To What Degree was Reconstruction after the Civil War successful
Reconstruction was successful politically in its attempts to solve the problems of how to deal with the newly freed slaves and how to bring the seceded states back into the Union after the Civil War; however, many of these methods were unsuccessful or had no effect socially or economically. Some solutions determined by Reconstruction included: the passage of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments; the Freedmen's Bureau; the Reconstruction Act of 1837, the Civil Rights Act, and the Enforcement Act of 1870. In 1865, Congress ratified the Thirteenth Amendment, which stated that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States." Simply put, the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery. The passage of this amendment was successful politically; however, many states did not readily enforce this law. Many even passed discriminatory laws known as black codes. These laws were seen by Republicans as the driving vehicle for the reconstitution of the Democratic Party in the South. The black codes placed numerous restrictions on African-Americans including the prohibition of blacks to carry weapons, serve on
However, with the help of the Freedmen's Bureau, former slaves began to slowly pull themselves back up. Everyone, regardless of color, was entitled to equal protection of the law and the states were enjoined from violating the rights of citizens to life, liberty, property, and equal protection of laws. " However, the Fifteenth Amendment did not succeed in making it possible for qualified African-Americans to exercise their right to vote. Congress voted in February of 1866 for the continuation of the Bureau. It most definitely was a successful solution to one of the main problems after the war-how to deal with the newly freed slaves. juries, testify against whites, marry whites, start their own businesses, and travel without permits. The South still found ways to keep blacks from exercising their civil rights, which included the above mentioned black codes and racist groups like the Ku Klux Klan. of every race and color, without regard to any previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude. " It also forbade states from passing discriminatory laws like the black codes. This act allowed former Confederate states to reenter the Union if they agreed to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment and grant African-American men the right to vote in their new state constitutions. To protect the civil rights of African-Americans, Congress passed the Reconstruction Act of 1867. Overall, reconstruction succeeded politically in its attempts to solve the problems of how to deal with the newly freed slaves and how to bring the seceded states back into the Union. The Civil Rights Act extended citizenship to "all persons born in the United States and not subject to any foreign power. Therefore, the Enforcement Acts of 1870 and 1871 were enacted to protect the voting rights of African-Americans and give the federal government power to enforce the Fifteenth Amendment.
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