America’s Post-Civil War Growing Pains

America’s Post-Civil War Growing Pains

“America’s Post-Civil War Growing Pains”

The Period after the Civil War, (1865-1890), is known as the Reconstruction and Industrialization period. The Reconstruction period was the time juncture when the Union decided how to deal with rejoining the seceded states and the status of the freedmen. During this time period attempts were made to solve the political, social, and economic problems arisen from the readmission to the Union of the 11 confederate states. This was a difficult period for the North and the South because the war was very damaging to both economies. The focus of the reconstruction was to destroy the confederacy and rebuild the southern society, while focusing on abolishing slavery.

The assassination of Abraham Lincoln, in my opinion, was the most significant turning point in the reconstruction period. I believe Lincoln would have abolished slavery and taken the southern states back into the Union as quickly as possible had he not been assassinated. Lincoln’s efforts toward abolition included issuing his Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, which freed slaves in all southern states, and encouraged Congress to propose what would become the 13th amendment. Lincoln is the most known political leader today. His name and image continue to appear around the world in tribute to him, the Great Emancipator. Lincoln played a huge part in American history; he wanted a defined change in the world for the betterment of the human race. He remains a universal symbol for democratic leadership. (Watson, Pedersen , & Williams, 2011)

Some conspiracies propose that the Radical Republicans are to blame for plotting on Lincoln’s death. The Radical Republicans were a more extreme group of Republicans who believed that the South’s agricultural economy that was centered on slave labor was ineffective. They felt that blacks deserved to immediately be free from bondage and should receive the same rights as whites. They...