The Construction Process in the United States
Reconstruction was necessary for the history of America’s civil rights movement. It took place between 1865 and 1877. During this period, the law and the constitution were rewritten to guarantee the protection of black’s human rights. The people of colour from the south had suffered under the white who used violence to rule. The 14th and 15th amendments were the bases of the reconstruction process (Foner, 2015). However, reconstruction failed after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. His predecessor Andrew Johnson was unable to sail through the process as envisioned by Lincoln.
People of color, especially from the south, were not rescued from slavery. The white ruler continued with their brutality and prosecution. All the federal troops from the south were removed in 1877, leading to former Confederate officials, together with previous slave owners, becoming very powerful. They later passed the black codes with the help of the Supreme Court. Black codes were the most offensive legislation in the history of the United States’ human rights. Besides, other anti-progressive rules such as voter qualification were passed, reversing all the black rights gained through the reconstruction process. The Supreme Court cemented the reintroduction of anti-progressive laws when it ruled in the slaughterhouse cases. The civil rights act amendments number fourteenth and fifteenth was repealed after the civil rights cases and the United States vs. Cruikshank. Eventually, due to their continued oppression, the black from the south begun to fight for their rights in what resulted in being the American civil war (Gordon-Reed, 2015).
The effects of the intended process are felt to date. First, the proposed 14th and 15th amendments remained on the books and have become a reference for the civil rights revolution. The civil right act of 1866 affirmed the citizenship of everyone born in the United States (Foner, 2015). This has today allowed the United States to become a multicultural and racial country. This act offers protection to children born in the United States whose parents are undocumented immigrants. The 14th amendment has been used in the recent past to declare the legal equality of minority groups such as gay men and women.
In conclusion, the reconstruction process should have been conducted differently. The ghosts of Andrew Johnson still haunt this nation when it comes to civil human rights. The black people and other people of color should have been empowered. White supremacy should have been curtailed, and civil war should have been avoided. The American people need to understand about rights, citizenship, and democracy to create a society that they wish America to be.
References
Foner, E. (2015). Why Reconstruction Matters. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/29/opinion/sunday/why-reconstruction-matters.html.
Gordon-Reed, A. (2015). What If Reconstruction Hadn’t Failed?. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/10/what-if-reconstruction-hadnt-failed/412219/.