The Reconstruction Era

After the Civil War, much was left in depression and sadness. The South’s confederate money was worthless and much of their land was destroyed. With these losses also came the question of being fully accepted back into the Union. There were debates over, not only former slave’s rights, but former confederate men’s rights as well. The 11 confederate states somehow had to be restored to their positions in the Union and provided with loyal governments, and the role of emancipated slaves in the South had to be defined. This started a time known as the Reconstruction Era: the period after the Civil War in the United States when the southern states were reorganized and reintegrated into the Union.
To solve problems, many plans were developed and actions taken, including Lincoln’s ten percent plan, requiring at least ten percent of a voting population to take an oath of allegiance and to accept the abolition of slavery, Johnson’s plan, changing it to 50%, and congress’ plan, requiring a majority of voters to take an oath of loyalty. During this period, the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments were passed, giving former slaves freedom, citizenship, and rights to vote. Congress passed a series of acts creating the Freedmen’s Bureau, providing food and medical care, and helping in resettlement (especially in schools), the Civil Rights Act of 1866, giving blacks the rights of full citizenship, and several Reconstruction Acts, dividing the South into 5 military districts and readmitting rebel states into the union. By 1870, all Southern states had been readmitted and all but 500 Confederate sympathizers were pardoned. Former male slaves were given the right to vote and hold public office, interracial marriage became legal, and schools for blacks were ensured.

More than 100 blacks held public office after the Civil War. In the South, states such as Arkansas had improvements in transportation with building of railroads and many public schools were developed. Southern states were accepted back into the Union and the nation began to feel reunited.

In the long run, the rights given to blacks during the Reconstruction Era were the first steps towards equality. It influenced American society in the years to come, eventually leading up to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, making discrimination illegal in public places, and Martin Luther King Junior’s stand for anti-discrimination.