History Task 3 a People & a Nation

1.         One of the first changes from the reconstruction was the abolishment of slavery.  African American’s were finally going to have the same rights as whites.  They were going to have political and social rights (WGU, 2016).  Black men became voters in a very short time, which in return upset white southerners.  The Ku Klux Klan was formed and tried to dominate the state governments in the South.  
           Congress experienced some major changes too.  Congress wanted a slow reconstruction process, but Lincoln wanted a swift one.   Lincoln wished to pardon ex-Confederates and began creating “loyal” assemblies by a mere ten percent of a state’s voting population taking an oath.  One thing Lincoln and Congress were able to agree on, was the Thirteenth Amendment.  This amendment “abolished involuntary servitude and declared that Congress shall have the power to enforce this outcome by ‘appropriate legislation’” (Norton, 2015).

         The Freedman’s Bureau was another race relation change.  This agency uplifted the refugees of the South.  Freedmen were receiving food and medical supplies, they were having schools and colleges built, and employment contracts were being negotiated between former masters and now freedmen.  This agency caused divisions among politicians and Southern whites were not for it.  The bureau was rather controversial, but it was still offering social reform as a part of Reconstruction.

1.          Industrialization transformed the United States nearly affected almost every aspect of American life (WGU, 2016).  Patents were booming between 1790 and 1860.  The US Patent Office granted 1.5 million patents during this time (Norton, 2015).  One of the most memorable inventions belonging to Henry Ford with his internal combustion engine.  The engine created new industries such as steel, rubber, glass, and oil. His invention made owning a car more affordable.   Ford created a Five-Dollar-Day pay plan which combined profit sharing and combined wages.  He was instrumental in reducing turnover rates in labor and deterring unionization (Norton, 2015).  
           Everyday life was being altered. Communication was becoming less face-face and more facilitated.  Lives were being made easier.  People were able to preserve food with refrigeration, mass produce clothes with electric sewing machines, and mass produce new breakfast foods.  Personal hygiene was affected as well, with the invention of flushable toilets brought about privacy for bathrooms.  The democratization of convenience was being invented right before their eyes through mass production of just about everything (Norton, 2015).

        They had goals such as promoting social efficiency, protecting all classes of welfare, reforming institutions, and ending power abuse.  Professionals were going to use their skills to help with social problems.  Advocates really believed in doing the right thing. They pushed to make officeholders more accountable and urged the adoption of nonpartisan elections.  Progressives wanted fraud and bribery out and loyalty in.