What problems did Reconstruction resolve? What problems did it fail to resolve?

Reconstruction solved some problems that existed in the South, but it failed to resolve others. One of the goals of Reconstruction was to rebuild the South. Reconstruction was able to move this process forward. As a result of Reconstruction, the South had its economy rebuilt and diversified. While many people continued to farm, industries began to develop in the region. This diversification was good for the southern economy.

Reconstruction also was designed to bring the...

Reconstruction solved some problems that existed in the South, but it failed to resolve others. One of the goals of Reconstruction was to rebuild the South. Reconstruction was able to move this process forward. As a result of Reconstruction, the South had its economy rebuilt and diversified. While many people continued to farm, industries began to develop in the region. This diversification was good for the southern economy.

Reconstruction also was designed to bring the states that had seceded back into the Union and provide more equality and opportunity for the former slaves. These goals were accomplished in a couple of ways. All southern states that had seceded wrote new constitutions. These constitutions banned slavery and gave citizenship to all people born in the United States. African-American males were able to vote, at least for a period of time, in elections. The Freedmen’s Bureau helped African-Americans get on their feet. The Freedmen’s Bureau helped African-Americans establish schools and helped them get jobs and other needed supplies.

Reconstruction was unable to change long-standing attitudes and beliefs of many white southerners. Many white southerners never accepted the idea of equality for the former slaves. As soon as white southerners were able to do so, they began to restrict the freedoms the former slaves had received during Reconstruction. Voting restrictions, in the form of poll taxes and literacy tests, prevented many African-Americans from voting. White people were exempted from these restrictions by the grandfather clauses that allowed a person to vote if their father or grandfather had voted before the Civil War. Most black fathers and grandfathers hadn’t voted before the Civil War. The South became very segregated after Reconstruction ended. Jim Crows laws were passed that legalized segregation. Many white southerners couldn’t accept the idea of a society where blacks and whites were equal. Reconstruction was unable to change these long-held beliefs many white southerners had about the different races living in the South.