HISTORY 4: Reconstruction Shortcomings and Long-Term Impacts

This essay examines the shortcomings of the Reconstruction era in the United States, which spanned from 1865 to 1877, following the American Civil War. Despite the initial goal of reintegrating the South into the Union, the Reconstruction period faced several failures. The essay highlights the inability of Reconstruction policies to revitalize the Southern economy, which remained tied to sharecropping and the cotton industry. Furthermore, the federal government's failure to prevent the development of Jim Crow legislation and distribute land to African Americans, as promised, are discussed as significant shortcomings. The essay identifies the lack of federal financial support, resistance from Southern whites, and a lack of governmental unity as primary contributors to the Reconstruction's failure. The long-term consequences, including the entrenchment of racism, Southern economic dependence, and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan, are also explored. The essay concludes by emphasizing the disastrous impact of Reconstruction's failure, which led to persistent challenges and poverty in the South.

HISTORY 1
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HISTORY 2
Following the American Civil war, the period of reconstruction lasted from 1865-1877. The
main goal of the period of reconstruction was to help the south to become of the part of the
Union again. However, there have been several shortcomings of reconstruction period, following
the left outs and the lingering implications.
One of the major shortcomings was that the reconstruction policies failed towards developing
and reconstructing the southern economy that remained connected to sharecropping and cotton
industry (Park et al. 2013, 1115). Furthermore the federal polices also failed towards derailing
the development of the Jim Crow legislation within the south. Another shortcomings of the
reconstruction was its failure towards the distribution of the land to the African Americans ,
irrespective of the promises to do so. Reconstruction failed to distribute forty acres and mule to
the former slaves. The three major initiates and the targets that was encompassed by
reconstruction ; the restoration of union, transformation of southern society as well as the
enactment of the progressive legislation that favoured the rights to free the slaves , was not
fulfilled, thereby developing shortcomings towards the failure of reconstruction. The three
primary shortcomings of reconstruction that contributes to its disastrous failure include the
refusal of federal government towards offering any help for the costs. The southern whites were
not ready to co-operate with the blacks and further misused of individual money earmarked
towards the efforts of the reconstruction (Kovacevic, Potts, and Carter 2013, 753-767). Finally
the lack of the governmental unity took away the major focus of the reconstruction, pushing it
towards failure.
Reconstruction was one of the most significant chapters of the history related to the civil tight of
the United States. The failure of the reconstruction movement propagated some of the long term
lingering consequences. These included racism, which became more deeply embedded within the

HISTORY 3
context of the society (Higham 1962). Apart from this, the southern economy became dependent
over the cultivation of single crop like cotton and majority of the southern societal members
were reduced to the profession of tenant farming. The reconstruction developed one political
party, that is the democratic party and the monopolized political power. The increasing rate of
violence kept the immigrants from migrating to some of the other regions. The failure of
reconstruction planted the roots of southern poverty, thereby illustrating the lingering long term
challenges. Some of the other impacts of the failure of the reconstruction includes the rise or the
emergence of one of the racist group with attitude of white supremacy, the Ku-Klux-Klan. Apart
from these, the context of the land rights become of the prevailing issue after the reconstruction
period (Franklin 1994). The period furthermore viewed the emergence of black codes where
several African American were being forced to slavery and bonded labour for little or no wages.
Through out, it can summarized that though the goals and the aim of the reconstruction was
positive and for the betterment of the underprivileged population, the reconstruction movement
failed badly with some major lingering impacts.

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References
Franklin, John Hope. Reconstruction after the civil war. University of Chicago Press, 1994.
Higham, John, ed. The reconstruction of American history. London: Hutchinson, 1962.
Kovacevic, N., D. W. Hight, D. M. Potts, and I. C. Carter. "Finite-element analysis of the failure
and reconstruction of the main dam embankment at Abberton Reservoir, Essex,
UK." Geotechnique 63, no. 9 (2013): 753-767.
Park, Soo Yeon, Hoon Oh, Sua Park, Jung Hwan Lee, Sang Hak Lee, and Kyoung Ho Yoon.
"Factors predicting hamstring tendon autograft diameters and resulting failure rates after anterior
cruciate ligament reconstruction." Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy 21, no. 5
(2013): 1111-1118.