In the American history, reconstruction has two meanings. The first meaning wraps up the history of America during and after the Civil War. The meaning covers the renovation of the Southern United States, which was a period ranging from 1863 to 1877. After the Civil War, Washington came up policies that would help in rebuilding the region that encounter losses after the war.
Presidents Lincoln and Johnson took a moderate position while radical Republicans came up with stern policies aimed at transforming the southern states (Barney 65). After the 1866 general elections, the radicals had an opportunity to implement their tough policies.
The radicals used various state machineries to suppress white insurgency from the southern masters. One of the policies adopted by the government was the deployment of the military to the southern states to maintain peace and order. The military was instructed to quell violence during campaigns and voting periods (Blair 31).
In 1864, the Lincoln came up with governmental policy requesting voters to swear that they have never supported the activities of the Confederacy. Voters were supposed to take an oath of ironclad. The policy was later referred to as ‘malice toward none’ whereby Lincoln requested voters to support only the Union. The president sponsored a bill referred to as Wade-Davis Bill, which was aimed at strengthening the union and weakening the Confederacy.
The Congress came up with a policy aimed at uplifting the standards of those states that had declared their independence. In this case, universal suffrage was one of the policies adopted to encourage voters to support the Union. The moderates demanded that all voters were to be allowed to vote while the radicals claimed that only a few voters were to vote. In the southern states, a conflict between Five Civilized Tribes existed.
From the above analysis, it can be observed that the reconstruction policies were not successful in any way. The policies did not solve the problems that faced the southerners because the gap between the rich and the poor increased. In most states, the blacks offered their labor without receiving a substantial pay.
The aim of the policies was to enhance equality in terms of property ownership. In the south, the whites had huge tracts of land and all major investments belonged to them. The blacks existed at the mercy of the whites since the government did little to protect them from the brutality of property owners. The policy on universal suffrage aimed at giving the blacks an opportunity to participate in elections.
This meant that blacks could present their candidature, and they would vote for their preferred candidate during the general elections. However, the policies did not provide equal opportunities to all races. The white race was favored because it was provided with adequate security during campaigns. The black race was used as a rubberstamp since it was never consulted over important decisions that affected the living standards of its people.
The blacks and other whites who supported reconstruction formed ten biracial state governments. They came up with a number of programs such as constructing schools. However, the government did not provide teachers to such schools but instead concentrated on developing infrastructure such as railroads, which would boost the business activities of the whites. The government did little to prevent illegal groups such as the Ku Klux Klan from harassing blacks.
Works Cited
Barney, William. Passage of the Republic: An Interdisciplinary History of Nineteenth Century America. Washington: Heath, 1987. Print.
Blair, William. “The use of military force to protect the gains of reconstruction.” Civil War History 51.4 (2005): 27-57. Print.