r Reconstruction. Ultimately, Reconstruction failed because of the negative support for the cause and the large amount of unrest caused by the abolition of the slaves.
             In the South, many of the cities had been demolished, many of the people had died, and the economy was bad. On top of that, the plantation owners had both their slaves and their land confiscated by the government. The people the Southerners once viewed as property were now being their neighbors and their laborers and demanding citizenship. It is not hard to see the reasoning behind why the ex-slaves were not accepted, and the policies, which were to benefit them, were not supported. The abolition of slavery was sudden and seemed to be a direct attack at the Southerners by the North. When the 14th Amendment was passed, which provided equal rights under the law to all citizens, it was declared by Supreme Court to be upheld by state government and not the federal government. Because of this, the Southern government would many times disregard it. The Black Codes were introduced in response to the 14th Amendment which imprisoned blacks or made them do forced labor for committing crimes, even minor ones. Thus
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