Professor HIST-1309-ONL214 January 2018 The Failure of Reconstruction In American history, the Civil War helped preserve the Union and helped free slaves. During Reconstruction, however, there was a lack of political attention and elimination of freed slaves. Newly acquired civil liberties failed to bring about long-term racial integration. After the Civil War, the Union had to bring the South back into the country. They also wanted to make sure the South was on equal footing, which meant the South's economy was revived and also help rebuild their landscape. Abraham Lincoln first proposed the 10 percent plan, which offered Southern states an easy and lenient way to rejoin the Union. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay However, when Lincoln was assassinated, Andrew Johnson, an accused former slave owner, became president and created his own plan for Reconstruction. His plan initially worked, however, when he became president, former Confederates eventually made their way and were elected to the United States Congress. Back then, the Republican-dominated Congress refused to sit down with Southerners. Congress became more divided, and because of this, tensions increased, which led to little progress in Reconstruction, as well as the impeachment of Andrew Johnson. The conflict between the Northern states was so intense that it distracted the Union from any real progress and did not help bring the South back into the Union. Another cause of the lack of political attention during Reconstruction was the economic prosperity in the North followed by the Civil War. The Northern states had failed to effectively rebuild the South into the Union during Reconstruction. The first unsuccessful phase of reconstruction occurred in 1880. The difference between the South and the Northeast was similar to that between Russia, which was one of the poorest nations in Europe at the time, and Germany, which was one of the richer. Furthermore, “for much of the 20th century, the South remained a one-party region under the control of a reactionary ruling elite” (Couvares, 410) that had harbored hatred against the North. In fact, until the 1940s Tennessee was the only state in the Confederacy to observe Lincoln's birthday as a legal national holiday. Another issue of Reconstruction was the integration of freed slaves into society, which was another unsuccessful part of Reconstruction. There were several moments during Reconstruction where progress was made for freed African Americans. The first were the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments which granted African Americans certain freedoms. During this time period, fourteen African Americans were elected to Congress, and many others served in state and local governments. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay However, during this With time, the rise of the Klu Klux Klan and other white supremacist groups began to intimidate freed slaves and push back the freedoms of Black people. Reconstruction after the Civil War was a failure. The North was distracted and at odds over how to approach the effort and this failed to effectively rebuild the South and bring it back into the Union. Furthermore, although for a time it seemed that freed slaves would become equal to whites and racism would end. There have been many ineffective efforts to bring the South back into the Union on an equal footing with the North in many respects.