Reflection on Reconstruction After the Civil War

 The Reconstruction Era

    Reconstruction was a chaotic and exciting time. African Americans could sit in the House of Representatives and Senate. This positive effort received backlash. Southern whites couldn't accept previously enslaved individuals as equals. In 2015, there was a mass shooting at a historic church in Charleston. Even a century and a half after the collapse of Reconstruction, the issue of racism remains. 

When the word of freedom spread, enslaved people packed their bags. In the summer of 1862, many enslaved people found haven. Approximately 180,000 freedmen answered the call to military service. This altered the definition of a military victory. Reconstruction is the process by which American society attempted to come to terms with the consequences of the Civil War — the destruction of slavery and navigating their rights/status.

When Abraham Lincoln spoke about Reconstruction at the White House, he claimed that wise black men and African American Veterans should have the right to vote. John Wilkes Booth said that it would be his last speech. JWB is Abraham Lincoln's killer. Newly freed slaves were attempting to reunite their families. Specifically, by finding their children, they can build the lives they dreamed of. 

Andrew Johnson was sworn into the presidency in a hotel in Pennsylvania. He was the first man in the country to be appointed president following the assassination of the previous president. Frederick Douglass did not like the new president. Andrew Johnson didn't want to shake the hand of a black man. Johnston was undermining the war's outcome, and they couldn't do anything about it because Congress was in recess. Johnson ordered Howard to give and restore the Land to the Confederates. 

Racism is the most profound legacy of slavery in our society. The Lost Cause was the reality of the war. Southerners believed that their cause was valid, and they fought because the North was attempting to "suppress their rights." In 1865, a law was passed that was explicitly targeted towards African Americans. This law recognized that slavery had been abolished, but there was little change from slavery to freedom. Every black person had to sign a contract for one year with a white person. 

In 1866, the KKK was created. The Land did the same things that slave patriots did. Andrew Johnson made his version of Reconstruction without Congress's approval. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 effectively abolished the notion that people could be removed from the nation. By the end of 1867, more than 80% of black men had the right to vote.