The Construction of a New Nation

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Originally having little to no rights before the Civil War, newly freed blacks would have a stockpile of new rights that would come from the Union victory in the Civil War but there lied an issue which was the protection of their rights. With the South, mainly still strongly against the freedom of blacks, the United States would have to try to make sure that blacks do not go back to the lives of being slaves. The Reconstruction Era would in the end resolve the issue of the protection of black civil rights and this comes from the fact that during the Reconstruction Era, Congress joined together and formed new amendments that would later on be passed and added to the Bill of Rights. A few of these amendments could be seen playing an essential role on the lives of many free blacks. An example of this can be seen from the life of Abram Colby, Colby was a former slave that would be later on elected into the Georgia State Legislature. During a testimony to a joint House and Senate Committee in 1872, Colby states,“I told them that I would not do it if they would give me all the county was worth… No man can make a free speech in my county. I do not believe it can be done anywhere in Georgia.” (2:6) The statement shows that during the Reconstruction Era, that blacks were in public Legislature’s being able to voice their opinion, which was one of their new rights, the first amendment the Freedom of Speech and Expression. The first amendment, while not being created during the Reconstruction Era, was a critical point of the protection of black civil rights. This wasn’t the only amendment that was helping blacks all around the Union, three amendments were passed during the Reconstruction Era and two of these were very beneficial to the civil rights of slaves and those were the 14th and 15th amendment. The 14th amendment states, “No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws…” (2:2) This, while slightly suppressing what the state government can do, provided massive amounts of support for the civil rights of blacks in which state governments weren’t able to remove rights, or enforce laws that would be been as “discriminatory”. The 14th amendment would come to protect the rights of blacks and make sure that they weren’t being discriminated against by the state, and later on the the inclusion of the 15th amendment would join in to solidify the protection of blacks rights in the United States. The 15th amendment states that, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous conditions of servitude…” (2:3) The 15th amendment in the end had allowed the black community to vote. This amendment would be written, set in stone, as it allowed black to get their choice on who they wanted in politics, swaying the politics in the United States more onto being equal for both blacks and whites. With the creation of the 14th, and 15th amendment, the civil rights for blacks would be protected and that proves the Reconstruction Era’s success in solving the issue of protecting the civil rights of blacks.

From different political, and economic views being the main causes for the Civil War, the South and the North in the end are very disconnected, but for the future of the nation must come together or they’ll surely perish without each other's support. One of the biggest factors in the succession of the South was the political views that they had which were unlike the North. The Reconstruction Era, would later on be able to heal the gaps between the North and South mainly from the political views that each shared. During the year 1860, southern states such as Texas, North Carolina, and Florida mainly voted Democratic(Republican today), while northern states such as New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania were voting for Republican(Democratic today) candidates. In 2012, many southern states such as Texas, South Carolina, and Kentucky were still voting Republican(Modern Republican), and northern states such as Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New York were still voting Democratic(Modern Democrat). While this can be seen, as still a split nation with opposing viewpoints with the North and the South, many states started voting for different parties such as Alaska siding with the south and being mostly Republican, and Florida which used to be a strong Republican state, changed to being mostly Democratic which shows that the states are moving away from the division because of location but instead now of what the people think. (3:1 & 2) The political division, while not fully resolved showed progress that the states weren’t separated by North and South but instead by how the people and the State government see it as. Both parties, Democrats, and Republicans would agree one certain things and this shows a sign of unification. This can be seen with Congress after president Andrew johnson had vetoed the Civil Rights Bill and the Freedmen’s Bureau Bill saying that they were “unconstitutional”. In the end “Congress eventually passed both Bills over Johnson’s vetoes with modifications.”(3:5) This shows the resolvement of divisions during the Reconstruction Era as after Andrew Johnson vetoed both bills, Congress which consists of Republican and Democratic Congressmen agreed and believed in the idea of over writing Johnson’s veto. As the political ties between the North and South could be seen as stronger, one issue that the Reconstruction Era didn’t touch on was radicals. After the Reconstruction Era, signs were posted all around the United States about how, “The Democratic Platform: is for the white man, The Republican Platform is for tee Negro.” (3:3), This can be seen as the hatred both parties might have, the signs were all the same and by the end of was only because a few radicals who don’t truly represent their political party, had put up these signs as a way to show their parties beliefs. While this issue may not have been solved, it wasn’t possible to begin with as their will always be radicals that act like they represent their party/group but don’t. In the end, as threats are presented in front of them, it doesn’t matter what was happening, the North and South would be found almost every time working together when the future of the United States as a whole is in danger, that there are times during the Reconstruction Era where unity is seen throughout the states, and that really shows the success of the Reconstruction era.

Hatred is a strong word that defined many Southerners after the loss of the Confederacy