Reconstruction Phase Essay

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Pages: 3

After the American Civil War, came a period of time known as the Reconstruction Phase. The Reconstruction lasted for over fourteen years--from January 1, 1863 to March 31, 1877--and successfully unified the nation of the United States. The Reconstruction’s main purpose is to rebuild the South because much of the South was destroyed after the Civil War. During this era, many laws are introduced that gained the African Americans rights and freedom. It was America’s first taste of multi-racial democracy. Although the Reconstruction sometimes bounces between giving African Americans rights and depriving them off it, the African Americans were far better off after the Reconstruction than before the Civil War. In the United States, the living condition …show more content…
Lincoln’s plan for Reconstruction included the Ten Percent Plan, which said that a southern state can return to the Union which at least 10% of its voters swore an oath of allegiance to the Union. Much of his plan were not implemented due to his early death near the end of the Civil War. Andrew Johnson, the previous vice president, became the president after Lincoln. His vision for the Reconstruction was utterly horrible as he indirectly wanted the South to resume power. He allowed the Southern democrats to pass the Black Code that limits the amount of freedom African Americans receive and practically force them into low wage labour, debt, and the sharecropping system(when landowners allows a tenant to use their land to grow crops in return for a portion of the crops). Despite Johnson’s dreadful presidency, many laws were passed that further gained the African Americans rights and weaken the Southerner’s power even with Johnson’s vetoes--Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendment & First, Second, Third and Fourth Reconstruction Acts. The Civil Rights Act was later passed in 1785, which ensures that everyone is equal in the eyes of the court. At the end of the Reconstruction, the Jim Crow Laws was passed by the Southern States. The Jim Crow Laws created a racial segregation between the blacks and whites. It did not directly punishes the African Americans but is a