Civil War Aftermath: Examining Reconstruction and Its Failures

This report examines the aftermath of the Civil War, focusing on Reconstruction and the Freedmen's Bureau. It explores the challenges faced by African Americans in the post-war South, including the Black Codes and the limited opportunities for land ownership. The report analyzes the goals of Reconstruction, the role of the Freedmen's Bureau, and the reasons for its ultimate failure, including lack of funding, racial politics, and the inability to provide lasting protection and racial equality. The report highlights key references and provides a concise overview of the historical context.

Running Head: AFTER WAR
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After civil war
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AFTER WAR
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Table of Contents
Major issues.....................................................................................................................................2
Reconstruction.............................................................................................................................2
The freedmen’s Bureau................................................................................................................2
Reason of failure..........................................................................................................................2
References........................................................................................................................................3

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Major issues
The Union triumph in the 1865 Civil War might have provided freedom to nearly 4
million slaves; however the life of the Southern black people were far from perfect. The Black
Codes retained taxes on blacks after freedom who wanted to pursue nonagricultural occupations,
limited the capabilities of black people to rent land or buy guns, and even permitted the "unfit"
parent’ s kids to be apprenticed to the previous slave rulers (Button, 2014).
Reconstruction
The Reconstruction was actually applied by Congress, which continued from 1866 to
1877, was intended at reordering the Southern cities afterward the Civil War, given the wealth
for readmitting those states into the Union, and outlining the options by which both the whites
and black people could live with each other in a non-slave civilization. The South, though, was
not comfortable with it (Du Bois, 2017).
The freedmen’s Bureau
The Freedmen’s Bureau, officially known by the Bureau of immigrants or Refugees,
Freedmen and Unrestrained Properties, was established by Congress in 1865 to assist millions of
previous black slaves people and poor whites in the South after the Civil War (Bean, 2016).
Reason of failure
The Freedmen’s Bureau did not encourage the redistribution of the land and maximum of
the land was returned to their real holder. It provided very little chances for black people to own
a land. There were lack of funding, politics related to race, and the reconstruction. It failed to

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deliver long-term protection for the blacks to make sure any measure of the racial equality (Bean,
2016).
References
Bean, C. B. (2016). Too Great a Burden to Bear: The Struggle and Failure of the Freedmen's
Bureau in Texas. Oxford University Press.
Button, J. W. (2014). Blacks and social change: Impact of the civil rights movement in southern
communities (Vol. 1029). Princeton University Press.
Du Bois, W. E. B. (2017). Black Reconstruction in America: Toward a history of the part which
black folk played in the attempt to reconstruct democracy in America, 1860-1880.
Routledge.
Mattes, M., & Savun, B. (2009). Fostering peace after civil war: Commitment problems and
agreement design. International studies quarterly, 53(3), 737-759.