Restoration as a Better Fitting Term Than Reconstruction...

Restoration as a Better Fitting Term Than Reconstruction for the Period 1865-1877 During the period 1865 to 1877, Reconstruction was the period in American history immediately after the Civil War. The physical rebuilding of Southern cities, ports, railroads, and farms that had been destroyed during the war was only a small part of the Reconstruction process. The major work of Reconstruction involved restoring the membership of the Southern states in the Union. The main president during this period was Johnson, following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and although Johnson disagreed with slavery he was opposed to equal rights for blacks and the notion that they were equal to whites. The main†¦show more content†¦However, due to the racism in the country during this period, this amendment was not followed through. So to counteract this, Congress decided to take Reconstruction into their own hands and passed the 14th Amendment declaring equality for blacks and the fact that they, Congress, should have the power to enforce this amendment (section 5). This turnaround from what life was like previously for the black people before the war is so significant because before black people were not even considered to be second-rate citizens, which they were following the amendment, they weren’t even citizens in the eyes of the law. This amendment was in many ways badly drafted, decided on through compromise and the need to hurry it through before the Southern states were readmitted and could object to it. In the pattern of passing amendments, the first, second and third Reconstruction Acts were passed in March and July of 1867. These acts provided a much more radical approach to dealing with the South and were the result of shock at Johnson’s obstructive attitude against blacks. Unlike the previous bills they only just made the two thirds majority, which shows that the more moderate of the Republican Party were beginning to feel uncomfortable at the degree of federal intervention in theShow MoreRelatedReconstruction : The Burning Years10732 Words   |  43 Pagesadvised. (beat) From — — — Productions: RECONSTRUCTION: THE BURNING YEARS. (Music) D.G.: Good evening. My name is Dan Gorman. Like many of you, I didn’t learn much about Reconstruction in high school. I had a wonderful teacher who did much to show the nuances of American history, such as the effects of states’ rights and slavery on the Civil War. Still, my teacher, along with the A.P. exam, the state curriculum, and our textbooks, moved quickly past Reconstruction. I assumed that, aside from the FourteenthRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pageswe routinely set apart as centuries suggests the need for flexibility in demarcating phases of world history, and for determining beginnings and endings that accord with major shifts in political and socioeconomic circumstances and dynamics rather than standard but arbitrary chronological break points. In the decades that followed the Great War, the victorious European powers appeared to have restored, even expanded, their global political and economic preeminence only to see it eclipsed by the