The Effectiveness Of Reconstruction

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The Effectiveness of Reconstruction The end of the Civil War spawned waste and corruption, with Americans untrusting of their political system. The death of Lincoln brought upon the nation unqualified presidents, whose policies did little to ease the dilemmas that the country was facing. Most prominently was Reconstruction, which sat heavily on the shoulders of the government, and had to be handled with utmost care and tact, as it would determine the relationship between the North and the South for years to come. Nevertheless, the inept government led to the failure of Reconstruction. In the Union, though preserved, still lingered resentment between the two sides the Reconstruction failed to soften, and slavery, though abolished, still existed through different forms and the oppression of black rights ensued. As Reconstruction did not fulfill its objectives of restoring peace and unity to the Union and granting slaves equal rights, it is remembered in history as “a glorious failure”. Resentment widely existed from both the North and the South. Reconstruction was meant to restore the country to unity after the Civil War; instead, it produced more animosity between the two sides than the war itself. Republicans wanted to harshly punish the South for its actions. They also wanted to guarantee their dominance in Congress by not allowing any ex-Confederates or Democrats to join. In addition, by bringing up the Civil War, they tainted any Southern politician’s image, practically ensuring the Republicans the office. The actions taken by the Republican Party ensured its rejection by the South for one hundred years. The South also retaliated for what they believed as wrongs done against them by the North and their resentment ran deep. The South believed the Republicans in the North were uprooting the Southern way of life and rejected any northerner that came to the

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