reconstruction Essays (985 words) - Reconstruction Era,

History Essay ?the north won the civil war, but the south won Reconstruction? This statement has been wryly observed, to interpret this you need to know the background of these two different parts. During the civil war(1861-1865), the north and the south grew in different directions and ways. They both had some advantages, the north was the center of manufacturing and wealth.In the south, manufacturing was not that big, the south did not have many skilled workers. Most of the people were not educated and were farmers, who worked on a field. The south got their money by trading with other countries, with materials they got from their plantations,, for example cotton etc. The north produced the main part of the countries wealth and had bigger army than the south, including black soldiers. The north was better prepared for the whole war, they had better equipment and supplies. The south had the better generals for example Robert E. Lee and Thomas Jackson. In 1863, Lincoln declared all slaves to be free. With a lot of support of the freed African American slaves who joined the union, and now had a way bigger army the the confederacy. Many battles were going on in both parts of the country. The main battles were the battle of Gettysburg, where commander Robert E. Lee turned back with heavy casualties, another won was the battle of Vicksburg, Mississippi where the union gained control of the Mississippi River.The union was also able to capitalize their advantages against the south, in men and material. The Confederates mainly gave up, they ended resistance on April 9, 1865. The war ended in slavery. After the civil war people were struggling with rebuilding their houses and their lives. The president and Congress tried to figure out how to rebuilt the nation. They had to handle with the difficulties of reconstruction. Beneath other parts they had to decide how the confederate states were able to rejoin the union. They mainly tried to reorganize the south and to define their laws, what means that they need to figure out how Blacks and whites live together in a non-slave society. Blacks should be treated as equals and under he same law as whites. Lincoln had a plan for reuniting the country in the proclamation of amnesty and reconstruction. The republics were against Lincolns plan. In Congress they were known as the radical republics, they did not want to reunite with the south. The main goal of the republicans was that they wanted the federal government to help African Americans, so that they are able to vote. They also knew that if African Americans are able to vote that most of them will vote for the republicans. In the summer of 1864 the moderates and the republicans came up with a plan for reconstruction, The Wade-Davis Bill. The Bill says that that any adult white men in a confederate state that he should take an oath of allegiance to the union. So the state could now create a new and better government. The congress passed the Wade ? Davis bill, But Lincoln blocked it with a pocket veto. Lincoln realized that a harsh plan of reconstruction would just bring more chaos in the south. After the war the economy in the south collapsed and a lot of people were unemployed. In 1865 congress established a welfare agency known as Freedmen?s Bureau. The Bureau persued a range of programs in an effort to obtain jobs and provide education as well as basic health services. The Bureau is able to set up 4,000 schools and 100 hospitals and to provide housing and food. Lincoln gave on April 15, 1865 the problem of reconstruction in the hands of the new President, Andrew Johnson. He wants the southern states to be free from federal invention. Johnson?s plan was to carry out a policy, which was almost the same to Lincoln?s . The southern states followed Johnson plans for reconstruction. None of the state made any effort, to allow the slaves to vote, and later on Congress recognized that there was an unwillingness to accept Johnson?s plan. This was the beginning of the congressional reconstruction of the south. In 1866, the Radicals, who had a