The American Civil War and the Reconstruction periods played an important role in defining the nation’s political, social, and economic identity in the sense that the country’s survival and democratic principles were radically tested. As the country was becoming a hemispherical power, sectional tensions and dissenting attitudes of opposing groups make these periods comparable with the Revolutionary War in three major components: the issue of slavery and struggle for equality, the role of the federal government vs. states’ rights, and scuffles related with economic power. Prior to the Revolutionary War, there was an existing struggle between social classes as the southern states had an inflexible social structure, whereas in the northern states the Industrial Revolution was beginning to take place, causing a dramatic shift of labor force after the country gained its independence in 1783. With the invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney in 1791, southern landowners took advantage of the slave force to increase their profits radically, and this reliance on slaves for the …show more content…
However, this struggle of political power had a significant continuity as Southern states during the antebellum period advocated for states’ rights with the so-called ‘theory of nullification’ that was actually a primary cause of the Civil War. Consequently, the Reconstruction era showed what kind of political role the Southern states actually had during the post-war period, and a perfect piece of evidence is the landmark case of Texas v. White (1869), which argued that Texas had never seceded because there was no provision of the Constitution for a state to secede, giving the federal government a stronghold of power to keep the states under its
In this paper there has been a discussion of the legislation and the tensions preceding the southern Secession. Based on this discussing it can be concluded that the tensions, which culminated with the Civil War, were present many decades before the secession itself. Even threats of Civil war and secession were present much prior to this particular conflict. This paper has also concluded that the threat of Lincoln was real to the South, because of the Republican party’s very distinct foundation as an anti-slavery party. Slavery was a soft spot in the South because of the substantial value slaves had.
Reconstruction DBQ Have you ever wondered who killed Reconstruction? Reconstruction was a point in time after the Civil War wanting to rebuild the United States. The division between the North and the South was because the North wanted all slaves to be free, on the other hand the South didn’t want slaves to be free the South wanted the slaves to be limited on what they can do. I think the South killed Reconstruction because of the KKK and the disagreement on equal rights.
To begin with, Texans fought in the Civil War to protect their states’ rights. O.M. Roberts suggests that, “The true theory of our (national) government as an association of sovereignties, and not a blended mass of people in one social compact” (Document C).
With the reception of the United States Constitution in 1789, new and joined country was conceived. Differences were well-set on by numerous pioneers through bargains. Be that as it may, as years passed, our newborn child country was tested by regularly developing issues between the North and the South. Social, economical, and political contrasts ascended so upper that by 1861, our nation tapped out into one of the darkest circumstances in our country's history: the American Civil War. So what did uncork the Civil War—a war that isolated the country, wrecked harvests, urban communities, and railroad lines, and guaranteed such a significant number of lives?
Throughout Ishmael Beah’s A Long Way Gone, themes of reconstruction of a lifestyle are explored as Beah learns to adapt to his current situations. The importance of reconstruction is displayed through Beah’s ability to rebuild his mindset and mannerisms over and over again after being placed into a new environment. This talent for being able to let go of the past and redefine himself is one of the key factors in Beah’s miraculous survival as those around him pass away.
America has gone through their fair share of political changes, but the reconstruction era was one of the more difficult of these changes. The Civil War was over and the U.S. had to somehow reintegrate the country and inforce new laws, while figuring out how to deal with the four million newly freed slaves. The reconstruction era was the time when the United States was trying to put itself back together as a stronger more united nation. While eventually many politicians gave up and moved on to other problems, the era did see many achievements as well as
Sources Analysis Freedom During the Reconstruction era, the idea of freedom could have many different meanings. Everyday factors that we don't often think about today such as the color of our skin, where we were born, and whether or not we own land determined what limitations were placed on the ability to live our life to the fullest. To dig deeper into what freedom meant for different individuals during this time period, I analyzed three primary sources written by those who experienced this first hand. These included “Excerpts from The Black Codes of Mississippi” (1865), “Jourdan Anderson to his old master” (1865), and “Testimony on the Ku Klux Klan in Congressional Hearing” (1872).
Cotton fashioned the Federalist South. This new found goods was so extremely lucrative that its splendor exposed to a formerly shut culture to the magnificence, the revenue, the manipulation, and the social magnitudes of a greater, more attached, global community (Locke & Wright, 1983). Inhabitants who were less diverse became more multicultural, more educated, and better-off. As the people fortunate to have found themselves better-off systems of class was established. Previous all were considered a group, but with the new found class system, people were divided into upper, lower and middle class.
Reconstruction was a period of time dedicated to rebuilding the nation after the Civil War. The war ended with the South being defeated and their economy being devastated. Many Southerners struggled after the war with rebuilding their land and lives. The President and Congress had to decide the terms for which the former Confederate states would be permitted to join the Union. President Lincoln’s plan for reuniting the country was found in the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction.
Many Southerners felt that state governments alone had the right to make important decisions, such as whether slavery should be legal. Advocates of states’ rights believed that the individual state governments had power over the federal government because the states had ratified the Constitution to create the federal government in the first place. Most Southern states eventually seceded from the Union because they felt that secession was the only way to protect their rights. But Abraham Lincoln and many Northerners held that the Union could not be dissolved. The Union victory solidified the federal government’s power over the states and ended the debate over states’
There were many issues and problems facing the United States during its post-Civil War era of Reconstruction. Such problems include, but are not limited to economy, civil rights, reunification, and Federal Government infringement of state’s rights. The Union faced one major problem during both the “Presidential Reconstruction” and “Congressional Reconstruction”, which was the divide within the Republican Party. At the onset of Reconstruction the Republican Party worked well with President Lincoln and accepted he plan to accomplish the reestablishment of the Union. After, the President Lincoln’s assassination by a southerner, the Republican Party demanded swift justice against the south.
It is eerily personal, as we complete this course reading about the civil war and living through today’s adversarial climate of protesters, division of social, economic and political parties. As Abraham Lincoln said in the Gettysburg Address “and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from this earth” (Lincoln 428). The Civil War, while largely believed to be largely about slavery it appears to me that state’s right played just as an important role in the actual cause and continuance of the war. The division of the states and their prosperity, industry, education and representation in Congress divided this country, much as it is today.
Reflection on the Reconstruction Period The reconstruction period was a time of cause and effect. It was a time when in order to rebuild the strength of society economically, socially, and politically after a the loss of life and stability in the civil war. In the socratic seminar we discussed how the during the reconstruction period the goal was to ‘fix’ the south as in the eyes of the government, they were the cause of the problem.
Eric Foner’s A Short History of Reconstruction, is an abridged version of the multiple award-winning Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution (1988), offers a summary of some of the most influential pieces of history with his arguments regarding themes, such as the way South was changed amid and after this time, the development of racial mentalities and designs and the part of African Americans in bringing change within the Reconstruction. Additionally, another subject that Foner states in the book, is the development of a national state through the Civil War and Reconstruction that confined another arrangement of purposes with level rights to all Americans paying little to their race and the way changes in the North’s economy after
Undoubtedly, America has confronted many adversities throughout its history. Moreover, during the course of these challenges America prevailed, and ultimately formed a nation that has the ability to continuously adapt. There exists a myriad of examples that would support this claim; however, this essay will focus on four major events occurring between the 1860’s and 1920’s. The first event is how the American social status changed before and after Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. The second event is how the Civil War played a role in creating a need for Reconstruction, and how Reconstruction culminated in the Industrial Revolution.