American History: Civil War, Reconstruction, and Industrialization

This American History assignment addresses pivotal periods in U.S. history, starting with the Civil War (1861-1865) and its impact on African Americans, including the abolition of slavery and the Reconstruction era with its constitutional amendments (13th, 14th, and 15th). It explores the complexities of Reconstruction, the rise of Jim Crow laws, and the end of the era. The assignment then delves into the Westward Expansion, examining the population of the western United States, farming techniques, legislation like the Homestead Act, and the struggles faced by Native Americans, including conflicts and assimilation attempts. It concludes with an analysis of the Industrial Revolution, covering leading figures, technological advancements, the 'management revolution,' vertical and horizontal integration, and significant labor events like strikes, which transformed the United States into an industrial powerhouse. The document draws upon various sources to provide comprehensive answers to the questions posed.

Running head: AMERICAN HISTORY
AMERICAN HISTORY
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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AMERICAN HISTORY
Response to question 1:
The American Civil War took place between the years 1861 and 1865 where the African
American citizens were forced to become slaves. The fight was primarily between the North and
South Confederacy. The war ended with the official abolition of slavery in 1865 (Loc.gov,
2019). It resulted in the freedom of more than four million African American slaves. However,
the plight of these black citizens did not change much even after the end of the Civil War. The
end of the war started the era where the black citizens began to demand land rights, political and
civil rights.
The war ended to give way to the Reconstruction era when several amendments to the
constitution were made (Loc.gov, 2019). The first was the 13th Amendment that led to the
abolishment of slavery including involuntary servitude. The 14th Amendment was adopted in
1868 and included the rights of citizenship and equal laws for the black people. The 15th
amendment prohibited the federal government and the states from denying the citizens the right
to vote based on their color, race or previous servitude condition. Although these amendments
were introduced for the benefit of the African American citizens, these did not completely
guarantee the right to vote, right to own land or property and the right to have equal protection.
Response to question 2:
The term “reconstruction” in the American history has means an entirely different thing
that its actual meaning. For the Americans, reconstruction referred to the era post the Civil War
until 1877. The reconstruction included the transformation of the ex-confederate states, which
were 11 in total on instructions from the Congress (Shi & Tindall, 2016). Reconstruction led to
the three major amendments in the US Constitution that included the 13th, 14th and 15th

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amendments. These amendments attempted to make sure that the country was formed as a united
nation with the inclusion of all irrespective of skin color or race.
The introduction of Jim Crow laws that enforced segregation based on race and skin color
in the Southern US states demonstrated that although the North wanted to end slavery, the South
did not enforce it (Roback, 1984). The laws prevented the African American citizens from voting
and exercising other rights that was guaranteed to them by the three amendments. Furthermore,
the southerners also introduced the concept of white primary where the whites were only given
the right to vote in elections held in the Southern US (Hine, Lawson & Pitre, 2003). The
reconstruction period ended with the end of Ulysses S. Grant administration in 1877 after it
involved in numerous scandals and was considered an ineffective administration (Loc.gov,
2019).
Response to question 3:
The western part of the United States was naturally populated with the people belonging
to the Native American tribes. The settling of the colonials began in the 17th century and
continued until the 19th century when the white colonial settlers populated the entire west. As the
former US President Theodore Roosevelt stated, the Americans made a “great leap westward”
where they defeated the native tribes in the early 19th century and then the India Removal Act
1830 further cemented their position in the west (Mitchell, 2017). The Louisiana Purchase of
1803 greatly aided the westward expansion prior to the act.
The west was mostly a dry region with little chances of agriculture and hence, the
easterners had to adapt to the new weather, which they did with the help of advancements in
transportations, improvement in farm equipments and communication. Apart from farming,

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mining and ranching helped transform the west and populate it. However, rapid improvement in
farming that motivated the eastern Americans to move westward further populated the west
(Mitchell, 2017). Mining and ranching technology advancement later drew the attention of young
Americans who came to the West for search of gold.
Response to question 4:
After the great westward expansion began, the Native Americans started to face struggle,
as they had to let go off their lands and property. Apart from that, the US Government also
attempted to assimilate them into the mainstream American culture through boarding schools.
The Native American children were asked to perform manual labour but without any
compensation. The expansion towards the west also resulted in several inters wars between the
frontier US soldiers and the Native tribes. Conflicts broke out in several parts including the one
in Dakota. In 1886, when the last recognized chief of the Apache – a Native American tribe –
was captured, the Native American aggression finally ended (Weaver-Hightower, 2018).
The European settlers and white Americans considered the Native Americans as
subhuman and belonging to the savage race who needed to be conquered and transformed. This
led to the brutal atrocities against the natives. After these atrocities reached a height, the
lawmakers decided to end this problem finally. The introduction of reservation policy where the
Native Americans were made to live under conditions similar to extreme situations showed the
mindset of the lawmakers. Furthermore, the Dawes Act in 1887 permitted the government to put
up native lands for sale that were not distributed to heads or chief of the native people (Weaver-
Hightower, 2018). This further worsened the plight of the natives.
Response to question 5:

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The industrial revolution was one of the most significant events of the 19th century
majorly that led to the transformation of largely agrarian societies into industrial and urban
societies (Hillstrom & Hillstrom, 2005). Big cities with skyscrapers, underground subway
stations replaced the large crop fields. Chicago had probably one of the first skyscrapers with
Home Insurance building being the first ten-storey building in 1885. The industrial revolution
also led to horizontal integration of many companies especially by John Rockefeller and Andrew
Carniege. While Rockefeller focused mostly on the horizontal integration of other oil companies
into his own to eliminate competition, Carniege focused on vertical integration, which is, buy
two different companies.
Industrial revolution led to several lockouts and strikes including the Great Railroad
Strike of 1877 when railroad workers went on strike to protest the increasing authority of the
railroad corporations. They also protested against the severe wage cuts owing to the economic
depression. Strikes had become a common occurrence during the industrial revolution with
people in large numbers began to voice their anger. The Homestead Strike in 1892 became one
of the most brutal strikes that saw a face-off between the steelworkers and the Carniege Steel
Company hired goons (Hillstrom & Hillstrom, 2005).

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References:
Hillstrom, K., & Hillstrom, L. C. (Eds.). (2005). The industrial revolution in America. Abc-clio.
Hine, D. C., Lawson, S. F., & Pitre, M. (2003). Black victory: The rise and fall of the white
primary in Texas. University of Missouri Press.
Loc.gov. (2019). Civil War and Reconstruction - American Memory Timeline- Classroom
Presentation | Teacher Resources - Library of Congress. Retrieved from
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/
presentations/timeline/civilwar/
Mitchell, D. (2017). Reflection: American imperialism. In Kulturgeographie der USA (pp. 267-
271). Springer Spektrum, Berlin, Heidelberg.
Roback, J. (1984). Southern labor law in the Jim Crow era: exploitative or competitive?. The
University of Chicago Law Review, 51(4), 1161-1192.
Shi, D. E., & Tindall, G. B. (2016). America: A narrative history. WW Norton & Company.
Weaver-Hightower, R. (2018). Elegies to dead children and murdered indigenes: guilt and the
‘lost’child in 19th-century Anglophone settler stories. Settler Colonial Studies, 1-15.