Evaluate the achievements and failures of Reconstruction governments in the southern states after the civil war.
1 Answer | Add Yours
There were many difficulties the South experienced as a result of the North winning the Civil War. There were many economic hardships the people endured. Because many people of the South owned plantations and this was their only livelihood, when the slaves were freed the plantations suffered further.
Politics changed drastically as well. The 15th amendment was passed giving blacks the right to vote. About 700,000 blacks were given the right to vote while about 15% of whites were not allowed to vote anymore due to new qualifications. Blacks were to be treated as equals under the law, although this did not truly occur. The whites resented having to pay high taxes and did not agree that blacks should be educated along with whites. They felt that education was spoiling good workers.
The government did not address the redistribution of land from whites and therefore many blacks did not have any land to own. Blacks's skills were very limited and they turned to wage labor for the plantation owners.
Many did not agree with the plans of the Reconstruction passed by Congress over President Johnson's veto and showed their protest through verbal threats and arguments through use of propaganda. Eventually the Klu Klux Klan was formed as a protest against the new rights gained by blacks and when Reconstruction ended in 1867, Southern state governments fell to the control of white-supremest conservative Democrats.
Join to answer this question
Join a community of thousands of dedicated teachers and students.Join eNotes