On the one hand, Reconstruction succeeded in achieving its aims as, Afro American strength in the United States had been clearly asserted during 1851-1865, “They were a force to be reckoned with”, they had won their own freedom and they grew stronger, as they joined the army league to fight for the United States and had strong leaders, “once let the black men get upon his person,…, there is no power on earth which can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship in the United States.” Therefore, reconstruction was a success as it officially recognized this new role the Afro-Americans had achieved through their own effort, achieving the aim the North had of freeing the slaves and ensured they remained free to work, live and prosper without being enslaved again. As the Afro-Americans grew stronger, this aim was being achieved.
Also, reconstruction achieved it aims and was successful as, the South had to accept the rules of the United States constitution, “God save the constitution”, the 13th amendment which banned slavery was part of the constitution, this the “southern states must explicitly acknowledge”, and so, the legal basis for continuing slavery was removed , therefore, in this way Reconstruction achieved its aims as slavery was now abolished in the South , and also the southern states were forced to write new states constitution, this was a success for reconstruction as this made slaves free without being again enslaved.
Moreover, another success of reconstruction was that Afro-Americans could achieve the recognition of some rights, this made them stronger and free, now the freedman had the right to marry, “recognizing the legality of negro marriages”, they could also now “sue and be sued in the courts” and they were also acknowledged the right of being paid wages for their work and also the right to own property, therefore reconstruction achieved its aims as now the black people were recognized some rights and this made them strong and more free people and also made them more close to be integrated to society and ensure that they would no longer be enslaved by the southerners, this was an accomplishment of Reconstruction.
Furthermore, another accomplishment of the North in reconstruction was that they could stop the Black Codes in the South, Black codes denied the freedman in the South “all but the most rudimentary civil rights and liberties”, they tried to maintain slavery, for example “freedmen were required to hire themselves out by the year and were denied to leave their employment”, therefore these black codes went against the Reconstruction aims and therefore the northern whites began a campaign to stop their use in the South, Congress denounced the South and propose a program of congressional reconstruction, none of the South representatives and senators would be allowed to take their seats until Reconstruction was completed. This showed that there was political determination in the North to help the Afro-Americans; therefore Reconstruction achieved its aims as the North was able to defeat the racist black codes, therefore defeating slavery, and as a result the blacks were now really free, accomplishing one of the main aims of reconstruction.
Additionally, one of the most important achievements of reconstruction were the amendments to the United States constitution, the first one was the 14th amendment, this amendment to the constitution established “the right of all citizens of the United States to equal protection of the laws and defined a US citizen in such a way as to include all Afro-Americans”, In this way, Reconstruction achieved its aims as it included the Afro-Americans as United states citizens meaning that they now had rights and this made them stronger, meaning that they could now be free and strong. Second, another thing that helped reconstruction achieve its aims was the “extension of the life and powers of the Freedman’s bureau”, this was an institution which tried to do everything they could to “ease the transition from slavery to freedom for the Southern Whites”, meaning that this institution was very important as it made it easier for this transition to happen, therefore the extension of its powers resulted in a success for Reconstruction, as it was a major help to achieve one of its main aims. Third, the civil rights law, which specified in a more explicit way what, was implicit in the 14th amendment, “citizen rights were to be enjoyed by all persons born in the United States, not subject to any foreign power, of every race and color, without reference to any previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude”, this law stated clearly that Afro-Americans were now equal and had the same rights as every other citizen of the United States, it acknowledged the freedman as citizens of the US, therefore achieving one of the main aims of Reconstruction that was freeing the slaves and ensuring that they had a prosperous life and were never enslaved again. This three things legally protected the blacks, therefore, this were tools used by the North to undertake its aims, free the slaves, legally protect them, make sure they had rights and were now citizens of the US and guaranteeing hey remained free. These three things, the 14th amendment, the Freedman’s Bureau and the civil rights law, were the major achievements of Reconstruction and what helped the North achieve its aims.
Reconstruction achieved political aims as blacks were now free, “I’s free as a frog”, and they now had rights and were considered US citizens, and they could also achieve better working conditions, payment of wages for their work, the right to own property and some others. Also Reconstruction achieved political aims as now farmers lost power and they no longer dominated the South, as slavery was abolished now the southern planters had less control, less production and less power all caused because they had less labor to work the land, “so, in consequence, did the production of the crops on which the prosperity of the ante-bellum South had depended”. Therefore, Reconstruction succeeded politically as its main political aims were achieved, slavery was abolished and so, in consequence, the planters lost their power, this made the slaves free and ensured their freedom, this was a major achievement of Reconstruction.
Once slavery was abolished, the black codes defeated, and the freedman considered US citizens, the North tried to help the blacks start a new life and be able to develop a prosperous life now that they were free, therefore, in 1866, under the Southern Homestead act, “land was actually made available for distribution among the freedmen”. Therefore, this was a success for Reconstruction as social, political and economic aims were achieved, the freedmen now could have land which meant that they could develop a prosperous life, although the land given was of poor quality, and this helped the Afro-Americans grow stronger, also it helped economically as now the freedmen could plant their own crops, production increased again.
United States congress was republican controlled, “Republicans seemed to hold every trump”, as republicans were determined to achieve reconstruction, this made it easier for Reconstruction aims to be achieved, “power of congress to legislate”.
Furthermore, another amendment was added to the US constitution, the 15th amendment, this amendment said that: “ the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any other state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” This amendment helped Reconstruction aims be achieved as it protected the Afro-Americans, they had now the right to vote for their representatives, making it much easier for their wants and needs to be represented in the government, therefore this was a success of Reconstruction.
1867 military reconstruction act, meant that Reconstruction succeeded as.
By 1870 the southern states were now represented in congress, but these states were actually controlled by northerners who were living in the South, therefore the South did not like these governments, but it shows that Reconstruction was successful as, by 187o the process was finished and every state was once more represented in congress, this showed the determination the North had on accomplishing and finishing this process and also the realization in the North that the South could not be trusted, therefore, as Southern states were also represented by northerners, the South was weak and could not fight back the decisions taken by the north, making Reconstruction easier to achieve its aims and succeed.
Another success of Reconstruction was a result of a vigorous political education program undertaken for the Afro-Americans, they main objective of this program was to teach the ex-slaves how to vote, “especially, how to vote Republican”. The freedman did everything to support the new regimes, this helped Reconstruction successful as it maintained the Republicans in control, meaning that if they were in control, Reconstruction aims were much easier to achieve and the South could not fight back as they did not have enough power to defeat the North politically, Therefore this helped a lot for reconstruction aims to be achieved, “Reconstruction could not have gone so far as it did without them”.
Also, education for the free black men had been now achieved; the first systems of public education were set up, for blacks as well as for whites. This was a success of Reconstruction as before the black men had no education, and now reconstruction had achieved public education for the freedman, this also helped achieve other aims of Reconstruction such as more independence of the freedman, and because of this they became stronger, which meant that it would be much more difficult for the South to try to enslave them again now that they had much more knowledge.
Therefore, yes, on the one hand reconstruction achieved some of its aims. In the economic sphere, the process of reconstruction achieved its aims as…
Also un political terms Reconstruction was also a success as the 13th 14th and 15th amendments and the civil rights law were added to the constitution and as a result one of the main aims of Reconstruction was achieved that was abolishing slavery and ensuring that the freedman were not enslaved again.
Finally, the social changes brought about by Reconstruction were also positive. The power of the planters was reduced as a result of slavery being abolished, democracy was established, the Afro-Americans were now free and had civil rights and were now receiving education which meant a big success of reconstruction.
On the other hand, the process of Reconstruction did not achieve its aims as…
Conclusion: the process of reconstruction was therefore a valid attempt to reform Southern society, but one that faced strong opposition from both North and South. Reconstruction did achieve its aims to some extent as it could make the Afro-Americans be acknowledge as citizens of the United States and have civil rights, slavery was abolished by the amendments and the civil rights law.
However, while successes were present, numerous failures limited the ability of the Reconstruction program to achieve its aims. For example………………………………………