Reconstruction After The Civil War Flashcards, test questions and answers

Discover flashcards, test exam answers, and assignments to help you learn more about Reconstruction After The Civil War and other subjects. Don’t miss the chance to use them for more effective college education. Use our database of questions and answers on Reconstruction After The Civil War and get quick solutions for your test.

What is Reconstruction After The Civil War?

Reconstruction after the Civil War was a period of rebuilding and reform in the United States that followed the devastation of America’s deadliest war. The Reconstruction period lasted from 1865 to 1877 and had a lasting effect on American society. It sought to restore both the physical infrastructure of the country and its civil rights, as well as heal divisions between North and South. The main goals of Reconstruction were to readmit former Confederate states into the Union, guarantee civil rights for freed slaves, redistribute land amongst freed slaves and white citizens, enforce labor contracts with black workers, protect voting rights for African Americans, create public education systems in each state, increase taxation on wealthy citizens to fund reconstruction projects, reduce state debt accrued during wartime efforts. Furthermore, it aimed to punish former Confederate leaders while rewarding Union loyalists with government positions. To this end Congress passed several laws during Reconstruction including; The Thirteenth Amendment which abolished slavery nationwide in 1865; The Fourteenth Amendment which granted full citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in America; The Fifteenth Amendment prohibiting states from denying any citizen from voting based upon race or color although women were excluded from this law; And finally The Freedmen’s Bureau Act in 1865 providing aid for newly freed slaves through food distributions, medical care and education. However despite these positive reforms much of this legislation was not enforced due to lack of federal political will or strength at local level. This led to discriminatory practices such as poll taxes acting as an effective way of barring African Americans from voting or segregation laws being implemented by southern states enforcing racial separation in public places such as schools and restaurants even after Reconstruction ended. Overall it can be argued that while Reconstruction made progress towards restoring civil rights following emancipation it also left much work still unfinished when it came to ensuring equality amongst races within America’s society following the Civil War.