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Reconstruction Failure

Reconstruction Failure

The reconstruction of the south was the period during and after the Civil War
where several different groups in the government tried to solve the economic,
political, and social problems that arose as a result of the Civil War. It was a
time of disorder and chaos. Southern whites rejected all forms of equality and
blacks wanted nothing but full freedom and land of their own. This led to
frequent and inevitable riots. Reconstruction lasted from 1865 to 1877 and was
one of the most controversial periods in the nation's history. People still
debate its successes and failures. Many people blames Reconstruction failure on
black politics, calling it "Negro government." Even some newspapers
that were in favor of Reconstruction blamed the black legislatures. Foner wrote,
"Ironically, even as racism waned as an explicit component of the Northern

Democratic appeal, it gained a hold on respectable Republican opinion, as a
convenient explanation for Reconstruction's failure." Black politicians
could have been the demise of Reconstruction. Another cause of Reconstruction
could have been the Court's intervention. Foner stated, "Previously, the

Court had proved reluctant to intervene in Reconstruction controversies. The

Compromise of 1877 between the Republicans and Democrats, occurring in January
of that year, was the solution to the contested Presidential election of 1876
and furthermore brought an end to the period of Reconstruction following the

Civil War. The banks could have also caused the failure of Reconstruction to
speed up. The Freedman's Savings Bank went under with no money to pay its
depositors. The bank held thousands of black's (Freedman) money. "In June

1874, with only $31,000 on hand to cover obligations to its 61,000 depositors,
the Freedman's Savings Bank suspended operations." One of the main reasons
for the failure of Reconstruction was the dropped prices of crops. Many farmers
and sharecroppers...