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Was Reconstruction a Success or a Failure?

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Was Reconstruction a Success or a Failure?

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Reconstruction led to many good things as well as bad. Whether Reconstruction was a success or a failure is quite the controversy. Some good things that came out of Reconstruction were the Freedmen's Bureau and the better, or higher, views of African Americans. However, on the negative side of things, Reconstruction also involved sharecropping and the Military Reconstruction Acts, which brought some hardships as well. All in all though, with all things considered, I would say that the Reconstruction was a success. Not only did it help African Americans be viewed differently, but it also brought our country back together after the Civil War.

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The war left us economically and physically devastated. In order to restore the economy, we have to start sharecropping. This is bad for me, because most of my crops must go to the owner of my land. My family and I have to live off of what few crops we have, and it's not easy. We've started selling our crops for money, but it hasn't helped much. I'm not sure how this is supposed to help us. Hopefully this changes soon...

African American Sharecropper

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The image below shows the first African American Senator and Representatives. This is significant, because before Reconstruction, African Americans were slaves, and could not hold political positions; this shows one way in which Reconstruction helped African Americans. The Fifteenth Amendment allowed African American men to vote, which led to these people to holding political positions.

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In the election of 1876, Samuel J. Tilden won the popular vote, but was unfortunately one vote short of actually being elected. Congress (the Southern Democrats in) only would agree to accept Hayes if federal troops withdrew from the South. Republican leaders agreed to the Democrats' demands, and Hayes was elected. This agreement, now named the Compromise of 1877, was the informal negotiation that officially ended Reconstruction in the South.

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On April 15, 1865, Lincoln was assassinated at Petersen House in Washington D.C. Lincoln was fifty-six years old. Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, in Hodgenville, KY. Lincoln was one of three children to his parents, Thomas and Nancy Lincoln. Lincoln was married to Mary Todd Lincoln, and they had four sons. Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth President of the United States. Lincoln was President for four years, until his death. One of Lincoln's famous quotes is something special. It says, "And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."

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The Military Reconstruction Acts of 1867 were passed by the Radical Republicans, who had complete control of Congress. These acts divided the south into five military districts. The Military Reconstruction Act was Congress' way of making a step in establishing Reconstruction. After this, Johnson was impeached.

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The Freedmen's Bureau did many things to help former slaves and poor whites after the war. One thing they did, as pictured below, was establish schools for these people. These schools allowed African Americans to be educated, unlike before. This was one of many things that changed for African Americans during Reconstruction.