Radical reconstruction happened in America in the 19 th century, it was when the radical republicans won the election of the 1866. At that time the radical republicans had taken over almost all the policy making in the congress. The Republicans believed that the blacks had an equal opportunity political wise just like the whites ( Foner, 1983) . President Andrew Johnson and some white Americans are believed to be the real villains of the supposed reconstruction.
According to Eric Toner radical reconstruction was not radical enough. Most whites were civilians of the drama that happened; most blacks believed in some religious things that their god would actually help them write history. While at it they did a lot of praying and desperately waiting for their savior to help them. As Foner (1983) explained, most whites were only concerned about losing their properties which included plantations and black slaves; they felt entitled especially to the slaves and did not want them to seek their freedom.
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President Andrew Johnson of plebeian origin withdrew from the union. He was initially for both republicans and democrats after President Lincoln was assassinated. Things were tough for him to protect the African Americans who had newly acquired their freedom, ensure no war broke again and keep the country in unity ( Foner, 1983) . However, after not so long he sowed his interests in political power which was initially for the southern whites.
I therefore agree with Columbian historian Eric Toner that radical reconstruction was not radical enough because blacks were not allowed to vote since former southern whites gained powers back into the conferences. President Johnson helped the southern whites reject the fourteenth amendment that would allow blacks to be protected and have their freedom, in the end southern blacks ended up poor, hopeless and helpless. Therefore, there was really no reconstruction done to them at all.
The Southerners reinvented themselves after war in several ways after the war mostly through religion and activist groups. Politicians tried to make sure that the common citizen of the south felt represented and that their needs were looked into. Notably, they also attempted to regulate businesses in the region so that they would be fair to both republicans and democrats, farmers forming unions and many others. However, although it was hard for t planters to adapt to not having blacks as their slaves and the republicans to allow democracy for all. The southerners finally liberated themselves.
The west was mostly occupied by large scale farmers of wheat in the 19 th century, that is, the period between civil war and the First World War. The wheat planted here was mainly for commercial purposes because it was the main food in and out of America during those days. Wheat cultivation increased rapidly since there was an increasing demand for the produce in and out of the continent.
Railroad expansion was one of the main causes of inevitable conflicts with the Native Americans including the Sioux and Cheyenne communities. The natives felt belittled by the white man and his railroad made of iron. Bowden (2017) noted that they thus mostly did not want the iron railroad navigating through their native land hence fiercely fought the white men building the railroad from the two competing companies; the Union Pacific and the central pacific.
The western settlement increased rapidly in a short period of time in the 19 th century. Settlers and planters would buy the small pieces of land that the natives had for their subsistence farming to increase their plantation which did not auger well with the natives. The settlers however kept buying land for some time then selling it to move further west where land was virgin and fertile (Warren & Ward, 2018). Hence, they kept having conflict with the natives who felt like the settlers were intruding into their own land. Natives especially from Virginia and Carolina were pushed away from their farms by large scale planters leading to even more conflicts.
Conclusively farming and the railroad were the main source of conflict between whites and natives. The railroad opened up the west to outsiders including Chinese who were working at the railroad construction. The natives really fought them since they did not want the iron railroad to pass through their land. Some people who came via railroad were farmers and settlers who pushed the natives out of their own lands to extend their plantations. The natives always fought back, hence making war and conflict by the natives investable.
References
Bowden, B. (2017). Management history: journal of management history
Foner, E. (1983, October/November). The new view of reconstruction. American Heritage Magazine, 34(6). Retrieved from http://staging.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1983/6/1983_6_10.shtml
Warren, W. R.,& Ward, D. R. (2018). The American history. The university of Alabama press
