Reconstruction in the United States

Reconstruction in the United States

After a seven year long war with their mother land, the United States of America found themselves again in a period of conflict; but this time, within their own country. Even though the United States is a country that presumably grants “liberty and freedom for all,” there was vast division of opinions between the Northern and Southern regions of the country on what that meant. This led to a four year long civil war surrounding the ideas of economic and political power and most notably, the value of African American lives. The depth of this division still reverberates today, almost 160 years after President Abraham Lincoln passed the “Emancipation Proclamation'' on January 1st, 1863. Even after such a bold statement, slavery and its effects on American society were far from being dismantled within their communities. The name of the post-war era, “Reconstruction”, does not rightfully describe what happened between 1865 and 1877. Originally, Reconstruction’s goal was to reunite the North and the South of the United States, and to establish economic and racial equality on all levels of American society. Unfortunately, this attempt resulted in a further separation between these regions, both economically and culturally. Many historians have actually even wondered if Reconstruction was inherently successful. Although there were some beneficial efforts in elevating Black lives, the failures of that era far outweigh them. Reconstruction led to Black Codes and Jim Crow laws enabling the establishment of a white supremist society. The physical and legal attacks towards black people even became normalized with the rise of the KKK. In addition, freedmen had little to no support as they came out of slavery, thus keeping them in extreme poverty.

One of the major failures of Reconstruction was the implementation of Black Codes and Jim Crow Laws. These laws enforced separation between races and hence opposed the ideal society Reconstruction was trying to create. When these laws started to becoming more popular, especially in the southern states, it seemed as if white people were attempting to maintain the same separation between races that there once was during slavery. Racism was already deeply embedded within American culture and the norms of segregation within the races would soon become a much harder task to complete than anticipated by the U.S Government. Take “Black Codes” for example, a set of laws that implemented a form of segregation between white and black people within society, essentially maintaining the ideas of slavery without using the words “slave” or “slave-owner” . Some common laws that were found in multiple “Black Codes” were how African Americans were not allowed time off or how they had to be employed by a white man. This system allowed the white man to maintain his authority and power while still following the newly found laws. In the same way, this system led to black people being dependent on white people and therefore the power-dynamic there one was during slavery was still maintained post-civil war. However, Black Codes were made illegal when the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the 14th Amendment were put in place. Unfortunately, these laws were ignored and racial hierarchy integrated itself in America again with the supreme court case Plessy v. Ferguson of 1896. The case ruled that Americans are “separate but equal” further allowing segregation between white and black people. The Supreme Court additionally stated that this decision does not “violate the 14th amendment” as this law “only applies to state and federal affairs.”. This racially biased case in addition to further separating the country, went against the Civil Rights Act that was passed a few years prior as it stated that all persons were equal no matter their "race or color, or previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude.". However, the most impactful outcome that came out of the ruling was how it led to Jim Crow laws, a set of laws that allowed states to enforce segregation between white and black people. These laws led to requiring public services such as buses and schools to be separated by race. Racism thus became much more embedded within American society and racial hierarchy between the races led black people to be seen as “less human” and not deserving of the amenities white people got on a daily basis. Jim Crow Laws as well as Black Codes not only allowed but justified the racist mindset of white Americans towards people of color. It wasn’t until a century later in the 1960s that African Americans stood up for themselves during the Civil Rights Movement that the United States government finally acknowledged that black people are deserving of the same rights as their white peers. This accomplishment is one to be proud of as African Americans were victims of direct attacks, whether it be on their bodies, or their rights.

The attacks towards African Americans in the United States during reconstruction had an everlasting effect on American society reinforcing the failure of this time period. At the beginning of Reconstruction when the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments were passed many white Americans were infuriated. Due to the embedding of racism in American society, the idea that the people who were once their property were now equal to them was one that enraged white people. To add on to their frustration, many farmers lost their way of making money quickly and efficiently. These changes in American society led to institutions such as the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) created by J. Calvin Jones and Nathan Bedford Forrest in 1865 started to form in order to prevent African Americans from getting the rights they were promised. This institution for example, would host “picnics” where the main source of entertainment was lynching a black man, barracade voting sites of freedmen, and would burn black institutions. Even though the KKK was banned by the government in 1871 by the “Ku Klux Klan Act'', these demonstrations of violence further embedded social racism within America, something that Americans still struggle to dismantle in 2022. Moreover, the government’s blatant ignorance towards the violence black people had to endure further proves the argument that Reconstruction was a failure. This is because it did not fulfill its promise in supporting African Americans and rather continued to support the brutality done towards

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