Radical Reconstruction

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After four years of bloody fighting between the United States of America and the Confederate States of America, in 1865 the Southern states were left in ruins debt and terror, and in serious need for help. The reconstruction efforts in the South were at its peak during Lincoln’s and Johnson’s presidency, but following the election of Ulysses S. Grant, and due to political, social and economical issues during the late 1870s, the motivation to continue reconstruction depleted, and as it did, left the South in only little better condition than before the Civil War. Following a long and brutal Civil War, Abraham Lincoln took it upon himself to reconstruct a ruined and poor South, but after his sudden assassination left Andrew Johnson with the…show more content…
As many of the Southern states reentered the Union, Black Codes and laws were passed to limit the rights of African Americans and return the South to its pre-war state. This was detected by Congress, and in attempt to fix this the Civil Rights Act of 1866 was created, which forced the states to ratify the 14th and 15th Amendments. Following the veto of the Act, Congress, for the first time in history, overruled the president’s veto. As the states refused to pass these laws, Congress passed the Military Reconstruction Act, which was again vetoed by the president, and again overruled by Congress. This Act sent military to occupy the states’ governments, during the time of military occupation in the South, African Americans had the most political power than ever for the following century. Since Andrew Johnson vetoed the previous Acts which enforced reconstruction in the South, Congress made an attempt to get rid of him by creating the Office of Tenure Act to impeach Johnson. Following the success of his impeachment, Johnson was able to stay in office. The attempts of the South to recreate the Old South shows its inability to handle the change created following the loss of the war, and shows Congress’ willingness to create equality among races despite the president’s ignorance towards

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