John Hope's Opinion On Recuntruction After The Civil War

3 Pages 842 Words

Reconstruction was a plan proposed by Abraham Lincoln when he was elected for his second term in office. Convinced by the union army’s victories, Lincoln went full out in December of 1863 he offered “Full Pardon” to all, it was called the Proclamation of Amnesty. Attached with this plan, he proposed that if the number of ex-confederate state’s voters, who would swear under oath, if their numbers reached 10% of the original vote of the election of 1860, they would be allowed to establish a new state government with all of Lincoln’s consent. This Ten Percent Plan meant that all new governments would agree to abolish slavery once in for all. (T501) Slavery was the main issue for why the war started. Lincoln acknowledged this fact only towards the end of the war. But the question is if slavery really ended when the war ended? Yes, through Lincoln’s Reconstruction plan, slavery did come to an end, but the crisis of racism only increased throughout the south. African Americans, I believe, had a huge role in achieving their own independence during the war, and after. Stability was an issue to all, but black people were given the potential of receiving their own. (L)

The war had almost all kinds of races participating in it. The black people even had their foot in the door, when they established regiments to fight. The Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts regiment was one of the prime examples in to how black men fought and died for their freedom. (T482)African Americans would also participate during the war by helping out in the navy, also getting employed by industrial factories up north, this would be an economic disadvantage towards Irish and German Immigrants during the war. They would be replaced by hundreds of black people in mills and factories, like I
explain in my first essay. African Americans would die and support the war just like a regular union soldier will.

Congress and the government gave exceptional benefits towards...