson would have never taken office. Johnson wanted to quickly call the reconstruction complete and move on. Had Lincoln survived Johnson would have never taken office and groups like the Freedmens Bureau would have had more support from Lincoln. They may have moved forward with the 40 acres and a mule plan. When Johnson took office, he made it even easier for southern elites to regain power in the south by granting pardons to those that had sserved in the confederacy and fought against the North. This led to the southern elites regaining power and this gave them the ability to continue to control the blacks in the south. Licoln vetoed the Wade Davis bill which was a more harsh bill aimed at the southerns to conteract Lincolns 10 percent plan. LIcoln would have been able to keep the peace. He was an understanding man that understood the issues in the south that needed to be overcome as well as the need to abolish enslavement. He maintained a position in the middle and would have been more successful than Johnson in establishing policy that was agreeable to both sides. Johnson and the North lost sight of the reconstruction having never acheivd some of goals that Lincoln had hoped for. The South fell back into the hands of the rich white leaders as the North and the Government became preoccupied with the economic issues of the time and the industrialization and urbanization that was taking place in the north. In the North, a transformation was taking place as a result of new technologies and the region was moving toward industrialization. Industrialization, and the resulting urbanization, would impact the lives of working Americans causing a shift from jobs in agriculture to jobs in industry, a physical movement to from life in the country to life in urban areas, and new challenges that they faced as a result of working for large companies. Prior to industrialization, many working Americans spent there days working in agriculture. But with the move toward industrialization, many Americans traded in their agrarian lives for lives in urban areas with jobs in the Norths newly created industrial centers. This shift of the workforce also led to a shift in where people lived. Many people moved to cities and urban ares to be closer to the places where they worked. Here they were faced with the challenges of living close to one another and separation from the lives they once new. They were also faced with new challenges because they were now working for large companies and the bug businesses that owned and operated the industrial centers. Big businesses were often most interested in profits and didn’t care much about the workers. Work in early industril centers was dangerous work and many employers were not concerned about safety or the financial issues that plagued their workers. As a result many workers unions were formed in an effort to improve the life of the working Americans. But many of the workers were white and there were still measures being taken that would prevent non-whites from achieving upward mobility in the industrialized world. In many cases the courts passed laws that targeted non whites and prevented the non whites from being treated as equals in society. Some examples of these laws are the Chinese Exclusion Act, the Second Mississippi Plan, the Jim Crow laws, and the Louisanna Separate Car Act, The Chinese Exclusion act was targeted at Chinese immigrants in the West. At the time, the Chinese were providing much of the labor force needed to build the railroads in the West at labor rates which were less than the labor rates that their white counterparts wanted. This created competition between whites and the Chinese immigrants for jobs and the whites sought to eliminate the competition by introducing the Chinese exclusion act. The Chinese exclusion act barred the Chinese from immigrating to the US for a period of 10 years to reduce the number of Chinese in the workforce and lessen the competition between whites and Chinese for jobs. In addition to the Chinese Exclusion act, whites sought to keep the under hand over non whites through the passge of the Second Mississippi Plan which was targeted at the blacks. The second Mississippi plan called for the ……. Another well know set of laws that was passed which targeted non whites were the Jim Crow laws. The Jim Crow laws led to segregation of blacks and made it legal to have separate things from blacks and whites. For example, in the Jim Crow south, a black would not be allowed to dine in a restaurant with whites. Other measures from the Jim Crow laws included no blacks in white schools, no blacks at the water fountain, etc. One final law that was passed against non whites was the Separate Car Act. The separate car act made it illegal for a black to ride on the same train cars as whites. In 18?? Some balck guy intentionally violated the law to bring the issue into light within the court system. In the end the Supreme court said that it was legal to do this and it was a huge setback for civil rights. During the period there were some significant achievements that would some day lead to a closer balance of equality for whites and non whites however this balance would not be achaived for many years. During the time period there were many significant advances. There were some major turning points such as the amendments that were passed and those turing points still affect and have been part of shaping the world that we live in today. One significant event that occurred was the assaination of Lincoln. It is hard to say with any degree of certainty but one would have to think that things today could be different had Lincoln not been assainated. In addition to these events the nation saw a boom in industrialization. Industrialization introduced changes to our society and and the workforce that made it possible. Much of the world we live in today was shaped as a result of industrialization. But still the non whites were prevented from prospering. The time period had some of the most repulsive laws passed against non whites and some that aimed to help them but the long lasting affects of these laws iare still evident today in that we have our first balck president. Worhtless Obumma…