The Reconstruction time period, 1865 through 1877, was a complex time for America.
The southern part of the nation was in need of governmental, economical, and social repair after losing the Civil War. Radical Republicans, Democrats, and newly freed African Americans all were influential in the age of Reconstruction. Historians have struggled to put into words exactly what Reconstruction incorporates and precisely what the motives of the different groups of people were.Renowned American historian, Eric Foner, is a professor at Columbia University. He has written many books concerning the Civil War and Reconstruction eras. Eric Foner’s Reconstruction theory is correct in stating that, despite the northern Radical Republican's best efforts, the southern whites were more so focused on recreating the past society instead of renovating a new society.
It can be argued, however, that reconstruction was a success and the South made an attempt to change, but was burdened with the freedmen. The historian W. E. B.Du Bois states that Reconstruction was already complicated because of the war and was further complicated with the addition of freedmen, or the freed blacks.
He states that, “the moral effect of an unsuccessful war with all its letting down of social standards and quickening of hatred and discouragement” was already, “a situation which would make it difficult under any circumstances to reconstruct a new government and a new civilization. Add to all this the presence of four million freedmen and the situation is further complicated” (Du Bois).The South who had to fix their broken society saw the freedmen as a burden they had to support. The North was forcing this burden upon them. Du Bois does not blame the South for open hatred against blacks and comprehends their reasons for brutality. In spite of that, Foner’s opinions are still correct because instead of supporting blacks when they found success, the southern whites only tried to prevent them from succeeding.
If Du Bois was correct, the whites of the South would make it easy for the freedman to get an education or for them to gain political office. This was not so.In school systems, “white parents overwhelmingly refused to send their children to be educated alongside blacks” (Foner. Forever.
162). Also, the south had a, “campaign of criminal violence by whites determined to punish black leaders, [.. ] reestablish control over the black labor force, and restore white supremacy in every aspect of southern life” (Foner. Freedom.
171). The whites in the South made it impossible for the blacks to get ahead in any aspect of life. Whether it was political, educational, social, or economical, the whites did not want the blacks to attain any form of success.The goal of the southern whites was to stop Reconstruction and restore their society as it once was no matter how much more complicated it made their lives. In the southern regions of America,The Ku Klux Klan and other white dominance associations were formed to take action against freedmen who had any form of power. Violence was an element of the past slave system in the South before and during the Civil War.
Once the Emancipation Proclamation, written by President Abraham Lincoln, was put into action, January 1st, 1863, slavery was officially illegal in America.In the Proclamation Lincoln states, “I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free. ” He also states that, “Executive government of the United States […] will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons” (Lincoln). This proclamation was written with high hopes that former slaves could be integrated into society during the age of Reconstruction. However, many whites in the South believed that, despite the illegality, blacks should always be inferior.Although there were new federal and state laws in place, “they [KKK] launched a violent campaign to bring Reconstruction to an end” (Foner.
Forever. 170). The Klan were white southerners who were organized and committed to the breaking down of Reconstruction. By methods of brutality, “the Klan during Reconstruction offers the most extensive example of homegrown terrorism in American history” (Foner.
Forever. 171). The Ku Klux Klan as well as other groups killed or tormented black politicians or threatened the blacks who voted in elections.The Klan strongly disagreed with the northern idea that slaves should become part of the government.
The Historian Kenneth M. Stampp states, “for their [the North] supreme offense was not corruption but attempting to organize the Negroes for political action” (Stampp. Era. 159). This corresponds with Foner’s idea that the South was not open to the idea of change but more so consumed with the idea of recreating a society similar to one of the past.
However, the goal of white power groups was not just politics. The Klan wanted to restore the hierarchy once controlling the South.Foner observes that, “the organization took on the function of the antebellum slave patrols: making sure that blacks did not violate the rules and etiquette of white supremacy” (Foner. Forever. 172).
Like the power the southern whites formerly held over the slave population, the Ku Klux Klan wanted to control the African American population still living in the South. They did not want the freedmen to become integrated into their society because they saw them as lesser people. By suppressing and terrorizing the blacks, the southern whites did not give them the chance to gain riches, get proper jobs, or gain political status.The freedmen were not given the means to become successful parts of society, especially in the workforce. With the removal of slavery, the economic stability the southern white population had become accustomed to no longer existed. Not only had the slave trade contributed to the southern economy, the wealth of the south relied on the plantation or farm work that the blacks were forced to do.
White planters were confused as to how to conduct their farms without slaves. These planters had difficulty in, “adjusting to their new status as employers” (Foner. Politics. 9).After using methods of fear and brutality to control their former workforce, planters were forced to treat blacks as employees, not property. However, “planters did not believe that freedmen could ever achieve the internal self-discipline necessary for self-directed labor” (Foner.
Politics. 103). In other words, the southern whites did not believe that the blacks were capable of controlling themselves in a work environment. Despite the fact that slavery was illegal, white southerners worked to create laws and rules legally binding the blacks to labor.In 1865 through 1866 southern legislatures, “enacted a series of vagrancy laws, apprenticeship systems, criminal penalties for breach of contract, and all other coercive measures of Black Codes” (Foner.
Politics. 104). This was done, “in an effort to control the black labor force” (Foner. Politics.
104). The Black Codes were put into place for the South to get black workers to work in conditions as close to slavery as it possibly could become. These laws were, “enforced by a judicial system in which blacks had no voice” (Foner.House. 139).
The blacks of the south were not given the right to defend themselves or speak out against their oppressors. The Black Codes imposed on the blacks did not apply to the white peoples of the South. Like the times of slavery, the southern whites had shaped the government of the South so that the blacks had little to no power. William Archibald Dunning, a controversial historian, states that the whites believed that, “enfranchisement of the blacks was to be accompanied by disenfranchisement of the whites,” (Dunning. 176).
This meant that if the blacks were made to be legitimate people in society, it would worsen the whites. The southern legislation including the Black Codes was an attempt by southern whites to restore the values once true in their old community. By creating laws favoring those who were white, the whites of the South were not attempting to recreate a positive new society. They were trying to force the blacks back into a form of slavery and thus recreate their former culture.
By preventing freedmen from truly being free, the South was ensuring that the planters would have workers to labor on the farms and plantations.The southern white’s motives were money and superiority which were both achieved if the freedmen continued to work under them. The Reconstruction time period was an era of hostilities, confusion, corruption, and growth for the United States. Historians such as Eric Foner correctly state that southern white’s intentions during Reconstruction were to recreate their past society, not construct a new one. The southern whites formed groups such as the Ku Klux Klan to violently keep freedmen from coming into any form of power.The southern whites believed in white superiority.
Instead of integrating blacks into society, the whites tried to force them back into slavery. Whether it was political, social or economic motives, the southern whites were not interested in recreating a society welcoming to blacks or Radical Republican beliefs. The goals of the whites in the South revolved around achieving a lifestyle similar to the one of their past. Eric Foner correctly interpreted the Reconstruction time period and those involved.
