Reconstruction in the Southern United States Essay Example

In the period before the Reconstruction of the Southern states, both the North and the South fought a bloody, five year war, the Civil War. This caused the separation of the two sides, due to their different beliefs and ideas. Because of this, Abraham Lincoln created the 10% plan to help bond the North and the South back together. This is what led into the Reconstruction of the South, for the unity of the United States. Even though, during Reconstruction, the freed slaves of the South had more opportunities in education and even advancements in economy, they couldn’t advance in society and they still were limited on their rights, separating them from the white communities in the South, therefore the Reconstruction of the South had little change to its societal ways. 

After the Civil War, the freed, African American slaves moved higher up in the social class of the South, due to them being free men and women. They were seen as being on the same level as the low class whites, which angered many. These lower class citizens were seen as being the same as the freed slaves. This idea is depicted in Document 1, where it represents the Freedmen's Bureau. The Freedmen’s Bureau was created in order to help the freedslaves, however, it promised these former slaves “40 acres and a mule”, but never went through with their promise. These African Americans were in need of this land, but the whites refused to provide for them. Document 1 indicates that the South had little change to its society after reconstruction because it demonstrates how the Southerners and the freed slaves were still feuding with eachother. In addition to document 1, document 6 expresses the topic of sharecropping, which was growing rapidly at the time in the South. Sharecropping was a form of tenant farming in the South, in which the landowners provided them with part of their land, but the tenant had to pay rent for the land. This may sound luxurious to the freed slaves, however, they didn’t have the money to start off, so they had to give over a large portion of their crops to the landowners. The former slaves couldn’t get out of this decieving cycle, so they were always in debt, working for the landowners. Document 6 is an example of how sharcropping was similar, if not the same, as slavery was. It shows how the African American slaves were still getting treated unfairly, even during the Reconstruction of the South. Eventhough attempts were made during the Reconstruction to have equality for the former slaves in the social class system in the South, they still were pushed to the bottom of the ladder, unable to climb their way up. 

The inability to move up the social ladder in the South wasn’t just the only thing keeping the African Americans segregated in the South. The black codes were put in place to limit the rights of the former slaves. Document 2 illustrates an element of the black codes; blacks couldn’t testify against whites in court. This document demonstrates how Reconstruction had a compact modification to the South’s society because ex-slaves didn’t even have equal rights as the whites even in courts. The document states how many murders occured in the South at the time, and the freed slaves couldn’t go against whites. This exemplifies how the African Americans were treated unfairly after Reconstruction was put into place. These conflicts in the South caught the attention of many Northerners. As depicted in Document 4, carpetbaggers, individuals from the North who came to the South to aid in the reconstruction, were seen as disgraceful by many Southerners. The people in the South didn’t agree with the North invading their government and trying to control the way they lived. This just exhibits how, during the Reconstruction and after the Civil War, the North and the South still didn’t see eye to eye on the topic of segregation of African Americans. 

There are many aspects of the Reconstruction in that South that would illustrate how its society was still structured the same, especially with the former slaves. Although this is true, the South’s economy was impacted during Reconstruction. Due to the Reconstruction, the South’s economy flourished. Document 5 exemplifies this idea. It displays how the “New South” brought a more prosperous economy, rather than just relying on agriculture and slavery as their main commerce. The Southerners realized that farming wasn’t going to advance them to the level the North was at, so they built a better industry, expanding their ideas to modernize the South. Likewise, education for ex-slaves was provided by the Freedmen’s Bureau in the South. Schools made for former slaves were built, and this was seen as a step towards possible independence and prosperity for the African Americans. 

Overall, the Reconstruction seemed to have a minuscule impact on the South’s society. Eventhough, advancemnacts in economy was beneficial and the freed slaves had more opportunities in education, they couldn’t advance in the social class of the South and their rights were still taken away from them, therefore the Reconstruction didn’t have much of an impact on the South. This was all due to the black codes put in place during Reconstruction, the Freedmen’s Bureau, and sharecropping, which had many similar aspects to slavery. These particular ideas led into Jim Crow Laws, which restricted African Amercians even more than the black codes, and segregation of blacks and white for years to come. Eventually, the Civil Rights Movements would take place as well as many protests, especially in the southern states, for equality to all races and genders.