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Radical Reconstruction
History of the USA: Reconstruction to New Age Politics (University of Delhi)
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Q. Examine critically the principles and legislations that outline the phase of Radical
Reconstruction in the 19th century America.
The years following the American Civil War are termed as the Reconstruction Era. This period marks the
height of scrutiny faced by the Southern rebel states over questions of slavery and aristocratic systems.
Integration of said states and the accommodation of newly freed black population were the most pressing
issues. Henry W. Grady termed the departures from the old plantation economies as the ÒNew SouthÓ.
There was strong emphasis on the concepts of equality, freedom and democracy. Eric Foner suggests that
the true driving force of the civil war slavery, which is reflected in the subsequent three amendments
passed during this period, the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments. There is great debate over the true nature
of this period of reconstruction, a question that will be tackled at the end of this essay.
On 1st of January 1863, as the Civil War neared its third year, the then president Abraham Lincoln issued
the Emancipation proclamation. This document proclaimed Òthat all persons held as slaves" within the
rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." While the document was riddled with hidden
contradictions and exemptions, it showed the future holding great promise for the freedman. Immediately
after the end of the Civil War, the 13th Amendment was passed. This suggested that, ÒNeither slavery nor
involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted,
shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.Ó In essence, slavery was
abolished and to be a part of the United States, all states had to ratify to the same. Alongside, in 1865, the
FreedmanÕs Bureau was established under LincolnÕs presidency. This singular act was extremely
necessary as it aimed to provide the freedmen a strong foothold in American society and was to remain
functional Òduring the present war of rebellion, and for one year thereafter.Ó The agenda entailed
providing food, shelter and education to the emancipated population, and it remain functional till 1870.
Post the assassination of Lincoln, Andrew Johnson took over office. Johnson was a moderate democrat
from the South and under him started the process of Presidential Reconstruction. His aim was to
rehabilitate southern states and integrate them swiftly, often at the expense of the freedmen. Ranging from
1866 to 67, he set up provisional Òall-whiteÓ governments that closely resembled the confederate
ensemble, confiscated lands were returned to southern planters and a system of sharecropping began
which tied the economically weak freedmen into modern slavery bonds. He also found himself in conflict
with the republicans over the FreedmanÕs Bureau when calls were made for re-establishing the same in
1866 and attempted to veto the same. The extension was introduced by Illinois senator Lyman Trumbull,
under the Civil Rights Act, wanting to remove the expiration date and extend the BureauÕs privilege to the
entire United States. He also demanded the expansion of the powers of the military governors to enforce
its provision. Johnson claimed that this was an infringement over individual state rights, gave the federal
government unprecedented power and was economically irresponsible. The Civil Rights Act also gave
important definitions to citizenship and equality before the law. JohnsonÕs veto was rejected by the
congress and the Act became a law on July 16th, 1866.
JohnsonÕs view of reconstruction did not reflect the ideals of the RepublicanÕs, failing to deliver on the
promises of the Civil War. While the bureau provided new avenues for education, under Johnson the land
reforms failed and Black Codes were established across states. These restricted black people's right to
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own property, conduct business, buy and lease land, and move freely through public spaces. Vagrancy
laws became common place and were dictated on the terms of white individuals. On July 9th, 1868, the
14th Amendment was passed in congress, a landmark decision in the history of the constitution. After the
Civil Rights Act became law, there was speculation among the congress over implementation, but the
radical republicans took it as a chance to further constitutional amendments which would solidify the
status of freedmen as citizens. JohnsonÕs presidential veto was overturned for a second time due to a
republican majority (congress refused to recognise the all white governments of the south). The
amendment has five sections that outlawed states from enforcing laws that abridged the rights or
privileges of any citizen of the United States, provides equal protection under the law and extends the bill
of rights to everyone (including minorities). In 1867 the Reconstruction Act was passed which marked the
beginning of Radical Reconstruction. Under this the South was divided into five military districts, each of
which was required to form a new government and had to ratify to the 14th Amendment to be a part of the
union.
Johnson lost the 1868 election to republican candidate Ulysses S. Grant. In 1870, the congressional
republicans passed the 15th and final Amendment under this phase of reconstruction, which protected
every individuals right to vote despite their race, colour or any previous history of servitude (only
extended to men). This was also strategic as republicans realised that they could raise their margins of
victory with the aid of the black vote. Essentially, the nature of the Union changed with reconstruction
with more power being consolidated with the federal government and they went from Òbeing a threat to
individual liberty to becoming the custodians of freedomÓ, as mentioned by Charles Sumner. For a short
period, there was an increase in black participation and their freedoms were stretched. Republicans began
to dominate the south and black individuals even held office, but despite these laws, states often had a lot
of leeway in term of implementation. There was rampant corruption and increasing hatred for the north
amongst the southerners. Terms like carpetbaggers and scalawags were used to address individuals who
sympathised with republican agendas. This led to the rise of hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan, that used
violence against the black individuals and their sympathisers. There was little social mobility for the
freedmen as their access to economic systems was rather limited, leading them back to large plantations
where they worked for a less than acceptable wage. Intimidation by racist groups often discouraged black
voters and slowly the Democratic Party began to reemerge. In 1973, America fell into an economic
depression and supporting a marginalised community became too expensive, causing republicans to lose
interest and faith. With the south landing back into the hands of the democrats, the narrative changed and
the racist element was celebrated, being called southern redeemers.
The 1876 election saw disputed electorates in three states, South Carolina, Louisiana and Florida. This led
to contentions between Rutherford B. Hayes, the republican presidential candidate and Samuel L. Tilden,
the democratic candidate. In January of 1877, a 15 member Electoral Commission was established to
resolve the issue, awarding Hayes the election in a 8-7 vote. In an informal agreement among the
committee, the democrats demanded and end to military occupation in the south in return for Hayes win.
This agreement marked the end of republican support towards protection the civil rights of African
Americans and subsequently the end of Reconstruction. This was called the Compromise of 1877. The
south now had complete control as the republicans were no longer involved in their politics, thus they re-
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established Black Codes and Jim Crow laws (segregation laws). This undid all the efforts of
reconstruction and stunted the rather promising development of the freed slaves.
As mentioned earlier, the nature and effects of this reconstruction are widely debated. The historiography
was initially dominated by a traditional interpretation where the southerners were seen as redeemers and
protectors of the Southern Decency. Claude BowerÕs even referred to the same as a Tragic Era, claiming
racial injustice to the white community. It was believed that Johnson had attempted to carry out LincolnÕs
plan but was derailed by radical republicans and childlike freedmen. In 1907, Booker T. Washington notes
that African Americans were the true victims, claiming them to be oblivious. William A. Dunning and
John W. Burgress placed blame on the northern carpetbaggers and federal government and were referred
to as the Dunning School. Initially only black historians like W. E. B. Du Bois challenged this idea by
placing the African Americans at the centre of reconstruction, showing them as former slaves and their
white supporters as allies, working towards creating a more egalitarian society, but his works were
essentially ignored. By the 1930-40s, the revisionist school, led by Charles Beard and Howard Beale,
propagated the idea that reconstruction was an excuse used by Northern industrialists to further their
economic agendas. More contemporary ideas, however have a drastically different interpretation that
resembles Du Bois. Post-Revisionists like John Hope Franklin and Kenneth Stampp suggest that the re-
evaluation of the First Reconstruction was inspired by the second, the modern Civil Rights Movement.
They claim that most southern elite were unharmed by the Civil War and, subsequently, the
Reconstruction as they retained most of their land and privileges. Eric Foner attempts to centralise the
Òblack experienceÓ and recognises the importance of the federal decisions made during this era. He calls
this period an unfinished american revolution.
There is no doubt that the first Reconstruction was a dramatic failure, unable to sustain the ideals of the
Civil w\War, but the benefits brought by the same are undeniable. It gave the reformed union direction
and footing to create change in the future. The freedmenÕs bureau provided much needed educational
recourse with the establishing of colleges like Howard and Fiske. It was an important step in the
experience of African Americans. It laid the foundation for a more egalitarian society, providing
possibility for legal recourse and the creation of a democracy based of racial equality.
References
1. The New View of Reconstruction by Eric Foner
2. The New Birth of Freedom: The Forgotten History of the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments by Nathan
Newman and J.J. Gass
3. Reconstruction Revisited by Eric Foner
4. Give Me Liberty! An American History (Third Edition) by Eric Foner
