Introduction
The Reconstruction period occurs as one of the primary historical times that have and continue to generate a contentious debate across various settings all over the globe. Speaking of the Reconstruction period, this connotes to a distinct point of time in the history of American society that was characterized by the increased occurrence of various changes. In fact, the changes were eminent across various settings in the American society inclusive, but not limited to politics, as well as the constitution. While it is true that the changes that occurred as a result of the Reconstruction period were few, it is of the essence to note that these changes left a lasting influence in the American society. During its emergence, the Reconstruction period was hyped to bring magnitude of transformations to the American society. However, there are various reasons that led to the failure of Reconstruction with regards to the attainment of the objectives it was hypothesized ton bring forth.
Body: Discussions
Goals of the Blacks during the Reconstruction
Certainly, the Reconstruction era had various aspects. Nonetheless, the most remarkable aspect of the Reconstruction ear was active participation of the Blacks. Worth noting is the fact that most of the Blacks who participated in the Reconstruction era were freed slaves from the South. As such, the primary goal of Blacks in the Reconstruction was to access equal rights and autonomy under the law. This would guarantee their equal participation in the social, economic, and political life, which was not the case in the past. From this analysis, the Blacks wanted total freedom aligned with owning land on their own.
Goals of Radical Republicans during the Reconstruction
Notably, the Radical Republicans had a fascinating admiration for equal rights for Blacks and whites. Precisely, the Radical Republicans believed that Blacks had equal political opportunities and rights as those entitled to the whites. As a result, the primary goal of Radical Republicans was to punish confederate leaders for the roles they played in precipitating the civil war, which was characterized by victimization of the Blacks. In a nutshell, part of the Radical Reconstruction goals devised by the Radical Republicans was to ensure that civil rights are established and enforced. Overall, Radical Republicans in Reconstruction era were characterized by their innate quest for extreme change aligned with equal access to opportunities by whites and Blacks in the South.
Goals of the Southern Whites during the Reconstruction
Contrary to the goals held by Blacks and Radical Republicans of the Reconstruction era, the Southern Whites had different goals. Precisely, the Blacks and Radical Republicans advocated for equality. On the contrary, the Southern Whites sought to keep the Blacks in a condition of quasi-serfdom. As such, part of the goals of the Southern Whites was to reject calls for social equality. In fact, the Southern Whites extended little civil rights the Blacks. This resulted in the conflicts of interests amongst the Blacks, Radical Republicans, and Southern Whites; hence, precipitating inevitable clashes between these groups.
Why the Reconstruction period failed to accomplish the of free Blacks and Radical Republicans
It is imperative to note that the primary intent of the Reconstruction era was to free Blacks from servitude that was eminent during the period of civil war. This would have been attained by ensuring social, economic, and economic equality amongst whites and Blacks. The Reconstruction period failed to ensure the existence of equality amongst these two races in that the issue on equal rights remained unanswered question. To be precise, the Reconstruction period failed to ensure equality in that it failed to transform the Southern society. In addition, the Reconstruction period failed to ensure adequate redistribution of wealth. As a result, former slaves whom most of them were Blacks continued to be misused by the whites. In fact, the Blacks could not own land, whereas the whites owned large junks of land.
On another note, the Reconstruction period failed to free the black and Radical Republicans because it failed to avert violence that continued to be vented on the minority groups. Notably, minimal changes were made on the slave codes, especially in the South. This hindered the freeing of Blacks in that freedom from slavery was not implemented as it was expected. Evidently, the only transformation that was implemented towards freeing of Blacks from slavery was the substitution of the word slave, which was substituted with black or freedmen. On a similar note, the constitutional recommendations drawn from the Thirteenth, Fourteenth and fifteenth Amendments precipitated the failure of Reconstruction in that they did not attain the Radical potential. As such, black and Radical Republicans remained subaltern to the whites and did not have access to civil liberties including suffrage.
The other factor that precipitated the failure of the Reconstruction to free Blacks and Radical Republicans is the fact that the Reconstruction period did not manage to “keep on toes” the senators and U.S. representatives from the South. In addition, the Reconstruction did not bring the southern government under control the Republican Party. Consequently, the North could not effectively rebuild the South; hence, the two sides remained volatile.
Conclusion
