America's History for the AP Course
9th EditionEric Hinderaker, James A. Henretta, Rebecca Edwards, Robert O. Self
961 solutions
U.S. History
1st EditionJohn Lund, Paul S. Vickery, P. Scott Corbett, Todd Pfannestiel, Volker Janssen
567 solutions
America's History for the AP Course
8th EditionEric Hinderaker, James A. Henretta, Rebecca Edwards, Robert O. Self
470 solutions
America's History for the AP Course
8th EditionEric Hinderaker, James A. Henretta, Rebecca Edwards, Robert O. Self
470 solutions
After many years of gruesome fighting, two major issues posed questions and concerns for the nation at the end of the Civil War. The first was the rebuilding of the South's infrastructure. What happened to the south in this war was a catastrophe with no parallel in America's experience. Almost all of the South's industrial centers, agriculture, and railroads had been destroyed. Southern families had to rebuild their lives, some without the help of adult males. When the slaves in the Confederate states were freed with the Emancipation Proclamation, the plantation owners lost their cheap source of labor. During the war, the north, and European countries had found other suppliers of cotton, and reestablishing trade with the south would take time. One other major issue was dealing with the veterans that had fought in both sides of the war. Intense medical care was needed, which many smaller towns were unable to provide. Many of the injuries were life threatening, and without the proper treatments, thousands more lost their lives. Infections, disease and suicides would continue increasing the actual human cost of the war long after it ended. The reestablishment of Confederate states to the Union was also something under great debate, as well as what was to be done about the generals, and higher officers that were a part of the Confederacy. Many didn't want to trust them, and the discussion about a plan to help them reenter the Union was under constant debate
One of the obvious successes of Reconstruction was the reunification of the Union. This separation lasted four years, and Reconstruction had brought them together, and restored what we know as the United States. Other achievements included the expansion of the South and North's economy, more laws were enforced, the formation of the Freedmen's Bureau, and the formation of many other associations that helped the poor, the expansion of education in the country, the Compromise of 1877, the Enforcement Act of 1870, and freedom. Failures of the Reconstruction included political issues when the Southern states rejoined Union because Democrats would be reunited, which threatened the Republican nationalistic legislation for railroads, tariffs, bank, and currency. The Republicans in the north disagreed about the treatment of the south after the war, which caused the split into Radicals and Conservatives. Reconstruction made strides in helping former slaves, but failed to resolve the issue of race, and full equality. It was also a failure because the people directing it were unwilling to infringe on the rights of states and individuals in fear of secession once more.
A main difference between the Old South and the New South was the dramatic expansion of southern industry after the Civil War. In the years after Reconstruction, the southern industry had become a more important part of the region's economy than ever before, the most visible being the growth in textile manufacturing. In the Old South, southern planters had shipped their cotton out of the region to manufactures in the North or in Europe. Now, textile factories appeared in the south itself. Similarly, the tobacco-processing industry established an important foothold in the region. In the lower south, the iron and steel industry grew rapidly, and by 1890, it represented nearly a fifth of the nation's total capacity. Railroad development also increased dramatically due to the change in gauge, or width of tracks, to match the width that was used in the North, which allowed them to be connected. However, the growth of South merely regained what it had done before war: average income in the South substantially lower than that of North
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