Reconstruction
Revolution in a political institution such as the United States would be a complete fundamental change in the government or social structure of the country. Both constitutionally and socially a compilation of many great changes can amount to a fundamental change in structure. During the Civil War and the Reconstruction era the country survived civil war, grave differences between the nationalistic North and the states-rights South, and the complete disband of the slavery system that so much of the United States depended on. Between 1860 and 1877 the United States experienced great change, both socially and constitutionally, that amounted to a revolution. A revolution occurs when some kind of fundamental change is instituted. One of the many changes that occurred during this time period would be the South's view of the Union. There were many fundamental differences between the North and the South that eventually amounted to the Civil War. The secession of the South was caused by these fundamental differences. Socially the people of the South believed that the federal government was simply a compilation of the many states and that its powers were extremely limited. They also followed this belief when it came to interpretation of t
During this short time period in the United States, many changes were introduced. The fundamental differences between the societies of the North and South caused the Civil War, which led to both a social and constitutional revolution. The 13th ,14th , and 15th Amendments were all constitutional developments that led to this revolution. The final results of this revolution were the social and constitutional changes in the status of African Americans in the United States. They were given rights as free men. The African American population in the United States was a main target in this revolution. The days of slavery were about to expire and this change alone would be enough for revolution. Senator Lot Morrill states, "There was a civilization based on servitude...Where is that?...Gone forever...We have revolutionized this Constitution of ours to that extent and every substantial change in the fundamental constitution of a country is a revolution." (Doc F) He is making the point that the country experienced revolution through in this time period because of the social change that banning slavery brought about. Much of the United States, specifically the South, was based on the slavery institution both economically and socially. Economically the southern aristocracy depended greatly on slavery for its livelihood. Socially the white people felt "higher on the chain" than their black slaves. This system breed inherent racism against African American people, therefore its elimination was a change that extremely affected the social system of the United States. When the slaves were freed, white southerners were forced into revolution because they were dealing with freedmen instead of slaves. Outlawing slavery was also a very big constitutional change. In order to outlaw slavery the 13th Amendment was added to the Constitution. The ban on slavery caused both social and constitutional revolution in the United States. The destruction of the slavery system was both a constitutional and social revolution for African Americans as a society. For the African Americans this time between 1860 and 1
Some common words found in the essay are:
Civil War, African American, North South, Senator Morrill, War Reconstruction, Union Federal, African Americans, Fourteenth Amendment, Fifteenth Amendment, Sherman Ohio, civil war, north south, federal government, social constitutional, african americans, black people, differences north south, fundamental differences, african american, differences north, changes occurred, 13th 14th 15th, 14th 15th amendments, social constitutional revolution, civil war changes,
Approximate Word count = 1414
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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