Table of ContentsIntroductionChallenges of Reconstruction IntegrationBlack Codes and Political Participation during ReconstructionTransforming Gender Roles during ReconstructionConclusionWorks CitedIntroductionOur Understanding of Political and Social Life Black people, yesterday and today, would not be the same without Reconstruction, a pivotal era in American history that shaped the trajectory of African-Americans. The Reconstruction period holds profound importance in understanding the complex dynamics of race and power during the post-Civil War era. It was a time of immense hope, as African Americans were granted new rights and opportunities. However, these advances were short-lived, as they were met with numerous obstacles and setbacks that ultimately led to the end of this transformative era. This begs the question: Who killed Reconstruction? The black response to the “Black Codes,” gender roles during Reconstruction, and the courageous courage of black women against gender stereotypes all contribute to our understanding of the forces that undermined and dismantled the progress made during this critical period. . Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayThe Challenges of Reconstruction Integration «The most dramatic episode in American history was the sudden decision to free four million black slaves to end a great civil war. , to put an end to forty years of bitter controversy and appease the moral sense of civilization. After the end of the Civil War, the United States had to reintegrate both a formerly enslaved and a formerly rebellious population into the country, a challenge that could have been met except that Abraham Lincoln was assassinated and we ended up with Andrew Johnson. "The heroes of the story were Andrew Johnson, who sought to defend constitutional government against the onslaught of radical Republicans in Congress, and the Ku Klux Klan and related groups who ultimately rejected Reconstruction and restored home rule." (i.e. white supremacy). ) to the south. Lincoln's idea after the war was to facilitate reunion and reconciliation, and Andrew Johnson's guiding principle of Reconstruction was that the South never had the right to secede. Additionally, because he was a Southerner himself, he resented all the Southern elites who ignored him. Additionally, he was also a racist who did not believe blacks should play a role in Reconstruction. So between 1865 and 1867, also known as the "Presidential Reconstruction Period," Johnson appointed governors and ordered them to call state conventions to establish new all-white governments. And in their 100% whiteness in the oppression of former slaves, these new governments bore an uncanny resemblance to the old Confederate government they had replaced. But a lot was changing for the former slaves. Fiske and Howard universities were established as well as elementary and secondary schools thanks in part to the Freedmen's Bureau, which lasted only until 1870 but had the power to divide, confiscate and abandon Confederate lands for former slaves . This was very important because for most slaves, land ownership was the key to freedom and many felt that the Union Army had promised them land. Like General Sherman, Field Order 15 promised to distribute land in 40-acre plots to former slaves. But that didn't happen, the presidentJohnson ordered that all land be returned to its former owners. So the South remained largely agricultural and cultural, with the same people owning the same land, and eventually it ended up in sharecropping. This system replaced slavery in many parts of the South. Landowners would provide housing, seeds, and things of that nature for sharecroppers so they could work the land. Eventually, sharecroppers would get a “share” of their harvest, which was usually only about a third, to sell. So basically freed blacks could control their labor while plantation owners got a stable workforce. This system tied workers to land they did not own, which was the exact opposite of Jefferson's agreement regarding small, independent farmers. Republicans were unhappy that this rebuilt South looked so much like the South before the Civil War, so they took the lead in Reconstruction after 1867. Radical Republicans fought the war, fought for equal rights and wanted to see the powers of the national government expanded. Few were as radical as Thaddeus "Tommy Lee Jones" Stephens, who wanted to take land away from Southern planters and give it to former slaves, but rank-and-file Republicans were radical enough to pass the civil rights bill. , which defined people born in the United States as citizens and established national equality at the wall, regardless of race. Andrew Johnson immediately vetoed the law, saying that trying to protect the rights of African Americans amounted to discrimination against whites, which infuriated Republicans that Congress had done something it had not. never done before in all of American history. they overrode the presidential veto with a 2/3 majority and the Civil Rights Act became law. So Congress decided to amend the Constitution with the 14th Amendment, which defines citizenship guarantees equal protection and extends the rights set forth in the Bill of Rights to all states. The amendment had no Democratic support, but it also didn't need it, because there were almost no Democrats in Congress because of the way Congress would have to deny seats to "new" representatives. all-white governments supported by Johnson. And that's how we got the 14th Amendment, arguably the most important in the entire Constitution. Black codes and political participation during reconstruction. Then there were the black codes. The Black Codes, also known as the Black Laws, were laws specifically designed for African Americans. The Black Codes were legal codes in which they simply replaced the word slave with the word negro, showing how unwilling white governments were to guarantee the rights of newly free citizens. The most famous black codes were adopted between 1865 and 1866 by the Southern states, after the Civil War. These codes were put in place to restrict the freedom of African Americans and gave them no choice but to work in low-wage jobs. The Black Codes were one of many ways that whites attempted to maintain their political dominance and suppress newly emancipated African American slaves. “One of the most important aspects of Reconstruction was the active participation of African Americans (including former slaves) in political, economic, and social life. of the South » During the first two years of Reconstruction, blacks organized Leagues for Equality of, 1990.