Introduction
The emancipation proclamation was a key way that led to the abolition of slavery in the United States of America. Although Lincoln issued the emancipation proclamation, his huge motive was to crush the south military and unite the union rather than granting the slaves their freedom. Consequently, if his single goal in the civil war was to end slavery from the beginning, he would have therefore issued the proclamation early on in the war or rather made abolition the foremost part of his campaign platform when he ran for the presidency. Therefore, after the emancipation proclamation, it brought out changes in both the political and economic status of African Americans as discussed in the paper:
The Changes Made by Emancipation Proclamation and their Effects in Post-Civil War Years
The emancipation proclamation brought out reconstruction as it served as the quest for full citizenship for the African Americans as they gained freedom. At first, the northern teachers, mostly white, traveled into the south to educate and offer training for the new population that had gained freedom. Henceforth, the learning institutions from the elementary level through the tertiary level provided a variety of opportunities as the freed population was offered the basic skills of reading and writing. Additionally, the various types of vocational training centers offered theology, trained arts, and classics.
Furthermore, the 15th amendment to the United States offered that all male citizens were entitled to cast their votes during the elections. In South Carolina, as many blacks hugely outnumbered the whites, the newly freed voters sent many African American representatives to the state legislature, and they even outnumbered the whites in the assembly (Archer, 2017). Therefore, the legislators worked on rewriting the constitution, passing laws, and thus ensuring that the public was given aid in universal male privilege to vote, had the right to education, and ensuring civil rights for all the citizens.
On top of that, the local, national, and state governments came up with a body of laws to regulate the activities of the newly freed African Americans. Additionally, in the 19th century, there were two African Americans who served as United States senators, and another black man was appointed after the civil war to serve several crucial governmental positions, including being the Minister Resident, and Recorder of Deeds (Archer, 2017). Therefore, black people ably served and held vital positions during the reconstruction as they were involved in the entire political process as they were not only represented as voters but also as governmental representatives at the local, state, and national levels.
In addition, the emancipation proclamation allowed the freed slaves to participate in the military as they joined the union army and navy to help free those who were still enslaved. Consequently, emancipation changed the lives of black people as black churches were formed that helped the people develop courage and inspiration. The black people could now legally marry, and children could attend government-funded public schools.
A Reflection on how the Various Visions of a Reconstructed South Differed
They were various visions of the reconstructed south and these visions had some differences amongst themselves. Firstly, President Lincoln had a plan that involved showing concern and mercy to the south as he envisioned a peaceful and easygoing reconstruction and thus he wanted to protect African Americans. On the other hand, some radical republicans in congress had a vision that involved a typical forceful reconstruction, and therefore, they would not lead the former confederate officers and leaders to hold offices and thus they forced them to unite and be more like a union (Brenneman, 2019). Additionally, Johnson did not seem to have a clear vision although he would cheer confederate leaders to the office and this seemed to go well.
Henceforth, these several visions reflected both old political and social divisions in several ways. For instance, radical republicans insisted and wanted the south to be more like a union, and that was simply what had caused the civil war. President Lincoln’s vision had the desire to stop slavery and free the African Americans and this was evident during the pre-war and post-war periods. The differing visions reconstructed south reflect on the old political and social divisions that had led to civil war as they circumscribe around the disagreements over the issues concerning economic interests, slavery in American society, cultural values, and the power of the government to control the states.
Comparison Between the Move to Impeach President Johnson and Calls to Impeach President Obama
The impeachment of President Johnson was a result of the political conflict and the social break of ideologies after the civil war. Consequently, the impeachment had risen from the uncompromised beliefs and controversies for power in a nation that was struggling with the aim of reunion. Therefore, when President Johnson breached the tenure of office act by removing a secretary of war from the cabinet, his impeachment proceedings began being backed politically (Hodges, 2019). The act stated that a president could not dismiss appointed leaders without the consent of Congress but Johnson believed it was unconstitutional and wanted it to lawfully be tried in courts, however, it was the president himself who was tried in the court.
On the other hand, the calls to impeach President Obama among Republicans were that he had not fulfilled his duty, as well as he simultaneously abused his executive power. Therefore, the move to impeach both President Johnson and calls to impeach President Obama are similar in the sense that they were presented in the Congress by their opposers and that the calls were out of the legislators considering that both the Presidents had neglected the law in some extent and abusing their executive power. On the other hand, the move to impeach President Johnson and the calls to impeach President Obama differs as in Johnson’s case, the impeachment articles were presented in the court whereas in President Obama’s case there were no impeachments articles present to the judiciary. Therefore, the move to impeach President Johnson showed that Congress had ample evidence to impeach him as they had a list of impeachment articles while in President Obama’s calls to impeach him, Congress did not have ample evidence.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is true that the emancipation proclamation led to the freeing of African Americans and gave them the right to participate in the political and election processes as they were able to vote and be represented in the legislature. The black people, therefore, gained the right to education, and religion as schools and churches were built which enlightened them and made them skilled and hence be able to write, and read. Eventually, the post-Civil War era brought in democracy as all citizens were proved to be equal and therefore, they were able to perform their citizenry duties accordingly.
References
Archer, R. (2017). Emancipation and free African Americans. Oxford Scholarship Online. Web.
Brenneman, J. (2019). A word about … Abolitionist mamas and a new emancipation proclamation. Review & Expositor, 116(1), 61-64. Web.
Hodges, A. (2019). To impeach or not to impeach? Anthropology News, 60(3) Web.