Reconstruction’s efforts resulted due to the effects of the civil war that had occurred in Southern states. The war had greatly affected the states politically, socially, and economically. In 1861, Southern success cleared the need for Republicans to compromise their stand for them to win their bid to preserve the union.
Led by Abraham Lincoln, republicans embarked on changing the racist laws, freeing slaves who advocated for secessionism, enrolling African-Americans troops, and eventually banning the practice of slavery throughout the country. Slaves managed to escape and hide in territories that were being managed by unions. They fought bravely against their past oppressors.
The war led to the end of slavery. However, it left the country adversely affected physically and financially. The white southerners, however, reacted as though nothing big had resulted from the civil war apart from the abolition of slavery. After Lincoln’s assassination, the southerners passed laws that made it hard for African Americans to participate in voting, testify in courts against the whites as well as buy or hire real estate.
Republicans; who controlled Congress did not welcome this move leading to them taking the initiative to reconstruct the country. They introduced a bill that led to all races having access to food; they also established schools where children from African-Americans could get educated from. Most people believe that reconstruction brought about significant changes in the country.
For a long time, African-Americans had been subjected to working with threats of being severely punished. They could be separated from their families without their consent and were not allowed to marry or go to school. With reconstruction, they managed to own lands as well as work under favorable conditions. They got the right to marry and attend schools as whites did. Some even engaged in the country’s politics. It was the belief of the southern whites that blacks could not be able to run their own life. They violently treated the blacks, blaming them for the fighting that had previously occurred. Ku Klux Klan group was formed that targeted all those who had helped the blacks in gaining their freedom.
This led to a period of terror where the group greatly vandalized and terrorized people. African-Americans who were perceived to be supporting Republican ideas were marginalized and attacked. Despite Congress passing some laws that aimed at banning discrimination and oppression of the blacks, the laws were hardly implemented. The whites devised new ways of intimidating the blacks.
Most of the Northerners expected the south to accept the effects of war and to proceed in looking for ways to reunite their state. They felt little unkindness against their friends in the south, but they did not have a sense of patience. Most of the northerners did not support the issue of treating blacks well. They perceived that by blacks getting power to access the job market, they could threaten their economic security.