The Union Reconstructed

1. Explain how blacks responded to their former masters after the Civil War had ended. After the Civil War had ended, blacks responded to their former masters in two different ways. They would either return to their former masters for work and every time they would leave the plantation they would go farther claiming they didn’t want to stay on the plantation forever. This caused them to continue to have communication with their former masters and never completely became independent. The second response was they would chose to become entirely independent to their masters. They would seek work in the city and began their new free lives. Often times they all struggled but they were now free. 2. Compare the economic conditions of the South with the economic conditions of the North during the period of Reconstruction. The economic conditions of the South compared to the North during the period of Reconstruction varied quite heavily. The South was limited in many ways after the war and had little to expand and prosper where as the North had everything from political power to trade. They made it so the South could not have much political power which in turn affected them economically. These limitations came from the fear of a repeated war due to the fact that there was still much conflict occurring within the country because of matters of freed slaves and other things. 3. Discuss how southern whites reacted to the emancipation of blacks during the period of Reconstruction. After the emancipation of blacks during the period of Reconstruction, southern whites had responses of both fear and anger. They could not imagine their world without slaves in bondage, often they felt it a hassle doing chores they normally didn’t do. This lead to the feelings of anger, due to their dependency on the slave labor they were now confused and society needed to adapt in order to function once again. In some cases though the slaves had become a part of the home and the white people would miss them as a family member, often times distraught. Aside from these things, a majority of whites began to be fearful of legal intermarriage, dreading the fact that the pure white race would be destroyed. 4. Discuss President Johnson’s plan for reconstruction and Congress’s response to that plan. President Johnson’s plan for reconstruction was simply to pardon and restore all the rights of property to any former Confederate who swore allegiance to the Constitution and the Union. With this he believed he had successfully reconstructed the south and did not do much more. With this they looked to ratify the thirteenth amendment to abolish slavery. With this plan all southern states completed the Reconstruction plan and then sent representatives to the Congress that occurred in December 1865. Congress refused to seat these new senators and a large controversy out broke. 5. Describe the general attitude of the Union soldiers stationed in the South during Reconstruction toward blacks. Support your answer by citing specific incidents that occurred during that period. The attitude of the Union soldiers stationed in the South during Reconstruction towards the blacks was quite in different. They just worked to keep them in control and try to transition them from slavery to freedom. In many cases they would treat them as inferior but as well never got as bad as their former masters. They were just making attempts to help the society function. Whether they were successful is a different story. But they tried and eventually had the communities put together like a white community. 6. Discuss Congress’s plan for reconstruction and explain what Congress hoped to achieve as a result of that plan. Congress’s plan for reconstruction mainly revolved around completely freeing the black communities. They created the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments to protect the black community and restricted the power of the executive branch. They were making decision that would benefit them in the long run. They would gain the black vote and be capable of gaining more power. So they limited the power of the former Confederates and attempted to have everything in their favor. 7. Discuss the economic conditions of poor blacks and poor whites during the period of Reconstruction. The economic conditions of poor blacks as well as whites differed. They both struggled financially due to crop shortages and other such things. However the blacks also were being aided by the Bureau of Freedom. They northern financed organization was created in order to help newly freed blacks to get on their feet. They helped them financially and helped with education. However they also in a sense forced blacks to accept low paying jobs when they didn’t want to. Even with this though they helped to get the blacks going in society. 8. Was the Republican administration that controlled the southern state governments during the period of Reconstruction a success or failure? The Republican administration that controlled the southern state governments during the period of Reconstruction was more of a success than it was a failure. They were able to stabilize the south in this time. They eliminated undemocratic features from prewar state constitutions as well as provided a universal male suffrage. They even loosened the requirements for holding office. They reconstructed the South financially and physically by overhauling tax systems and approving generous railroad and other capital investment bonds. With these accomplishments as well they set up a public school system in the south and stabilized it quite well. 9. Discuss the methods by which conservative white Democrats regained control of the southern state governments at the end of Reconstruction. The methods by which conservative white Democrats regained control of the southern state governments were very passive. They came in when the Republican Party had already begun to fail and economic problems began to surface. The Democrats began to discuss the new Grant scandals, unemployment and public works projects. To add to that they also discussed the currency and tariffs in order to show important issues. Discussion of these matters showed an interest in the country whether it was there or not and allowed the Democrats to win the popular vote.