Postbellum Reconstruction:
Postbellum Reconstruction:
Immediate Success, Long Term Failure
by
Thesis Both the presidency and Congress passed several reforms to attempt to solve all of these problems, however the progress that was made during Reconstruction was for the most part shot down by the Compromise of 1877.
Outline of the Contents
I. IntroThesis
II. Condition of the South Immediately Following the Civil War
III. The Presidential Reconstruction Plan
IV. The Congressional Reconstruction Plan
V. Economic Reform
VI. Social Strife
VII. Conclusion
VIII. Bibliography
When General Lee surrendered to the Union army in the Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865, the period of Reconstruction began. The Civil War had settled the issue of slavery and the question of states' rights, but several problems remained in the torn nation. First, the Union had to be successfully reunited and control of the Southern states' governments had to be nurtured back to the national consensus. Second, the South was in a social chaos. Southerners' spirits had been broken by the war, and the pervasive issue of racism still had to be addressed. Newly emancipated slaves were without refuge, had little education, and their economic status was uncertain. Third, the South was in economic shambles: all of the wealth invested in slaves was gone, plantations lay in ruins, and railroads and cities were torn to shreds by the Union army. Both the presidency and Congress passed several reforms to attempt to solve all of these problems, however the progress that was made during Reconstruction was for the most part shot down by the Compromise of 1877. The Civil War left the South in ruins. Once beautiful plantations were torn apart, and cities were burnt to the ground. Economic investment in banks, factories, or any other business were squandered, mostly due to General Sherman's march. Transportation was completely disrupted, and the entire economy of the South essentially came to a halt.
Immediate Success, Long Term Failure
by
Thesis Both the presidency and Congress passed several reforms to attempt to solve all of these problems, however the progress that was made during Reconstruction was for the most part shot down by the Compromise of 1877.
Outline of the Contents
I. IntroThesis
II. Condition of the South Immediately Following the Civil War
III. The Presidential Reconstruction Plan
IV. The Congressional Reconstruction Plan
V. Economic Reform
VI. Social Strife
VII. Conclusion
VIII. Bibliography
When General Lee surrendered to the Union army in the Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865, the period of Reconstruction began. The Civil War had settled the issue of slavery and the question of states' rights, but several problems remained in the torn nation. First, the Union had to be successfully reunited and control of the Southern states' governments had to be nurtured back to the national consensus. Second, the South was in a social chaos. Southerners' spirits had been broken by the war, and the pervasive issue of racism still had to be addressed. Newly emancipated slaves were without refuge, had little education, and their economic status was uncertain. Third, the South was in economic shambles: all of the wealth invested in slaves was gone, plantations lay in ruins, and railroads and cities were torn to shreds by the Union army. Both the presidency and Congress passed several reforms to attempt to solve all of these problems, however the progress that was made during Reconstruction was for the most part shot down by the Compromise of 1877. The Civil War left the South in ruins. Once beautiful plantations were torn apart, and cities were burnt to the ground. Economic investment in banks, factories, or any other business were squandered, mostly due to General Sherman's march. Transportation was completely disrupted, and the entire economy of the South essentially came to a halt.