During Reconstruction, the United States faced different economic, social, and political issues. However, for the South and the North, the impact of this period varied substantially independence on the region’s characteristics. First of all, the level and nature of Reconstruction’s influence were presupposed by different economic structures. The North was based on manufacturing, commerce, finance, and free labor, while the South focused on agriculture and slavery (“Economic development during the Civil War and Reconstruction,” n.d.). African American slaves who grew staple crops and cotton for European and American textile mills provided the region’s prosperity. Thus, the South was critically affected by the Civil War and Reconstruction that abolished slavery as it was the basis of its economy. Without the main source of its income, Southerners had no money to recover and rebuild their states.
Although the North was also impacted by Reconstruction as it had used goods produced by the South. However, the outcomes were less serious as the North was highly developed, rich, and independent from unfree labor. When the Confederate Congress excessively printed money to save the Southern states’ economies affected by the inability to trade with Europe due to the Atlantic’s blockade by the Union, it led to severe inflation across the whole country (“Economic development during the Civil War and Reconstruction,” n.d.). In addition, during Reconstruction, Northern workers had to experience a period of layoff as factories canceled war contracts. Nevertheless, the consequences of Reconstruction were less serious for the North, which started its growth and development, while the South was left in ruins.
Reconstruction abolished slavery and provided the right to vote, citizenship, and legal protection for former slaves. It was required from new state constitutions to include the positions related to their enfranchisement. During Reconstruction, newly freed African Americans could own land, work for money, move, and have families. However, in the South, they faced serious discrimination and rejection from former White slave owners who did not want to accept new rules and undertook all efforts to tie former slaves to the land. In addition, due to a lack of money, most freedpeople could not buy the land and were involved in sharecropping which made them dependent and poor. Moreover, Reconstruction’s initiatives, such as equitable taxations, public school systems, and the construction of railroads for economic development, were destroyed by rising taxes, corruption, and the overrepresentation of White voters. At the same time, the North took advantage of the Reconstruction due to modernized agriculture, the influx of labor force in Northern states, and the federal government’s presence in the economy.
In a political sphere, as the Reconstruction Amendments allowed former slaves to vote and participate in governance, along with the federal support to the North, this situation led to the replacement of Confederates by Northerners and Blacks. It resulted in the resistance of Southern states to accept new constitutions or follow them. In addition, the dominance of freedpeople in politics led to the unprecedented violence of Southerners about Blacks and the organizations of particular unions that aimed to discriminate and even harm the latter. All in all, it is possible to say that the South was negatively impacted by the Reconstruction, while for the North, it was associated with growth and development.
Reference
Economic development during the Civil War and Reconstruction. (n.d.). Web.