Impact of the Reconstruction Era on the Lives of African Americans - Research Paper Example

Impact of the Reconstruction Era in the lives of African Americans The history of African Americans parallel to America is a critical study of ups and downs. There were a number of events that took place throughout the history of African Americans. Reconstruction era remains a very critical one because it had a mixed impact on the lives of African Americans. The idea of a reconstruction era was to provide a way of betterment in the lives of African Americans, but there were many incidents that took place otherwise. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the subject of a reconstruction era and its impact on the lives of African America. In order to grasp a clear understanding regarding the subject matter, a thorough yet simultaneous discussion will be conducted in the paper. It will show views of different historians about the reconstruction being a very imperative subject in the lives of African Americans. The significance of discussing this topic is because this was an era when major changes in the lives of African Americans took place. As a matter of fact, some of the white Americans were not able to agree with the fact that African Americans were going to gain equality by taking up jobs in the government, etc. It is imperative to understand reconstruction era before assessing the possible impact that it had on the lives of African Americans. A number of Acts were passed while this era as a number of cases was files regarding rights of African Americans and the liabilities of the white Americans to bring equality and stability within the society. Famous African American leaders were able to put forward their mandate or agenda in front of the American government to prove their mindsets and approaches towards bringing stability in the American societies. Herein, it should also be noted that the research conducted so far on the subject of reconstruction remains debated. There seems to be a lot of consensuses when it comes to the success of reconstruction (Gao). It should be noted that despite the fact reconstruction era was commissioned in order to provide a new way of living for America, it continued to spread tensions between the whites and blacks. It was noticed that during the reconstruction era, difference of social class remained high where the entitlement to natives and immigrants was also marked as a root of discord. The improvements that were more likely to take place for African Americans were in the governmental sector. For instance, African Americans were given a head start to work in the politics within the Southern region. However, many writers and historians claim that such a change in the political representation for African Americans was temporary. It was marked that many important designations within the governmental sector were given to the African Americans. Consequently, it was remarked that they felt free and able to make a difference within a society by representing their community and group (Dickerson). However, one must be able to account the fact that there were a number of aspects of the reconstruction era that created a number of issues for the African Americans. It includes the manner in which African Americans were being discriminated for owning their land. In simpler words, African Americans were not given the opportunity to buy their property. It made them dependent upon the whites largely because they could only rent the land. In this way, it was observed that the conditions of African Americans life were becoming difficult with every passing day (Gao). In the later months following the beginning of the Reconstruction era, it was noted that the jobs that were give to some of the African Americans were taken back. It indicated that white people did not want the African Americans to undertake freedom and representation in the South. Some of the critics also believed and noted that the provisions of jobs to the African Americans were largely plotted an act of the white people. It was merely because they wanted to make the situation calm for some time. It is due to this reason that the African Americans were given job in some of the sectors. It is evident from the fact that the textile industry was blooming at the time reconstruction. African Americans were not given jobs in the textile industry because that was allowing more and more profits (Gao). Another shift that was being observed during the reconstruction era was the fact that more and more viewpoints were being formed against the African Americans. For instance, it was the common philosophy that African-Americans were merely lazy people. It was for this reason that they were not given jobs by the mill owners. In other words, it can be said that the white population was considered over black Americans because of the racial segregation (Dickerson). At one point, there were many aspects that were being considered as unfair in regards of the impact of reconstruction on African Americans. On the other hand, there were many African Americans who supported the Republicans. These people are often considered as carpetbaggers. It was noted that carpetbaggers were more inclined towards showing their agreement with the moves that were taken in the era of reconstruction. For instance, they believe that right to vote for African-Americans was no less than a miracle. During the era of reconstruction, Southerners were allowed to vote for their representatives. It was a great deal for such a group in America that was an entitled to be slaves in the previous years. In addition, the reconstruction era provides positivity in the lives of African Americans as mentioned by the supporters of reconstruction (Dickerson). The conservatives of the reconstruction era have also asserted that there were a lot of aggressions that was observed within white Americans against the African Americans. It was merely because they were not mentally prepared to accept the fact that African Americans were going to get the equal rights as white Americans. Many propagandists from the white school of thought also conducted several tricks to get a reaction from the African Americans. It was enlisted in a number of cases where black Americans filed complaint against white Americans and the conflicts that were brought on the basis of societal class and ethnicity (Dickerson). Through the above analysis, it can be well stated that reconstruction era was merely a middle ground for those who planned it out after the civil war. However, the fact remains that reconstruction era could not justify the goals for which it was introduced. There were many positive changes that were observed during the reconstruction era including right to vote, jobs, political representations, citizenship, etc. At the same time, there are many critics who claimed that the reconstruction era could not bring positive change in the lives of African Americans since they were not allowed to own property. Gain of land or farms is seemingly the best way for an individual to gain economic benefits. Such a right was not given to the African Americas. Therefore, it can we asserted that reconstruction era is merely a debated account in the history of America. There were developments in the lives of African Americans but at the same time, there were many loopholes that could not bring peace between the white Americans and black Americans. After the passage of the reconstruction era, there were a number of Acts there were introduced for the rights of African Americans that not only brought a positive change for both the groups but provided stability to American society in general. Works Cited Dickerson, Donna. The Reconstruction Era: Primary Documents on Events from 1865 to 1877. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2003. Print. Gao, Chunchang. African Americans in the Reconstruction Era. New York: Taylor & Francis, 2000. Print. Read More