Analysis of Reconstruction Period 1864 to 1875 - Civil War

Running Head: Analysis of Reconstruction

Analysis of Reconstruction

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Analysis of Reconstruction

Introduction

The reconstruction period occurred between 1864 and 1875 during and after the Civil War; in which the south faced a difficult period of rebuilding their government and economy from the social, political, and economical changes brought forth by secession and the American Civil War. Within this paper the objective is to analyze the reasons for the reconstruction policies, the effectiveness of such policies and finally the consequences that followed as a direct result of the reconstruction policies.

Reasons for Reconstruction Policies

Abraham Lincoln, in his inaugural address stated, "That this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom" (Lincoln, 1863). And so from this came the plan to restore the succeeded states to proper and practical relation. In this plan, President Lincoln came upon the 10 percent plan, and Freedmen's Bureau. The 10 percent plan according to Old State House (2003), stated that when a number of men, equal to 10 percent of those who had voted in the 1860 Presidential election swore an oath of allegiance to the United States, they could then establish a state government, elect officials and apply to be restored to their normal relations with the nation. The Freedmen Bureau was a plan devised to educate, house, and essentially help with the transformation of the freedmen; former slaves.

Effectiveness

Given the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, and Johnson taking over the reins, the vision Lincoln once shared for reconstruction and restoration in the south did not pan out exactly as planned. Johnson put his plan into motion. Under provisional governors appointed by him, the southern states held conventions that voided or repealed their ordinances of succession, abolished slavery and with the exception of South Carolina, repudiated confederate debts. The Freedmen's Bureau did see success as schools were set up to school more than 250,000 freed African Americans, according to spark notes (2003).

Consequences

There were three questions that centered on the reconstruction period; what were the terms for being reunited with the union, who gets to establish these terms and what place did the former slaves have in the political sense. The reconstruction was met with resistance, most of which resulted in violence against the blacks.

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