Essay on Failures of Reconstruction

The excerpt from WEB Du Bois argues that blacks have always been a central force of labor and society even if constantly overlooked and demerited, and with the ending of the Civil War and the emancipation of enslaved blacks these same men and women were now impoverished and uneducated due to oppressive laws and racist ideology. With these people now free but unable to acquire the tools to work, be it knowledge or physical necessities, the United States faces an enormous challenge through the reunification of an economically and socially broken nation with an enormous loss of workforce.

Du Bois compares the black man to a ghost on the horizon, overlooked and considered less than a man by the general public. This proves to be true with disenfranchisement being extremely common and most freed blacks being forced right back to previous masters for extremely low pay due to the lack of any other skill and discrimination. Newly freed blacks were soon back to where they began with sharecropping, a system purposefully exploited to keep those renting the land in debt continuously and bound to it (Gender & Jim Crow, Glenda Gilmore). This ties to the aforementioned “paradox” Du Bois speaks of, and that the Freedmen’s Bureau was meant to prevent and support newly freed African Americans.

Furthermore, with disenfranchisement on the rise, education became a great counterforce. African American families, and especially black women, began to go to school and later teach on their own. This was a breaking point of the paradox Du Bois mentions as it allowed the further education of blacks and comparability to white women, who were frequently teachers. This increase in educators helped to improve general education and literacy, and black-only schools were even funded individually under the eventual Plessy v. Ferguson case; ‘separate but equal’ (Gilmore). As unfortunate as it was from the social aspect, many blacks and their supporters used this clause to their advantage as many Southern White Democrats would give funding to the education of blacks if it pushed the ideology of segregation. A common theme was progressive blacks using black codes or Jim Crow laws to their advantage whenever possible; even if it spurred disturbance it gave a proper voice to the cause these men and women represented. Du Bois states that the African American “(He) was not silent.”, which is perfectly demonstrated through the boldness of this movement. Even men such as Booker T. Washington donated toward this cause to further general education and create the ‘New Black Man’ (Gilmore).

To counter black progressivism, in 1865 the Klan began to form and emerge throughout the South and to a minor extent the North (Southern Crucible, William A. Link). The Klan’s primary duty was to disenfranchise, terrorize, and suppress blacks and any supporters such as the Republican Party. The Klan being founded only months after the end of the Civil War was by no means coincidence, only adding further struggle to the political and social freedoms blacks sought to receive. It was not uncommon for lynching, massacres, or even blacks to be shot in broad daylight on the way to the polls; and this soon became a way of life for many (Gilmore). This suppression during the Reconstruction era is one of the many pieces of evidence that proves Du Bois’ argument to be true, as it prevented African Americans from attempting to learn, vote, or be politically active in the first place; usually by the thousands. And those who did wish to vote or be politically active usually had to travel in numbers, armed to an extent, and fully prepared for what opposition might come ahead.

During Reconstruction, political activism was headstrong as blacks refused to accept anything less than full equality. Making their voice as loud as possible to push for the necessity to work and be independent. The Southern economy was now in shambles after the Civil War, with a loss of infrastructure, railroads, and most prominent of all, enslaved labor. Although the South would attempt to disenfranchise blacks, it was clear that they were needed. With education slowly making its way to the general public, African Americans would now be able to learn the skills needed to repair the South and prove their worth to the social eye. In an attempt to counter progressives, blacks, and Republican supporters were met with legislation such as the Mississippi Plan of 1890, which made it extremely difficult to vote and made discrimination far easier. But with organizations such as the NAACP, NAWSA, and NACW founded by Ida B. Wells, forming to fight for the rights of blacks and women; it is apparent that they would not be silenced (Gilmore).

Du Bois thoroughly argues the point that African Americans have always been a key piece of the United States, be it as millions of enslaved workers, or the progressive change which is powerful to this day. It is because of the proactive nature of men and women such as Washington and Wells that African Americans were able to completely alter the nation, bringing social progress and reforming the country as a whole.

According to most, reconstruction was an absolute failure. With head figures such as Andrew Johnson reverting the South to its former presence, what should have taken very little time was drawn out to over a decade. Some major accomplishments that came from reconstruction were the new constitutions brought forth by ex-confederate states, the ratification of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments, improved education, and the inclusion of many African Americans in political positions.

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While this may sound worthwhile, the failures of reconstruction were far more prominent. Andrew Johnson, a Democrat, was in office and put in place his plans which included black codes, reinstating past Confederate officials to their previous positions, pulling Union military forces out of the South, and practically allowing the South to manage reconstruction somewhat independently. Because of this, it was no surprise that blacks had absolutely no place in politics on a local level and were freely disenfranchised. This led to radical political groups such as the Klan emerging and taking full control to ensure a Democrat victory in any election possible. Many newly freed blacks had to turn to sharecropping to simply stay alive and were in constant debt to the landowner which they could rarely leave; practically reinstalling slavery. The South was also prominently behind the North when it came to technology, architecture, economy, and more but had no way to catch up to the North without any form of support and suppressing a large portion of the workforce. Republicans in office would attempt to push bills and legislation in an attempt to form reconstruction in a more proper image, but Johnson would constantly veto these and enforce his plan through executive order. Johnson, growing up poor, would pardon most Southerners except for the upper class in which they were required to send a personal letter to Johnson and plead for a pardon; boosting Johnson’s ego and ignoring active treason to the United States.

While reconstruction had some accomplishments, most were outshined by Johnson’s failures. His main goals being to reinstate Democrats into office, suppress the African Americans' rights and liberties, and push his agenda are why reconstruction is still seen to this day as a general failure.

Ben Butler was a Union General who, when met with escaped slaves or those who had been freed from plantations, had decided they were contraband of war. Due to the slaves being property they were technically confiscated and held as contraband which they would be put to work for the Union Army and would eventually be set free. In approximately 1861 legislation was made that captured, escaped, or freed slaves would now be considered contraband of war. After being freed many slaves would join small towns or build houses in locations designated by the government near Washington D.C., one of these being Freedman’s Village.

Plessy v. Ferguson was a Supreme Court case that instated the ideology of separate but equal in approximately 1896. The Atlanta Compromise was a speech by Booker T. Washington, who had exceptional distaste for the outcome of Plessy v. Ferguson and the decision that separate but equal was constitutional. Booker T. Washington was part of the Niagara Movement, along with men such as William Trotter, a fellow activist.

John Henry was the main character in a folk tale in the 1870s in which he cut a tunnel through a mountain faster than a steam engine. He was a figure for people to look up to when convict lease was prominent; when convicts were leased out for the profit of private prisons and forced to work. Convict leasing is simply slavery with extra steps and is legally allowed by the 13th Amendment as criminals can be punished through work.

The Wilmington Massacre occurred in the very late 1800s and involved whites gunning down blacks who had done nothing to provoke them. It was a political statement and fear tactic by Democrats and Klan members to prevent African Americans from voting. It was part of the Mississippi Plan in which the purpose was to use terror and violence to prevent blacks or Republicans from voting. George H White was a lawyer who proposed legislation to prevent states from disenfranchising blacks and prevent tactics such as the Mississippi Plan.

L.L. Polk, Charles W. Macune, and Tom Watson were some of the head organizers and leaders of the Farmers Alliance, an organization based on helping farmers and social reform in the 1870s. Tom Watson was also the leader of the Populist Party which allowed him to identify with many of these working-class farmers, mostly in the agricultural South.