Dbq Essay On Reconstruction

666 Words3 Pages
The South was taken advantage of by radical Republicans, carpetbaggers, and the federal government that occupied the South until 1877. The poor and the ex-slaves were treated the worst, mainly by sharecropping that made both the blacks and whites owe money to land owners for at least 20 years. Although this would change when the Reconstruction Time in history brought slaves back to join the Union. The freed blacks were given no assistance in even a small measure of how the society works.Less than 1% of the Southern poor had any education. Schools were built, but there was no required education policy that supervised schools progress or lack of same. When the Freedmen's Bureau was established African-Americans gained access to the rights that…show more content…
Therefore, Lincoln announced the freeing of all slaves in areas not in Union control. Although the proclamation did not free all slaves everywhere, it was the action that would push Congress to pass the thirteenth amendment in 1865. The amendment, ratified later in 1865, stated that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." Lincoln also established a plan for reconstruction, which was deemed the Ten Percent Plan. Andrew Johnson, Lincoln’s Vice President, also had a plan. At first Johnson said he would continue with Lincoln’s plan. However, in reality, Johnson’s plan was rather different. Under his plan, anyone whose property was worth twenty thousand dollars or more was in danger of confiscation. Radicals liked this because it was aggressive towards the planter aristocracy and was encouraging for small farmers. Johnson’s plan went into operation while congress was in adjournment. The time period known as Reconstruction was a huge turning point in our history. By stopping slavery, the industrial North forced the South to abandon its agricultural-based economy. Blacks, now free, were adjusting to this new world where they could become educated and live on their own. Acceptable relations between the broke off from the states and the national government had been fashioned. America truly was The United States once
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