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So we learned in class today that the Panic of 1873 during Grant’s presidency eventually turned the Northerners away from Reconstruction in the South to focus on the country’s economic crises. While some may argue that the Reconstruction was successful since the Union was able to bring back all of the seceded states (which was the primary purpose of the Civil War for the North), and make freed slaves (freedmen) become part of the society (no matter how minimal that effort was), this era was full of abuses and corruptions that trapped the Blacks from escaping the cruel system they were forced to be part of during their years of slavery. Sharecropping and tenant farming are two of the most common examples of the unbreakable shackles placed on the Freedmen by mostly likely their previous masters. Yes, the rights of citizenships were guaranteed to the Blacks through the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments; however, these reforms were ignored by the Southerners once the Compromise of 1877 removed all the troops sent by the military by the federal government when the once rebel states readmitted to the Union. The social order that the Northerners hoped to find wasn’t really achieved in any of the Southern states with maybe a few exceptions here and there. So from the Black codes to the violations against the Blacks imposed by the Ku Klux Klan, it was inevitable that it was impossible to change the ways the South had been from the beginning.
Here are some clauses/laws that tried to/did take away the rights of the Blacks:
Jim Crow Law
Grandfather clause
This clause is the one that required a grandfather(s) with citizenship for any person to vote.
It takes away the rights passed by the 15th Amendment
Literacy Test
Poll Taxes (Tax per Head)
White Primaries
It is important to note that not only did the failure of Reconstruction and the elevation of the Jim Crow Law bring downfall to the rights of Blacks, it also limited or even prevented the rights of Whites in the South who were not rich nor eligible to pay the taxes that promoted the formation of second class citizens. Therefore, the poor Southern white males who sided with the pro-slavery Southerners during the civil war dug their own graves and the anti-black laws prevailed to bring disadvantages to the blacks.
Joanne, you've developed a great argument that the Reconstruction was a failure, and there was definitely injustice against blacks. However, I would argue that the Reconstruction efforts were largely successful. Change doesn't happen overnight. The Reconstruction was able to create a loosely united stance against slavery after a disastrous war. For example, the 13th, 14th, and 15 amendments all benefited blacks and were successfully ratified and passed through Congress. This link provides a summary of the amendments: https://www.boundless.com/political-science/civil-rights/slavery-and-civil-rights/the-civil-war-amendments/
ReplyDeleteI agree with Joanne's argument. I believe the Reconstruction efforts only worsened the Black's status. True, they were exempt from slavery and were guaranteed rights by the amendments, but the South didn't really try to enforce it. Blacks were still in need of a way of income and with new pro-white groups, the Black's rights were constantly infringed and they had to live in fear. Yes, Reconstruction did have good intentions, but it only resulted in increased sectionalism and did not really help the Blacks.
ReplyDeleteAnother excellent post Joanne! I agree with your point completely when looking at it in a holistic sense; overall the Reconstruction era was a failure though it did have successful elements. One successful element was the Freedmen's bureau which was a Congressional support group for the newly freed African Americans. If you were to argue it another way I would say that it failed to establish African Americans as land owners which conflicted with property qualifications on voting(Southerners used this to bypass the 15th Amendment). So even the positive qualities of the Reconstruction era can be argued in a negative way in order to support your point when taking into account the big scope of the era.
ReplyDeleteAfter hearing your argument, I too agree that Reconstruction was a failure overall. Though it is true that many amendments were passed and legally African Americans gained many rights, in reality they never got to exercise them. Presidential Reconstruction was not active enough in ensuring that the given rights would usable, and thus the bitter South was quick to step in and rope African Americans right back into their former slave status. Initially the North had been excited about abolishing slavery, but after the war people were tired and not as willing to continue fighting for racial equality. "Black codes" were eagerly supported by plantation owners who still needed workers to labor in their fields for next to no pay. White southerners continued to hold no respect for the newly freed slaves, and kept them in conditions disturbingly similar to slavery. A major part of the black codes, the vagrancy law, even allowed white southerners to subject freedmen to involuntary labor.
ReplyDeleteSources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Codes_(United_States)