Reconstruction and the Widespread Industrialization in the Western United States

“If as the friends of colonization hope, the present and coming generations of our

countrymen shall by any means, succeed in freeing our land from the dangerous presence

of slavery.” Famous words of Abraham Lincoln that still ring true to this day. There were many

events that changed the history of the United States especially the period between Reconstruction

and the industrialization of the Western U.S. No two events changed this period more than the

death of Abraham Lincoln and the innovation of the train and railroad system. The death of

Abraham Lincoln may have caused the Civil Rights movement to progress and not become

stagnant. It would have also caused such legislation as The Compromise of 1877 and Plessy v

Ferguson not to be implemented. The revolution of the railroad caused much industrialization

and urbanization throughout the country even the ceremonious meeting between the Union and

Central Pacific rail lines which signified that railroads would be able to ship goods and services

from coast to coast. These were just a few of the many events that shaped the US during this

period.

The country was going through a tough time during Reconstruction and an even tougher

time with the death of Abraham Lincoln. This one event changed the course of the country which

in the end, elected a southern president, Andrew Johnson, who was more sympathetic to

plantation owners and southern ways. During these times many non-white Americans didn’t

have basic or the same rights as whites and no legislation or laws were implemented by the

current president. Many southerners used laws known as black codes to prevent non-whites from

voting and owning land. All of these issues were totally different from Andrew Johnson’s stance

before coming president in which he stated that he was against any type of plantation hierarchy

and any veterans of the confederate army should be punished. Lincoln wanted a quick

reconciliation with easy terms...