When the Civil War was finally over in the spring of 1865, political leaders wrestled with how to help former slaves make the transition from bondage to citizenship. It means the reconstruction should enable freed slaves to control their labor, reunite with their family members, gain education for their children, enjoy full participation in political life, and create their own community organizations and social life. The Radical Republicans followed southern society model by granting freed slaves full citizenship rights. They hoped to replace the white by small farmers together with wage-earning and new generation of middle-class Republicans with both black and white (Shi & Tindall, 2016, p.583). The Freedmen’s Bureau founded in 1865 in the
…show more content…
Andrew Johnson, who win reelection in 1864, prevented many Radicals who wanted the Reconstruction to provide social and political equality for blacks. He was a stubborn, racist politician who lacked the ability to compromise. He did not approve a bill that renewed funding for the Freedmen’s Bureau and did not allow the federal agency to provide homesteads and schools to former slaves in the South as well as the border states (Shi & Tindall, 2016, p.588). Furthermore, the Black codes, created in 1865 and 1866, contributed to the efforts to deny equality to African Americans. The purpose of the Black codes is to restore white supremacy. Although While Black marriages were accepted, African Americans could not vote, serve on juries, testify against whites or attend public school (Shi & Tindall, 2016, p.589). According to Michael W. Fitzgerald in his “Postwar Reconstruction in the American South”, the Presidential Reconstruction governments were not likely to expand educational opportunities. In 1860, there were seven African Americans in public school in Georgia, nine in Florida and two in Mississippi (Fitzgerald, 2007, p.151). Furthermore, although the freedmen enjoyed a real measure of political power, the black supremacy never existed. The blacks only held small fraction of political offices and effective power remained in white hands, even in South Carolina. Seriously, many …show more content…
At social level, the Reconstruction rebuilt and expanded the South’s railroad network, created a number of social service institutions (such as hospitals, orphanages, and mental institutions), and the establishment of a public-school system that benefited African Americans as well as whites. At federal level, during the Reconstruction, some significant law was formed to protect the black’s rights. The Civil Right Act passed in 1866 claimed that all person born in the United States (except Indians) were citizens and have full and equal benefit of all laws ((Shi & Tindall, 2016, p.588). The Fourteen Amendment approved in 1866 guaranteed citizenship to anyone born or naturalized in the United States (except Native Americans). It also prohibited any efforts to violate the civil rights of citizens, either black or white. The Fifteenth Amendment prohibited states from denying any man the vote on ground of race, color or previous condition of servitude (Shi & Tindall, 2016, p.593). In conclusion, although the Reconstruction failed, it was a splendid failure since it gave the African
Andrew Johnson, who win reelection in 1864, prevented many Radicals who wanted the Reconstruction to provide social and political equality for blacks. He was a stubborn, racist politician who lacked the ability to compromise. He did not approve a bill that renewed funding for the Freedmen’s Bureau and did not allow the federal agency to provide homesteads and schools to former slaves in the South as well as the border states (Shi & Tindall, 2016, p.588). Furthermore, the Black codes, created in 1865 and 1866, contributed to the efforts to deny equality to African Americans. The purpose of the Black codes is to restore white supremacy. Although While Black marriages were accepted, African Americans could not vote, serve on juries, testify against whites or attend public school (Shi & Tindall, 2016, p.589). According to Michael W. Fitzgerald in his “Postwar Reconstruction in the American South”, the Presidential Reconstruction governments were not likely to expand educational opportunities. In 1860, there were seven African Americans in public school in Georgia, nine in Florida and two in Mississippi (Fitzgerald, 2007, p.151). Furthermore, although the freedmen enjoyed a real measure of political power, the black supremacy never existed. The blacks only held small fraction of political offices and effective power remained in white hands, even in South Carolina. Seriously, many …show more content…
At social level, the Reconstruction rebuilt and expanded the South’s railroad network, created a number of social service institutions (such as hospitals, orphanages, and mental institutions), and the establishment of a public-school system that benefited African Americans as well as whites. At federal level, during the Reconstruction, some significant law was formed to protect the black’s rights. The Civil Right Act passed in 1866 claimed that all person born in the United States (except Indians) were citizens and have full and equal benefit of all laws ((Shi & Tindall, 2016, p.588). The Fourteen Amendment approved in 1866 guaranteed citizenship to anyone born or naturalized in the United States (except Native Americans). It also prohibited any efforts to violate the civil rights of citizens, either black or white. The Fifteenth Amendment prohibited states from denying any man the vote on ground of race, color or previous condition of servitude (Shi & Tindall, 2016, p.593). In conclusion, although the Reconstruction failed, it was a splendid failure since it gave the African