History Reconstruction

¶ … Reconstruction a splendid failure? The Reconstruction period after the Civil War was a time when America attempted to rebuild the structures and things that had been lost during the war. However, the reconstruction was not only about building the building again, but was about rebuilding and redefining I American values. The entire economic structure and socioeconomic culture was to be re-defined. America had to rediscover itself and many of the institutions that it had held dear had to be reexamined.

Some consider the Reconstruction Period to be one of the most splendid failures in American History. They content that the Civil War did nothing to raise the economic or political status of the black person or other minorities. It also contends that the Reconstruction was a miserable failure on the part of industry as well. One of the key issues surrounding the Civil War was the issue of slavery.

There are many who contend that on this issue, the Civil War did nothing and that the reconstruction period represented lip service, especially when it came to human rights issues. The following research will explore the issue of the success or failure of the Civil War on the basis of whether the goals of the war were realized in the reconstruction period. This research will support the position that the Reconstruction was a success and that the accomplishments during this time period laid the foundation groundwork for future reforms.

Eric Foner is the author of many works concerning the conditions that led to the Civil War and the conditions that existed after it during the Reconstruction Period. Foner is a critique of the success of the Civil War reconstruction period and points our that the black condition, particularly in the South, was actually worse after the civil war due the inability to find work and the Jim Crow Laws that promoted extreme racism and violence against blacks.

Many blacks migrated to the North to escape the unfair treatment that sill plagues them in the South. The Civil War created many needs in America and industry had to find new ways to meet these needs. This led to the development of mass production techniques that are still being used today. It led to an improved transportation system and a boom in new inventions, such as refrigerated railroad cars to ship meat from the slaughterhouses in Chicago all the way to New York.

A feat such as this had never before been conceived. After the Civil War the needs of the people remained high and society developed a consumerism never before seen. This led to increased industry and an expanding economy. This was especially true in the North. As slaves migrated North they found a slightly more accepting atmosphere and had the ability to work in the booming industries that populated the North. The reconstruction period gave blacks the chance at a new life.

However, this is not the entire picture and blacks that came to the North often found that they were permitted to work and earn a wage. They also lived in the worst housing in dilapidated outskirts of the industrial areas. Their housing was often inadequate and they earned a considerably lower wage than other minorities. Blacks were given the hardest jobs with the worst working conditions.

In the North they did not have to deal with the violence of the Ku Klux Klan or the discrimination of the Jim Crow Laws, but the North was not perfect either and they still had to face a degree of prejudice. For the black person during the reconstruction, it was all a matter of degree. Many blacks still migrated North, because in the North, at least there was hope.

Many who support the idea that the Civil War was a splendid failure do so on the grounds that the condition of the blacks in the North was not an immediate and drastic improvement. They were not afforded the same benefits and status of the whites. However, one must remember that they could at least earn a wage, where as slaves this opportunity did not exist.

The black person may have had to work longer and harder than the whites for less pay and a substandard lifestyle, but we must remember that in the South, they had substandard living conditions and did not have the chance to earn a wage. Working in the northern factories gave the blacks a way out; some worked and saved their money. They could buy themselves education and eventually became a force to be reckoned with and a voice to be heard.

Without the Civil War that freed them and the reconstruction era that gave them the ability to raise their economic status, they would have never been able to gain any political strength whatsoever. This is not to say that it was not a long hard struggle and that the positive changes happened overnight. In some cases, the condition of blacks was worse after the Civil War and many found themselves in poverty without enough to eat.

However, in the long run, they were able to find a way out, one that would not have been possible without the industrial movement. Industry needed worker to produce more goods. The ability to earn a wage drew many immigrants to America to work in factories. The working conditions were often poor and the factory owners had the final say as to whether a person worked or not. Workers were asked to work long hours with no compensation, in conditions that were hot or hazardous.

Children were allowed to work in the same conditions as the adults. Fights often arose between immigrant groups. Opponents of the success of the reconstruction era argued that these conditions were salve labor. Industry needed workers and Americans, even though the conditions were tough, still enjoyed the newfound prosperity from working in the factories. They spent their money and enjoyed one of the most lavish periods in American history.

However, before long they began to want fair treatment and ideas such as "equal pay for equal work" began to creep into the American lexicon. In short, this eventually led to strikes and riots over working conditions. The new industry as it was originally set up did not work and was not sustainable. However, out of the turmoil rose more fair conditions and the wealthy plant owner was stripped of their ultimate power.

It is true that on the issue of human rights and the development of industry, the reconstruction period may at first appt to be a failure and that in many ways it did create more problems than it solved. However, the booming economy eventually led to.