Roderick Benjamin Essays - Racism, Reconstruction Era,

Roderick Benjamin Period 3 May 18 2017 Was Reconstruction of the South success? After the civil war there was reconstruction which was when they attempted to rebuild the south. Reconstruction of the south wasn't successful without free labor and slaves. Some of the reasons why is because of the KKK, segregation, and black codes. This was an important subject to blacks because of inequality. To begin with, the KKK was one of the many negative outcomes of reconstruction. KKK was created by Democrats. They murder both black and white Republicans because they don't believe every man was created equal equal rights. Another reason they were created was because black people were taking all of the jobs because they were not slaves any more. The KKK also approved with something called black codes. The KKK didn't help reconstruction because Amendment 14 says "All persons born or naturalized in the United States are 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 (power) the equal protection of the laws."(Document B) This is an example of how reconstruction was not a success. Secondly, Black Codes was another con of reconstruction. Black Codes were made by the Confederate states or the south. These codes were laws or rules that black people had to follow. Such rules made it nearly impossible to vote for blacks. For a black person to vote they would have to pass a literature test or pay a lot of money or get permission by a white person. An example of a black code is "No negro shall be permitted to rent or keep a house within the said parish." This goes into conflict with the 15 Amendment. The 15 Amendment says "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 condition of servitude." (Document C) This proves again that reconstruction wasn't a success. Lastly, Segregation didn't help reconstruction. Segregation means "Separate, but equal". Segregation was allowed in any country as long as it was separate but equal. It was supposed to be equal but it clearly was not. In Document F it shows a picture of two water fountains and one is old, gross, and it looks like it's made of scrap metal(colored). The other is nice, fancy, clean, and well made (white). Also if you were colored you had to sit in the back of the bus and back then that's where the motor of the bus was located so it could get really hot and that would be a pain in summer but a benefit in the winter. I know this from prior knowledge. This is ideal to how reconstruction was not a success. Rehabilitation concerning the south was not a benefit when it comes to equal rights. The reason was because of the KKK, Black Codes, and Segregation. The purpose on why we care for this situation is so we could move on from slavery and finally have same rights and so that we don't repeat Segregation and Black Codes and so we know that this whole situation was wrong and was not honorable.