Failures of Civil War Reconstruction After the Term Paper

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Failures of Civil War Reconstruction

After the close of the Civil War in 1865, the U.S. government initiated a wide-ranging policy of reconstruction aimed at rebuilding the American South. This policy, made up of a first and second reconstruction, offered the promise of creating enduring racial justice. The goals of the first reconstruction included equality for black Americans in politics, voting and the use of public properties, while the second reconstruction promised integration, the end of the Jim Crow laws and the creation of a true biracial democracy. Yet both of these policies failed to bring about the desired goals, mainly due to the lack of economic justice for all black Americans. On October 31, 1865, the Stanton Spectator addressed this with "There is no problem more difficult than the future of the "freedmen." Half a million of ignorant and helpless people have been turned loose... with no capital to begin business, no skill(s)... And no means of providing for themselves...."

The first reconstruction, designed to confront political, social and economic conditions, commenced after 1865 and lasted until 1877. During this period, the U.S. Congress was greatly divided on several issues, such as black equality, exactly how to rebuild the South, the re-admittance of Southern states to the Union and the question of governmental control.

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Amid this chaos, many political groups were attempting to further their own agendas. Southern Democrats, made up of confederate leaders and rich white Southerners, sought to bring an end to what they saw as domination of the South by the Northern alliance. This included the initiation of Black Codes which would limit certain rights of the freed Southern blacks. The moderate Republicans wished to pursue a policy of reconciliation between the Confederacy and the Union while ensuring that slavery was forever abolished. The radical Republicans, made up of Northern politicians, greatly opposed slavery yet were unsympathetic towards the South and wished to maintain their majority in Congress. One of the major players in all this was President Andrew Johnson, Lincoln's vice-president, whose main goal was to unify the nation at all costs.

As the majority voice in Congress, the radical Republicans became the main political group which set the goals for Southern reconstruction with a focus on preventing slavery from becoming a force in the….....

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