Failure Of Reconstruction Research Paper

Reconstruction was said to be "a time of great pain and endless questions." Many people wondered how the Confederacy would integrate into the union, and what would become of the freed slaves. Would black men begin to live like white men? Reconstruction was an extremely challenging time in history because Southerners still wanted to sustain their current way of life, and Northerners firmly believed that they should be punished for this.

Congress established the Freed Man's Bureau on March 3, 1865, which provided programs to help freed slaves obtain jobs and receive education as well as basic health services. The Radical Republicans attempted to expand on the Bureau, but the law that was passed by Congress was vetoed by President Johnson. In May of 1865, President Johnson outlined his agenda to reunite the broken and divided nation. Johnson's plan started with the pardoning of Southern whites, and then he appointed them to positions of Governors. The Governors could then select whomever they wanted to be their Delegates, and of course, they chose members of the old elite for these powerful positions. The attempt made by Johnson to appease the South was successful, however it resulted in violent reprisals against former slaves, and turned the Northern Republicans against Johnson.
By passing this act, Johnson appealed to African Americans and Northern Republicans, but many Southern whites could not tolerate the idea of a black man holding office, and out of this, the Ku Klux Klan emerged. Southerners against black integration began to beat, lynch, and massacre African Americans and Radical Republican leaders.

Only a week before the inauguration of President Grant, the 15th Amendment was proposed, which declared that "the right to vote could not be denied on account of race." One year later the 15th