Jennifer Rodriguez Mr.

Watson APUSH 22 May 2012 In order to re-unite the nation after a horrifically bloody war, the North decided to implement a plan for reconstruction to help mend the wounds of the nation. This would involve solving political and social problems and reconstructing the weakened southern states. The reconstruction plan seemed like a good idea however it was a weak effort and did not go as far as it should have. For the most part reconstruction failed to protect former slaves and ultimately magnified the social problems in in the nation. The purpose of reconstruction was to re-unite the nation and help integrate newly freedmen into the nation. Blacks sought out education, access to employment and equality in law. However, Southerners were willing to do anything it took to keep this from happening in order to maintain white superiority. This created a large divide within the nation between Republicans who supported black rights and democrats who wanted to maintain rule in the south. Although republicans pushed for black rights, they did not press for social equality. It could be argued that the only reason Republicans granted blacks suffrage was to maintain power in the House of Representatives and in the Senate. Also, although the fifteenth amendment guaranteed the right of all men to vote regardless of race, it had a loophole that allowed states to restrict the right to vote based on literacy or property qualifications. This would obviously keep freedmen from voting because many were still significantly poorer and less educated than most whites. Southern resistance to change was another reason reconstruction failed. When the Civil war ended southerners saw the war as a lost cause. They were determined to keep their way of

life and resisted changes made by what they saw as an oppressive federal government. For instances the South tried to implement Black codes which were an update to the antebellum slave codes. Southerners hoped these codes would keep black socially oppressed. However, when blacks became even more involved in government by voting and even becoming office holders, many white southerners relied on violence to keep blacks from trying to take advantage of their newly given freedoms. This included the use of groups such as the KKK that wreaked havoc on blacks who were involved in politics. Democrats regained control in the South. The Republican Party was destroyed by a failing economy and corruption and in a way gave up on securing rights for freedmen. As the Republican Party weakened, the north did not have much of a desire to continue reconstruction. The plan finally died with the election of 1876. Southerners felt that they had won and called their victory redemption. They believed the south had been saved by an oppressive republican rule. This idea of redemption would shape race relationships for nearly a century. Racism would become rampant within the nation and would keep blacks from enjoying liberties that they were promised at the end of the civil war. The only beneficial aspect of reconstruction is the fact that it did achieve many freedoms and rights for citizens through the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendment and through reforms such as in education. The Establishment of the Freedmens Bureau in 186 also provided a precedent for government involvement in social and welfare legislation. However, for the most part reconstruction was a weak effort that was a failure in terms of re-uniting the nation and securing rights for blacks. It also led to racism which would keep blacks oppressed for decades to come.