It is virtually impossible to answer the question of whether America's farmers or industrial workers had it worse in the period 1865 through 1916, because issues of gender, culture, and race make it difficult, if not impossible, to generalize about people in either occupation. Furthermore, reg...

Reconstruction The reconstruction after the Civil War lasted until about 1877. Many people suffered during this period of time. Property damage was done to farms, factories and railroads. During this time the economy was weakened because of the pillaging. Some economic hardships included dest...

Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men by Eric Foner was first published in 1970, and it discusses how the ideology of the Republican Party shaped the outcome of the Civil War. America faced a crisis in which it had two paths it could take, would it become a country of free men or slavery? Eric Foner in Fr...

The Era of Reconstruction following the Civil War was a period marked by an intense struggle to restore a worn-out and devastated society. The war, which was aimed at confronting the national problem of slavery, only led to subsequent dilemmas over emancipation and an undefined condition of free...

On June 13, 1866, Thaddeus Stevens, the leader of the House of Representatives and the nation's most prominent Radical Republican, addressed his congressional colleagues on the issue of the Fourteenth Amendment. The purpose of this amendment was to secure the fruits of Union victory in the Civil Wa...

The episode in history known as "The Compromise of 1877" is one of the more interesting stories in the history of the United States. Not only did this compromise bring an end to a disagreement that was keeping us from selecting a president, but it also brought about sweeping changes in the social,...

After the defeat of the Confederate forces in the Civil War, and their "acceptance" back into America, something needed to be done to help the newly abolished slaves, and to rebuild and reconstruct the remains of the South. This period after the war was deemed Reconstruction. The main fo...

The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson With the assassination of Lincoln, the presidency fell upon an old-fashioned southerner named Andrew Johnson. Although an honest and honorable man, Andrew Johnson was one of the most unfortunate Presidents. Over time there has been a controversial deba...

One law in particular led to bitter conflict. The Tenure of Office Act prevented the President from dismissing a Cabinet member without the consent of the Senate. Johnson said the act was unconstitutional because it violated the separation of powers. To make the Supreme Court rule on this law, Johns...

Living For Others William Faulker's A Rose for Emily tells the story of a young woman who is violated by her father's strict mentality. After being the only man in her life, Emily's father dies, and she finds it hard to let go. This story takes place after the Civil War when the North takes cont...

John Paul Figaro History Professor Gary Reconstruction Paper Reconstruction policies proved to be the seeds of failure in American race relations in the 19th century. Reconstruction demanded the Negroes freedom, their civil rights, the opportunity for economic freedom, educa...

The time following the Emancipation Proclamation was at first a time when the color line was blurred. Blacks and whites intermingled freely, more so then ever before, yet these interactions were not representative of the South accepting the freedman into society. The Black Codes were enacted so t...

As early as 1863, Lincoln outlined a plan for Reconstruction. Under Lincoln's Ten Percent Plan, as it was called, a southern state could form a new government after 10 percent of its voters swore an oath of loyalty to the United States. Once it was formed, the new government had to abolish slavery. ...