...The Reconstruction Era The Reconstruction Era was a rebuilding period in American history following the Civil War. After winning the war in 1865, the Union states began the exhausting process of reconstructing the United States, as well as each side's belief system. The two main goals of this era in American history was to ensure basic civil rights to former slaves, as well as reunite the North and the South to form one Union again. However, with each side having it's own agenda, accomplishing those goals proved to be quite a task. During the Reconstruction Era, several factions of American politics formed within the Republican and Democratic parties. The most noted include the Radical Republicans, Southern Conservatives, and the Southern Freedmen. Radical Republicans demanded extreme policies be put in place for Confederate states, and stressed the civil rights and liberties of former slaves. Although their agenda compared well to Lincoln's, the Radicals wanted to make re-entry into the Union a difficult one for the Confederate states. Another faction formed, the Southern Conservatives, believed the south would rise again to its former economic status, and wanted little to no rights for African-Americans. The last faction, the Southern Freedmen, saw the greatest success for ensuring the basic civil rights to former slaves. Made up of former slaves and supported by whites who believed African-Americans should have equal rights and civil liberties, the Freedman's Bureau, initiated...
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...the most involving and controversial presidential elections in American history. In the presidential election of 1876, the Republicans nominated Rutherford B. Hayes, who was the governor of Ohio, and the Democrats, nominated Samuel J. Tilden, who was the governor of New York. On the night before Election Day, Samuel J. Tilden had 184 of the 185 electoral votes needed to win. Samuel led the popular vote by 250,000. The Disputed Presidential Election of 1876, took place at a remarkable time in American history, following a little over a decade after the assassination of president Abraham Lincoln, which occurred on the 14th of April, in 1865. Also,occurring just a year before the 1876 election, The Civil Rights Act of 1875, which was sometimes called The Enforcement Act or Force Act. The Civil Rights Act of...
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...From the conception of the Republican Party to modern-day politics, the Republican Party is one of the two major US political parties that has survived the test of time and reshaped throughout history. 1854-1861 The Republican Party was created with the passing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act – the act created the states of Nebraska and Kansas, and decided that popular sovereignty would declare if thee two states were to be free states or slave states. The passage of the bill created an obvious presence of sectionalism between the northern Democrats and the southern Democrats; the northern democrats became known as the first Republicans. Joining the northern Democrats in their Republican convergence was a large mix of Whigs (who were almost nonexistent...
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...helps to highlight their importance in Louisiana history and in the Reconstruction era as a whole. Highlighting the cruelty of the institution of slavery and the loss of status and gains African Americans had made after the Colfax Massacre, is the goal of LeeAnna Keith and her book provides greater insight and understanding into this time period in Louisiana. Meredith Calhoun married Mary Smith, the daughter of former senator and wealthy judge William Smith. In working with Smith, Calhoun managed to transport a massive number of slaves, clear a large area for plantation work and build a plantation from the ground up for himself and his family. This...
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...Reconstruction Period was a time of readjustment. Southern whites wanted to keep African Americans as slaves and they rejected social equality. African Americans wanted their full freedom and land of their own. There were constant hindrances such as race riots and acts of violence against African Americans. There were two senses during the Reconstruction Era: the first covers the complete history of the entire U.S. from 1865 to 1877 following the Civil War; the second sense focuses on the transformation of the Southern United States from 1863 to 1877 as directed by the President with the reconstruction of state and society. Reconstruction was an era in the United States history after the Civil War, in which federal government set the conditions that would allow rebellious southern states back in the union. The ultimate goal of reconstruction was to readmit the south in ways that was acceptable to the North. This meant full political and civil equality for blacks and denial for the political rights of whites. 1865-1877 in the U.S. history, was a period of readjustment following the civil war. The defeated south was ruined, physical destruction brought upon by the invading union forces were great, and the old social economic order founded on slavery had collapsed with nothing to replace it. There were 11 confederate states that needed to be restored to their positions in the union. Radical Republican leaders argued that slavery and the slave power had to be permanently destroyed, and...
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...The Sixth Political System – The Disguised Multi Party Era Political scientists have classified five distinct party systems in American history. First being the Federalist vs. Democratic-Republicans or Antifederalist (Brewer 2012, 26). This was the period to settle the disputes of the post-Independence and the early growing pains of a new nation. Followed by the second period led by an “Era of Good Feeling” (Brewer 2012, 28) and then captured by the Jacksonian Period. Followed by the third system or post-Civil War period. Known for the patronage jobs distributed by huge political machines (Brewer 2012, 35). Followed by the fourth political system or “Era of Reform” (Brewer 2012, 39). Commonly referred to as the “Two Republican Eras” that sandwiched...
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...Reconstruction and Race Relations XXXXXXXX Professor XXXXXX Contemporary U.S. History October 17, 2013 Reconstruction and Race Relations The Civil War consisted of several events during the Reconstruction period. Many complications occurred between white Americans and black people as the struggle for equality began. Prior to the end of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln drafted the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. The Wade-Davis Bill was proposed by Congress to counter Lincoln’s 10 percent rule for support. The Wade-Davis Bill suggested that 51 percent of voters pledge support to the United States before being accepted back into the Union. Lincoln pocket-vetoed this bill in order to prevent it from becoming law (Reconstruction Following the Civil War, 1999). The ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865 abolished slavery in the South (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2013). The Freedmen’s Bureau was established in 1865 by congress during the Reconstruction period and was designed to manage new schools, provide food and healthcare to the new freed African Americans. Led by Major General Oliver O. Howard, The Bureau’s most notable achievement was the establishment of education by building more than 1,000 black schools and expending over $400,000 on establishing teacher-training institutions. The greatest failure was the disbursement of abandoned lands to the freed slaves. The south was determined to make the transition to freedom very difficult for the...
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...many progressives came from the Republican Party the votes were split, which resulted in Woodrow Wilson, the Democratic candidate, to win the presidency. At the beginning of the Cold War era the Democratic Party was at odds with each other and this led to the formation of another third party, the Dixiecrats. The election of 1948 consisted of four candidates, two of which were third parties, the Progressive Party and the Dixiecrat Party. Although this election had three candidates that split up the Democratic Party, Harry Truman, the Democratic candidate, still managed to get re-elected. In 1968, George Wallace, launched the American Independent Party that focused on law and order. Throughout the campaign, Wallace’s numbers in the polls were growing and the major two-party candidates, Richard Nixon (Republican) and Hubert Humphrey (Democrat) started to become concerned. Both major party candidates told the people their vote would be meaningless if they voted for Wallace because he couldn’t win. In the last month of the campaign, Nixon decided to focus his campaign around law and order issues. Nixon ended up winning the election and the American...
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...power of the Radical Republicans in Congress. At the same time in the South, a Republican alliance of freedmen, Unionists, and their allies assembled to gain control of local and state governments. This alliance of “Radicals” quickly began rewriting state constitutions, and made considerable progress in establishing civil and political equality. They promoted a fairer system of legal justice, and instituted basic social services such as public education and care for the orphaned and the aged. Those who were against this equality did everything in their power to thwart the Radical’s efforts. Sinking cotton prices, and wide-spread corruption undermined the strength and integrity of these governments. National disgust at the spectacle, however, bolstered the white opposition in the South. The 1870 passage of the Fifteenth Amendment, prohibiting disfranchisement because of race, added fuel to the fire of white supremacists and Democrats. By 1870, the South had a new group of individuals which had control over most of the land, The Ku Klux Klan. Members of the KKK were not the courageous supporters of white rights portrayed in...
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...Reconstruction. This Radical Reconstruction created a feeling of resentment among the Southerners for the Republican Party as they blamed Republican for their defeat. During this radical reconstruction period, President Johnson vetoed the Civil Rights Act, which was not liked by the Southerners. Moreover, President Johnson also vetoed the Freedman’s Bureau Bill proposed by the Congress. The amended version was passed later on and this created an animosity among the public for the President Johnson as well as for the Republican Party (History.com). Most of the actions taken during this period went against the people of the South, thereby generating a negative feeling for the president and the Republican Party. The ultimate defeat of the Southerners made them so hostile and caused the extreme reaction of not voting to Republican Party. Historical Turning Points (1865-1900) Reconstruction was the period shortly after the Civil War which involved the reconstruction of the Union and the Southern states. This was a crucial era for America as there were several turning points during this period. The two historical turning points that I found highly important are the right to vote for the African Americans, and granting freedom to the slaves. The African Americans faced severe discrimination for voting rights and granting this right proved to be a turning point in the history of the country (Finkelman, 2006). The abolition of slavery also proved to be crucial point as it facilitated...
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...the Left utilizes a approach that radiates with misoneism which morphs into a animus toward the Right, and the disenfranchisement of the American people. End of Discussion by Mary Katharine Ham and Guy Benson, brings light to the sensitive political topics and it also raises the most controversial question of our existence as humans: are republicans really that bad? Just one page into this blasphemous of a novel it already appeals to the reader the use of sarcasm is ever prevalent. End of Discussion has no boundaries and is not afraid to poke the sleeping Republican. Guy Benson and Mary Katharine Ham poke fun at the pure childish behavior they earlier described to be the exact opposite of George Orwell's 1984. “... we don't have one big brother, we have millions of little brothers (20)”. They enlighten us on the audacity that the Left has by exploding the situation;...
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...Red River by Lalita Tademy At some point in our lives, we all took a history class and learned about the Slave Trades, the Civil War and the Reconstruction Era. Whether it was in elementary school, high school, or even in college, we all got a sense of that history and happened during that time frame. From what I learned, the impression that I got from what these history books were explaining was that, first, white people went to Africa and gathered hundreds and thousands of people, took them on boats to and turned them into slaves. Then after years have passed, good ol’ President Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves and blacks and whites lived equally ever after. Although these events did happen, textbooks still managed to “sugarcoat” the situation and keep out some of the major key factors, like how Africans were still mistreated and dehumanized by the white man, out. The thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth amendment were created so that slavery would stay abolished, defined a citizen, and allowed African American men to vote, white people still had a way to go around these amendments and make the black man feel inferior to them. Violence struck everywhere (especially in the south), and colts, such as the KKK, were created so that they will be feared by colored people. A lot of public buildings and schools were made off limits to African Americans and only educated those who were white. So why is it that we were taught in our textbooks that white and black men were equal when...
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...Nghi Bui Professor Kern History 1302 - 5055 Feb 2nd, 2015 Industrialization and reform (1870 – 1916) After the Civil War, the United States owned an abundant amount of natural resource, an expanding market for manufactured goods, a growing supply of labor and availabilities of capital for investment. In addition, the federal government vigorously promoted industrial development which stimulated the American economy to change dramatically from the Gilded Age to the Progressive Era. However, the progress of the industrialization affected every aspect of the American society in either positive or negative way. As the nation moved to the west, the United States was transformed by vast changes in technology and a large amount of natural resources which stimulated new industries. Particularly, steel came to be used in the expanding new railroads which contributed in linking the nation and created a national wide market. By the 1890s, there were five transcontinental railroads transported the raw material from the West to the Eastern markets and carried manufactured goods to the West (Foner 596). Though, the government was not able to deal problems formed by the industrial revolution. Both parties came under control of powerful political managers with close ties to business interests. Republicans intensely supported a high tariff to protect America industry. During the 1870s, Republicans established a financial system based on reducing federal spending, which helped to repay...
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...The Reconstruction Period And it’s Impact Following the Civil War History 121: American History to 1877 10 December 2011 The Reconstruction era was the attempt to restore the Union after the Civil War or The War for Southern Independence. Its perception was viewed differently by Southerners, Northerners, and newly freed former slaves. After the Union won the war in 1865, their job was to begin the reconstruction of the Unites States. This era started at the end of the Civil War in 1865 and ended in1877. The goal was to reunite the southern states and ensure freedom and civil rights of the southern blacks. It could be more accurate to say that Reconstruction began with the war. From the moment the war began, Lincoln focused on the problem of reconstructing the Union. Equally important, from the start of the war, the Confederacy was shrinking in size as United States Soldiers occupied parts of the South.1 Reconstruction was a bitter pill to the devastated South. The Union Armies destroyed southern towns, farms, railroads and confiscated private property. To learn and understand the atrocities committed by the Union Army, one has to look no further than the memoirs of General William Tecumseh Sherman. In one example, General Sherman and his Army are on their infamous march to the sea where he finds himself bivouacked on a southern plantation. “Through inquiry he finds out that it belonged to Confederate General Howell Cob. He states that...
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...of African American women and children picking cotton on a plantation, they were sharecropping. This picture does expose the thought that these women and children had to submit to discipline and supervision even though they were free Americans. However, the abundance of cotton we see shows that these wealthy plantation owners could receive more cotton to sell, which would in time help reduce inflation and positively affect the economy. Sharecropping freed the blacks from gang- labor systems and some managed to acquire enough money to move from sharecropping to renting or owning land, but some also went into debt or were forced by poverty by their exploitative plantation owners. Sharecropping helped the plantation owners who were left in economic ruins due to their destroyed fields, and it provided work for many African Americans. As the souths banking system was destroyed and inflation was an issue, sharecropping utilized the...
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