Post-Civil War Reconstruction in the American History Essay

Post-Civil War Reconstruction (1865-1877)

Prior to the American Civil War of the 1860s, the American economy, particularly the Southern States, was driven by agricultural production. New markets in Europe were the driving force behind this economy. The cash crop of the day was cotton, and the import countries included France, New England and Britain. Initially, agricultural production was organized in small scale, but with increasing demand, it was transformed to large scale production.

Consequently, there was growing need for labor in these large plantations of the south. In effect, it sparked slave trade and slavery that provided for cheap labor. This was how Trans-Atlantic Trade was borne and hence Black oppression.

Slavery was the main recipe for the American Civil War of the 1865. While the White Northerners were opposed to it, their Southern counterparts embraced it. In the post-Civil War, a Northern victory meant that the Blacks were disenfranchised as Emancipation Proclamation was declared.

The 13^th, 14^th and 15^th amendments were passed giving Blacks suffrage rights as well as protecting them. As a result, the Blacks enjoyed a brief spell (before 1977) of partial equality with their White counterparts. In a conclusion, the above literature underscores the fact that the foreign affairs influenced the American domestic issues a great deal.

Late 19^th century industrialization

The 19^th century in the US represents an era in the American history when mechanization of production was intense. Factories were mushrooming allover accelerating the growth of metropolitan cities. The then factories were typified by machines driven by shafts, belts and wheels, with the driving force being steam engines thanks to James Watts. Also, the layout of the factories was such that the machines lay randomly on the flow.

There was no systematic production and hence there was a natural feel to streamline the system. Within a short time in the mid 19^th century, America was, deep, into industrial revolution where division of labor, specialization and mechanization were the buzzwords. The essence was to promote mass production thanks to assembly lines.

This idea was adopted from shipbuilding industry based in England. Also, it was during this period that the need to standardize machinery parts for the sake of interchangeability came to light. This was adopted from France by Thomas Jefferson. These two ideas metamorphosed American industries which came to be termed as “American system of manufacturing” (Backer 3)

Industrial revolution changed societies as skilled laborers were rendered obsolete. For instance, Blanchard’s fourteen-assembly, gun making machine in 1926 rendered skilled workers redundant. On the other hand, Henry Ford developed cheap automobile and further enhanced mobility.

Reform movements in the 19^th Century

In the United States, the reform movements of the 19^th century were entirely politically driven. These movements which include abolitionism, temperance and religious movements functioned to change the American society a great deal. Importantly, some of these movements were global, spanning way beyond the American border. For instance, abolitionism was a global movement to stem slave trade.

Ideally, abolitionism had its roots way back in the mid 16^th century when the Spanish government enacted the first law rendering slavery illegal. However, this was not actively enforced. Then a century on, the English Quakers condemned slavery terming it ‘un-Christian.’ In the 18^th century, abolition was one of the core themes fronted by the ‘First Great Awakening,’ a movement signed by 13 colonies.

These anti-slavery campaigns would later spread to the US such that in the wake of the 19^th century, most Northern States had abolished slavery altogether. Consequently, the Northern Blacks were granted freedom, nevertheless, racism and discrimination would not end until the mid 20^th century.

Life in the United States in the 1920s

The 1920s in the American history is a period when America was beaming with life, and as such, to many, this period would come to be referred to as the ‘Roaring Twenties.’ Social and cultural life was changing among the American citizens. Remarkably, there was the enactment of the 18^th Amendment which rendered alcoholism illegal.

Prohibition played to the advantage of the Christian faith, bringing joy to evangelists who envisioned restoration of values to a society characterized by loose morals. Ironically, violence became even more pronounced. For instance, the KKK gang resurfaced, disguising under names like Wizard and Dragon.

This group was against Catholicism, African Americans, Jews, and immigrants who fled from oppression in their home countries. To this end, immigrants who were fleeing Eastern Europe were viewed as inferior by the natives and hence suffered discrimination.

Importantly, with a stable economy, the US was able to use its financial muscle abroad, executing the Dawes Plan in post-WWI, and financed German when it was unable to pay reparations to both Britain and France.

Depression and New Deal in the 1930s

The Great Depression came in the aftermath of the WWI in the year 1929 during President Hoover’s era. This was an era in the American history when the economy lay in ruins, crippling financial institutions and industries, subsequently causing an unsurpassed unemployment rate hitherto.

The people back then would hardly forget the ‘Black Tuesday’ when the stock market came crushing down. Vitally, the economic recess was experienced not only in the US but also in Europe. As such, states went ahead to cushion their industries against collapse by increasing tariffs on imported goods. This did not auger well with the US where the situation aggravated.

Consequently, Hoover’s successor, President Roosevelt, came in with his New Deal ideas to relieve the citizens, recover and reform the financial systems. This improved the economy with industries and agricultural sector receiving stimulus package to boost production and employment.

United States in World War II and the Cold War that Followed

The WWII was triggered by German’s aggression on the Poles. However, the US did not engage in the war initially owing to its foreign policy. America was by then committed to its isolationist policy with President Roosevelt devoted to improving the US economy following the Great Depression. Nonetheless, the US changed its foreign policy with the industrial production embracing artillery manufacture.

As such, the US was gearing up for an imminent war that was later sparked by Japan. Back home, the citizens were committed to the war, evident by their willingness to persevere with rationing on the basic commodities (Reischauer 12). The US would later launch its atomic bombs on Japan killing tens of thousands and hence marking the end of the war. In a nutshell, the Axis forces (German, Italy and Japan) were defeated by the Allies (US, Soviet Union, Great Britain, France).

The end of WWII marked yet again the beginning of a new era that was the Cold War, pitting the US and the Soviet Union. The former was wary of the spread of communism by the later, which was spreading like a bushfire across Europe. This influenced America’s domestic policies where ‘Compliance Law’ came to force to expunge communism.

Reform and Revolution in the 1960s

The 1960s was a decade when reforms were fought in earnest on the American soil. Most of these reforms were fronted by the students with most of their agenda driven by the need for a change in lifestyle. On the other hand, mainstream politicians were campaigning for an end to poverty, the need for government to extend care to the elderly, and the need for the state to offer equal education opportunities across all age groups.

Furthermore, in this dilemma, there was the American foreign policy and the Vietnam War which sparked more protests. To this end, the aggression meted on the Vietnamese greatly influenced the peoples’ behavior back home. A series of protests by students and by civil rights groups orchestrated by Martin Luther Jr. were the hallmark of the sixties.

Consequently, the fruits of their struggles were realized with the congress enacting a number of legislations including “Civil Rights Acts of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Medicare and Medicaid among others” (Leuchtenburg 5). Also, the government put to an end the Vietnam War in the early seventies.

Conservative Reaction in the 1970s and 1980s

The two decades stretching from the 1970s to the 1980s was the period in the American history when conservatives (Republicans) were in control of the congress with a brief interruption of Democrat rule. The 70s was the era of Nixon, Ford and Carter, with the later being a Democrat. The 80s came to be known as the ‘Reagan Era,’ a Republican.

Significantly, this era was one characterized by competing ideologies from conservatives who were worried of the diluting social values among the American society. Conservatives preferred Republicans who embraced the rule of law and supported Christianity no wonder they enjoyed a long spell in power.

Vitally, they were worried of the foreign influence, for instance, the threat posed by totalitarian governments viewed in most parts of Europe. Nonetheless, they managed to restore sanity in the society and allayed foreign threat.

Works Cited

Backer, Partricia. Industrialization of American Society. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2009. Print.

Leuchtenburg, William. Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal. New York: Harper and Row, 1963. Print.

Reischauer, Robert. Countdown to Reform. New York: The Century Foundation Press, 1998. Print.