Reconstruction Essay

William lopez

Per5

Reconstruction

The reconstruction era was a period of time between 1865 and 1877 where America was being rebuilt after the Civil war and tried to remain one country. Reconstruction happened after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. The radical republican took over the south and tried to rebuild the south. Though the outcomes have been labeled as both an accomplishment and a failure, the extent to which Reconstruction was a success was far greater than it being a failure. Reconstruction, for the most part, was very unsuccessful in helping extend political, social and economic freedom for freed african americans.

One of the unsuccessful part of reconstruction to help out african americans was getting them the right to vote. As doc D showed granted the freed slaves the right to vote. Even though the 15th amendment was a huge improvement on the reconstruction of the country this advancement , this advancement came with a few challenges. Thought the blacks had the right to vote, it was much harder for a black man to vote compared to a white man. They had to go through the literacy test which for blacks was made much harder than a white mans literacy test. Another thing that took away the right to vote to African Americans was the grandfather clause clause which would not let blacks vote if their grandparents were slaves. The last thing that denied them the right to vote was poll taxes. They would have to pay to vote. The price where extremely high for african american voter compared to white. Most of the time it was to high for them to pay.

Another unsuccessful part in reconstruction was helping african american get used to the new freed life which included the freedman bureau. The freedman bureau was a bureau to help the freed slave to transition to freedom and new society in the south. They also helped by giving freed slaves access to medical aid, food, housing, and schooling. As document F showed the bill to keep the freedmen bureau was vetoed by president Andrew Johnson. The success of the bureau did not last that long as it was challenged by the whites in the south who wanted to keep blacks segregated. This racial tension lasted after the