Essay On The Era Of Reconstruction

The era of reconstruction remains one of the most important events in the American history as it sought to introduce equality among the population in the country. The era is defined by the lenient plans by President Lincoln and Johnson to incorporate the southern states back to the union as well as the stricter plan by the radicals which led to a power contest between the president and the congress. The era saw many changes in the country with the African-American being accorded right that they did not enjoy before through constitutional amendments and state protection. The reconstruction era however, failed in some of its promises mainly due to the approaches adopted by the republicans as well as the fallout in the south between the carpetbaggers and the scalawags.
As the country recovered from the adverse effects of the civil war, Abraham Lincoln adopted a more lenient approach towards the south to avoid pushing them away from the union. He chose Andrew Johnson who was a democrat from the south as his vice president in a bid to garner the support from the southerners. Their plan was to promote unity and hasten their recovery. This approach known as the presidential reconstruction led to the passing of discriminatory laws known as the black codes by the southern states that restricted African-Americans from owning land and enjoying other rights accorded to the whites. This gave rise to the radical reconstruction which imposed harsh conditions on the southern states. President Johnson fell out with the congress after rejecting bills that sought to give equal rights to the African-Americans.
The republican radicals nearly succeeded in disenfranchising African-Americans in the south through changing of the system of governance. They passed laws that barred former confederates from holding leadership positions as a way of giving room for the freedmen to join the political scene. This resulted to numerous coalitions in the south that involved the blacks, scalawags and the carpetbaggers which took over leadership. The republicans embarked on major projects such as the rebuilding of the rail road. However, their strategy faced opposition from the southern democrats and eventually collapsed as a result of the panic of 1873. The radical’s strategy of quickly elevating the freedmen led to the failure of the reconstruction as it attracted opposition which led to the formation of groups such as the Kun Klux Klan that terrorized the black community and their sympathizers. Lack of the republicans to solve internal rifts in the party as well as declining public support also contributed to the failure.
Reconstruction and the abolition of slavery contributed to modernization and development of United States an industrial nation. Although slavery was profitable and had provided raw materials for the industries in the north for many years, it was seen as a hindrance to modernization and mechanization. Given that many slaves worked at the plantations in the south and fueled its economy, the abolition of the practice created the need for mechanization and free labor which eventually led to innovations, economic as well as social development through urbanization.
Reconstruction was an important era in the American history as it set the foundation for economic and industrial development as well as social development through formulation of policies that provided equal protection of citizen’s rights. The different strategies used may have led to its failure but the paramount thing is that it set the path for the disenfranchising of the African-Americans leading to a modernized society with improved civil rights.

Works Cited

Blackburn, Robin. The Making of New World Slavery: From the Baroque to the Modern, 1492-1800. Brooklyn: Verso Books, 1998. Print
Egerton, Douglas. The Wars of Reconstruction: The Brief, Violent History of America's Most Progressive Era. New York: Bloomsbury Press, 2014. Print