Reconstruction denotes a problematic period in US history that followed the Civil War. It was associated with the effort of reintegrating the Southern states into the United States from the Confederacy. Under President Andrew Johnson’s administration, the new legislature concerning Southern states was passed with restrictive ‘Black Codes,’ which would control the work and behaviors of previously-enslaved individuals as well as free African Americans. However, the North states showed extreme dissatisfaction with the codes, which led to the increased support for the initiative of Presidential Reconstruction, resulting in the prevalence of a more radical wing of the Republican Party. Throughout Radical Reconstruction that started with the passing of the Reconstruction Act in 1867, newly-enfranchised people of color attained representation for the initial time in the history of America, winning elections to the legislatures of the Southern states as well as the Congress. However, in less than ten years, reactionary forces, such as the Ku Klux Klan, would eliminate the chances of the Radical Reconstruction in a harsh effort of restoring the South’s white supremacy.
The importance of the Presidential Reconstruction lies in the effort of the ruling government to establish a system that would enable a transition from slavery to freedom; however, the plan was flawed. The South was free to regulate its own approach to the transition and provided no substantial role to African-Americans in the politics of the South. In addition, the President ordered almost all of the lands that were in the government’s hands to be returned to their pre-Civil-war owners, which dashed the hope of the people of color for at least a minimal degree of autonomy. The new Black Codes legislation significantly limited the legal rights and economic opportunities of former slaves, which, as a result, forced them to go back to work on plantations as dependent laborers. Furthermore, some Southern states limited the number of occupations available to Blacks, with none of them allowed to vote or receive education from public funds.
The Presidential Reconstruction ended through the initiation of the Radical Reconstruction. In the beginning, the majority of Northerners believed that President’s plan could potentially succeed. However, as time passed, the states in the north turned out against the policy as more members of the Southern elite returned to power, including those who had served in the Confederate army and government. In the 1866 midterm congressional elections, Northern voters unanimously rejected the Reconstruction policies, with the Radical Republican-dominated Congress deciding to restart the process. The Reconstruction Acts passed in 1867 divided the former Confederacy states into five military districts and designated the way in which new governments would be constituted. The key message was to establish social, economic, and political environments based on equality without regard to race and previous slave status.
The governments of the Radical Reconstruction aided the broadened citizenry by establishing the first state-funded public schooling systems in the South, aiming to increase the strength of plantation laborers’ bargaining power, making taxation more equitable, as well as outlawing racial discrimination in public accommodations. The vision of a “New South” with boosted economic growth would benefit the entire population, considering the significant investment into railroads and other enterprises. The shortfalls of the programs were the rising taxes and corruption, which resulted in the alienation of more white voters every year, leading to a subsequent overtaking of power by the reactionary forces.