The era of reconstruction in the United States history ranged from the year 1863 to the year 1877 and the country undertook a big step of slavery abolishment and also eliminating confederacy. The country also undertook a huge step in recognizing the rights of the freed slaves. All this was enhanced by the three amendments that sought to strengthen the role of the federal government in the country and also the role of the courts of the United States. These policies were subjected to a lot of debate especially in the north when the war started and this would later be escalated the periods after the Emancipation Proclamation which was issued in the year 1863. This was due to the high level occupation of the federal government in the lower territories of the country which laid a basis for the formation of loyal governments in the states level1.
The then American president played a very important role in developing and implementing the reconstruction policies until he was assassinated in the year 1865. When the troops from the north controlled the majority of the southern states, the reconstruction started in earnest and it ended in different times and different states. The Compromise of 1877 witnessed the collapse of the remaining republic governments in the south and this is the year that is given for the end of the reconstruction era2.
Why the American Reconstruction failed
The American Reconstruction can be said to have failed because of the historical segmentation and racial issues of the United States of America. While the administration of Abraham Lincoln was lobbying for equality especially of the slaves and their incorporation into the voting system of the country, this was meted with a lot of opposition especially from the Southern states and this led to the American Civil War when the Southern States did not like the policy of the administration and attempted to cede from the country. In the year 1865 Lincoln was assassinated and this can rooted to the fact that he wanted to equalize all the races in the country. This shows how the country was ridded with racialism and how the majority of the people considered the Blacks and the Native Americans as an inferior race compared to the major race, the Whites. After 1865 many people would consider that political instigation led to the failure of the reconstruction but this was fueled by the social circumstances in the country whereby the minority races were highly discriminated against3.
Following the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson took over the office and his political ideology was fueled by the racial situation in the country. Before he became a president he was known to support policies which favored the Whites and this did not stop when he became the president of the United States. This can be rooted to the fact that he implemented the Indians Removal policy which greatly contributed to the failure of the American reconstruction. It is important to note that any policy must be supported by the people and his policies were widely supported by the people. This means that the historical segregation in the country played a very important role in the failure of the American reconstruction. The government cannot enforce policies to the people if they do not support them unless the country is a dictatorial country. This was not the case in America which has highly been a democratic country4.
Bibliography
Bailey, Thomas. The American Pageant, A History of the Republic. Vol.1, 4th Edition. Lexington, Massachusetts: D.C. Heath and Company, 1971.
Barney, William L. Passage of the Republic: An Interdisciplinary History of Nineteenth Century America (1987). D. C. Heath.
Footnotes
- Bailey, Thomas. The American Pageant, A History of the Republic. Vol.1, 4th Edition. Lexington, Massachusetts: D.C. Heath and Company, 1971.
- Barney, William L. Passage of the Republic: An Interdisciplinary History of Nineteenth Century America (1987). D. C. Heath.
- Bailey, Thomas. The American Pageant, A History of the Republic. Vol.1, 4th Edition. Lexington, Massachusetts: D.C. Heath and Company, 1971.
- Barney, William L. Passage of the Republic: An Interdisciplinary History of Nineteenth Century America (1987). D. C. Heath.