The Reconstruction era in United States history was characterized by racism and volatile politics.  The Civil War devastated Southern agriculture and infrastructure.  Racism quickly escalated as emancipation brought an influx of ex-slaves into the South, ridding Southerners of their work force and competing for their jobs.  Turmoil built as the Radical Republicans opposed their moderate counterparts and the Democrats over how to deal with the South.  The government sought to find solutions to racial problems and to decide how to handle the Southern states.  The goals of Reconstruction sought to rebuild and rejoin the Union, and solve issues concerning the freedmen.  Reconstruction failed because of its inability to accomplish its goals due to the erratic federal policy concerning the South and Southern stubbornness, and eventually from Northern disinterest.

     The South was in shambles after the Civil War.  Richmond, Charleston, and Atlanta were destroyed.  Inflation caused the disintegration of most Southern banks.  Shermans March left rail lines, factories, and acres of fields in ruin.  Livestock was scattered and fields were overrun with weeds.  Very little legislation was passed to aid the South in the literal reconstruction and instead seemed more focused on further punishing them.  Northern Democrats sympathized with the South speaking of the Southerners engaged in the face of great difficulties, in re-constructing their shattered fortunes (Gen. Meems Property).  They also commented on the utter devastation stating that Southerners had to deal with property [that] was ravaged during the war, and miles upon miles of its extensive fencing destroyed by the troops who passed through and encamped upon it (Gen. Meems Property).  Sympathy did not go far enough to offer aid however.  Southerners still wanted their own independence, and accordingly less dependence on the North.  One Southerner noted that The true secret of prosperity is to make every thing we can at home, and buy as little as we can abroad (Home Industry).  The South, he said, needed to not forget that it is our duty also to re-construct our labor system, and re-establish our prosperity (Home Industry).  By forcing the South to rebuild itself from shambles on its own the North showed indifference to Southern agricultural production and commerce problems in the aftermath of the Civil War, and prompted further Southern resentment toward the North.

     Racism ran rampant after the Civil War, and little was done successfully to counter it.  The issue of how to deal with the ex-slaves was very pivotal during Reconstruction.  Slaves had previously done much of the work on plantations, and after emancipation, Southern plantation owners were without their workforce.  Though made with good intentions, the Freedmans Bureau fueled Southern resentment and provided a group to focus an attack on.  Violence grew in the South, as both blacks and white sympathizers were the focus of attacks and lynching.  The Ku Klux Klan grew out of this, and advocated the overthrow of the Reconstruction governments and replacement with one led by white supremacists.  Violence was not the only means by which the South attacked blacks: black codes were adopted as a means to guarantee a stable post-emancipation labor force.  This led in part to the sharecropping and crop lien systems, which many blacks were pulled into.  Black codes further forbade blacks from owning or leasing land, and prohibited them from being in a jury against a white defendant.  The South continued to subdue blacks, and in one instance sale of several colored people in Maryland under a decree of court, after conviction of crimes was legal, which was all but another form of slavery (The Maryland Negro Sale).  After the Fifteenth Amendment, the South found loopholes by creating Grandfather Clauses, Poll Taxes, and Property Requirements.  This not only disenfranchised blacks, but also a great number of poor whites.  Gerrymandering was employed to further decrease the effect of the black vote.  Issues over how to deal with blacks was handled in a way that allowed many loopholes and did not actually deter racism at all.  Southern stubbornness and resistance to Reconstructive legislation was seen openly concerning the issues over race.  Failure shown in the growth of racism and disregard for and ambiguity of the legislation passed to deter it illustrated yet another significant failure of Reconstruction.

     Politics at the national level were heavily divided over the issue of the South.  Lincoln and his successor Andrew Johnson believed in the lax 10% Plan, which would allow Southerners a relatively easy was to get back into the Union.  Radical Republicans created the Wade-Davis Bill in opposition, which required the Iron Clad Oath, an oath claiming one had no voluntary allegiance to the Confederacy during the war, and the belief in the State Suicide Theory, which claimed by succeeding the states committed suicide.  This plan was much harsher than the 10% Plan as it made it more or less impossible for the admittance of Southern states, which was pocket vetoed.  After Lincolns assassination Johnson assumed the presidency showing a very harsh outlook toward the South.  He quickly recognized many of the 10% governments and granted pardons to Southerners despite saying earlier that he would not.  As many pardoned ex-Confederates took new offices, especially in such cases as the Confederate Vice President Stephens being elected as Georgias Senator, the Radical Republicans were outraged and provoked.  Radical Republicans advocated a very harsh system of punishment upon the South, and delayed allowing Southern states back into the Union.  With emancipation also came twelve new Southern electoral votes as the Three-Fifths clause became obsolete.  Southerners hated black suffrage, and claimed that it leaders in that [Radical Republican] party voted to enfranchise the freedmen in the expectation that they could be used, as a class, to continue those leaders in power (A Blessing Which May Be a Curse).  This showed annoyance toward Radical Republicans treatment of blacks by Southerners.  Radical Republicans feared the Southern Democrats and Northern Moderate Republicans joining hands.  The Civil Rights Bill of 1866 tried to reinforce black citizenship and destroy black codes.  Johnson vetoed this bill, but was overturned by Congress.  The election of the same year showed a significant turnaround in Congress, as Radical Republicans took two-thirds of the seats in both houses, led by Charles Sumner and Thaddeus Stevens in the Senate and House, respectively.  This led to Military Reconstruction in the South.  They advocated Congressional methods of reintegrating the south, stating that it is Congress, not the President, that is constitutionally bound to prescribe the terms under which the southern states may re-join the Union (Speech of Hon. Thaddeus Stevens).  The South claimed that the revolutionary work of the Radicals, keeping the Southern states out of Congress, will light anew the flames of civil war in our country. (The Radical Conspiracy--The Coming Civil War).  The lax then harsh treatment left many in the South feeling great bitterness toward the North.  The legislation passed did little to aid the South, and thusly little to the Reconstruction itself.

     The North eventually tired of Reconstruction, both out of the lengthy duration of dealing with South and because much was going on.  Northern industrialization was coming under way and corruption soon followed.  Massive railroad expansion was taking place.  Other issues, such as Western development, the acquisition of Alaska, and the issue of Mormon polygamy distracted Northerners from the South.  Apathy toward Reconstruction eventually brought it to an end, and showed a lack of interest in the South and Reconstruction as a whole.  The Norths lack of energy revealed the waning desire to fulfill the goals of Reconstruction, and Reconstructive attempts were eventually given up instead of accomplished.

     Reconstruction set forth numerous goals: solving the issues over actually rebuilding of the South, those presented by the freedmen, and reunifying the nation.  Almost nothing was done at the national level concerning the rebuilding of Southern infrastructure or agriculture.  In the course of legislation concerning blacks, little headway was made, and white supremacist groups grew quickly as racism flourished.  The volatility of politics nationally concerning how to approach the South left frustration instead of progress in the eyes of the South.  Eventually, Reconstruction was given up due to Northern apathy.  Reconstruction failed because the South resisted attempts at progress, the rapid growth of Southern racism, and the radically changing national political policies.

Works Cited

A Blessing Which May Be a Curse.   Republican Vindicator.  17 May 1867.  The Valley of the Shadow.  9 February 2004.  <http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu:8090/xslt/servlet/ramanujan.XSLTServlet?xml=/vcdh/xml_docs/valley_news/newspaper_catalog.xml&xsl=/vcdh/xml_docs/valley_news/news_cat.xsl&level=edition&paper=rv&year=1867&month=05&day=17&edition=rv1867/va.au.rv.1867.05.17.xml>.

Gen. Meems Property.  Valley Spirit.  14 August 1867.  The Valley of the Shadow.  9 February 2004.  <http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu:8090/xslt/servlet/ramanujan.XSLTServlet?xml=/vcdh/xml_docs/valley_news/newspaper_catalog.xml&xsl=/vcdh/xml_docs/valley_news/news_cat.xsl&level=edition&paper=vs&year=1867&month=08&day=14&edition=vs1867/pa.fr.vs.1867.08.14.xml>.

Home Industry.  Staunton Spectator.  20 March 1866.  The Valley of the Shadow.  9 February 2004.  <http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu:8090/xslt/servlet/ramanujan.XSLTServlet?xml=/vcdh/xml_docs/valley_news/newspaper_catalog.xml&xsl=/vcdh/xml_docs/valley_news/news_cat.xsl&level=edition&paper=ss&year=1866&month=03&day=20&edition=ss1866/va.au.ss.1866.03.20.xml>.

Speech of Hon. Thaddeus Stevens.  Franklin Repository.  19 September 1866.  The Valley of the Shadow.  9 February 2004.  <http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu:8090/xslt/servlet/ramanujan.XSLTServlet?xml=/vcdh/xml_docs/valley_news/newspaper_catalog.xml&xsl=/vcdh/xml_docs/valley_news/news_cat.xsl&level=edition&paper=rv&year=1867&month=05&day=17&edition=rv1867/va.au.rv.1867.05.17.xml>.

The Maryland Negro Sale.  Valley Spirit.  23 January 1867.  The Valley of the Shadow.  9 February 2004.  <http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu:8090/xslt/servlet/ramanujan.XSLTServlet?xml=/vcdh/xml_docs/valley_news/newspaper_catalog.xml&xsl=/vcdh/xml_docs/valley_news/news_cat.xsl&level=edition&paper=vs&year=1867&month=01&day=23&edition=vs1867/pa.fr.vs.1867.01.23.xml>.

The Radical Conspiracy--The Coming Civil War.  Staunton Spectator.  14 August 1866.  The Valley of the Shadow.  9 February 2004.  <http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu:8090/xslt/servlet/ramanujan.XSLTServlet?xml=/vcdh/xml_docs/valley_news/newspaper_catalog.xml&xsl=/vcdh/xml_docs/valley_news/news_cat.xsl&level=edition&paper=ss&year=1866&month=08&day=14&edition=ss1866/va.au.ss.1866.08.14.xml>.