While the American civil war succeeded in freeing the slaves and preserving the union, lack of political focus during reconstruction failed to heal the sectional wounds and bring racial integration.
Reconstruction Failed to Rebuild the South and Meet the Demands of the Radical Republicans
One objective of the reconstruction was to rebuild the destroyed landscape of the southern states, revive their shattered economy and make them equals with the northern states. Even so, the divisions over reconstruction in the federal government made it difficult to achieve these goals. President Lincoln had come up with a 10% plan which provided a soft way for the southerners to rejoin the union (Fitzgerald, 2007). After the assassination of Lincoln, however, Andrew Johnson who was the former owner of the slaves became president and started a different plan for reconstruction. Even though his plan worked in the beginning, the former confederates got elected to the Congress. Disputes from the North made it difficult for the union to get back the Southern states into the union (Fitzgerald, 2007). With the completion of the transcontinental railroad and the skyrocketing of the industrial output in the North, there was the Northern boom which drew attention away from the Reconstruction.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Reconstruction Failed to Integrate Freed Slaves
Another objective of the reconstruction was to integrate the freed slaves into the society. While there was definite progress made towards this, such as the guaranteeing the African American some civil liberties provided by the 13th, 14th and the 15th amendment, the rise of the white dominated groups such as the Ku Klux Klan together with the black codes intimidated freed slaves and dragged back the progress towards civil liberties (Fitzgerald, 2007). The Supreme Court which was dominated by the white judges did not fully grant the rights of African Americans through their judgments. Additionally, the system of sharecropping system such as the crop lien made the African Americans to be indebted, reminiscent and dependent of slavery.
Reference
Fitzgerald, M. W. (2007). Splendid failure: postwar reconstruction in the American South . Ivan R Dee.
