Reconstruction in the South Essay Example for Free

Reconstruction in the South EssayReconstruction is the Federal Governments plan(s) to abolish slavery, change the way of invigoration in the South, and to bring the nation game together after the devastating effects of the Civil War. Many Government plans were brought up but never fell through. Likewise, Presidents over the years, after the Civil War, had alike brought their own Reconstruction plans to the nation. Several good things came from each plan but not one individual plan had drastically changed America on its own. Although capital of Nebraska and his 10% plan would have reshaped the nation and connected the broken line between the North and South, however, it had never taken action because of Lincolns black lotion on April 14, 1865. However, Reconstruction created many new social changes to the nation. Civil Rights had been shaped over many years the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments were passed giving African Americans the right to vote, and the Fre edmens Bureau was established. Reconstruction was a long and rough time for the regime and the people. Our Nation had never before needed to recover from such a abominable loss from something like the Civil War. Reconstruction had failed in several ways. Slavery had still been practiced in the south under different titles of have, ways of life in the south had remained the same, and Redeemers made sure blacks were not represented in government. Before this particular Reconstruction plan was brought up it had been thought about for for a while by a group of Radical republicans who created the Radical Republicans Plan. These Radicals wanted to spark the necessity to take action on the problems occurring in the South. The plan had consisted of three major ideas these ideas were based off of revenge, concern for the freedmen, and political concerns (Travel and recital par. 1). One of the ways that these Radicals wanted revenge was by punishing the South for causing the war (Travel and History par.1). They too felt that Southern states had to apply for readmission back into the Union and were required to submit state constitutions that ratified the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments (Ohio History rudimentary par. 11). Also when Ulysses S. allow took office he kept soldiers in the former Confederacy for the duty of protecting African Americans from the Ku Klux Klan and similar groups (Ohio History Central par. 11). These Radicals felt that the federal government had a role to play in the transition of freedmen from slavery to freedom (Travel and History par. 1). They believed that the government needed to aid former slaves into getting good work and treated fairly. Also, many members wanted to keep the Republicans Party in power in both the North and the South (Travel and History par. 1). This way only Republican ideas would be brought up and many Republican based faithfulnesss would be passed. This is the general idea for the Radical Republi cans plan and would not be brought up again until Ulysses S. throw is elected into the Presidency. The former Civil War, Union General, Ulysses S. allow for was elected into office in 1868. President soften did not take much care in his Presidency campaign because he did not care if he had won or lost. Thus, Grant did not have his own plan for the problems of Reconstruction. However, Grant was a Republican and favored the Radical Republicans Plan, (Ohio History Central par. 11) so most of what he tried to accomplish was based on these views. When Grant won his election many republicans realized that he had won by a small margin of votes. Looking deeper they noticed that roughly 450,000 African Americans had voted Republican and the majority of whites in the South voted Democrat (Davidson J. p. 348). Republicans in office realized that an amendment must be created to protect black voting rights so the African American population would go along to vote Republican. The Fifteenth A mendment was created in 1869 and was ratified in 1870 this forbade any state to deny any man the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude (Davidson J. p. 348).However, many states found loopholes to this amendment by issuing literacy tests, poll taxes, and property requirements for voting. Mainly this counted out most of the African American voting population. Although he his mostly known for his scandals, Grant had many other significant highlights during his time as President that greatly contributed to Reconstruction in the South. During his time in office, Grant signed a series of Reconstruction related Enforcement Acts (Simpson B. par. 6). The main effect these laws had was they completely denied states to deny any man the right to vote (Simpson B. par. 6). He had also signed the Ku Klux Klan act which banned the illegal intimidation of blacks where states were unwilling or unable to provide protection, and for private parties to conspire to violat e civil rights. Violation of this law was a federal crime. Before Grant had left office, In 1875 he signed last major piece of Civil Rights legislationuntil 1964 (Simpson B. par. 6). In 1877, Grant had completed his final term as President. Several years later Grant had been slipping deeper and deeper into debt from family troubles. He started to write his memoirs and later had attracted cancer. After he had faultless his memoirs he had died in 1897, from the cancer he had acquired. Luckily his writings had sold more than enough copies to provide and settle his familys debt. Reconstruction had ended in 1877, and many of Grants accomplishments had changed society in the South and for the future. BibliographyDavidson, James W., and Brian DeLay. U.S. A Narrative History. 1st ed. Vol. 2. naked as a jaybird York The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2009. Print . Foner, Eric. Reconstruction Americas unfinished revolution, 1863-1877. New York Harper Row, 1988. Print . Radical Republican Rec onstruction Plan. Travel and History. Web. 11 Sept. 2009. . Reconstruction Ohio History Central A product of the Ohio Historical Society. Ohio History Central An Online Encyclopedia of Ohio History Ohio Historical Society. Web. 1 Sept. 2009. . Simpson, Brooks D. Let Us Have Peace The Presidency of Ulysses S. Grant. Teaching American History in doctor Documents for the Classroom Maryland State Archives. Web. 14 Sept. 2009. .