Reconstruction: Success or Failure?
Success or failure in the reconstruction process?
The reconstruction era was a period of rebuilding that some historians believe was a period of significant development in terms of racial relations and civil rights, particularly for African-Americans. Not everyone agrees that the reconstruction period should be viewed as a time of celebration. Some academics believe it was a total and utter failure. It is the goal of this research to explore both sides of this argument in order to determine which is the most persuasive.

Congressmen from the northern hemisphere were taken aback when old adversaries from the southern hemisphere returned to retake their seats (Marcus, p. 255). Their tarnished reputations would follow them for many years to come, causing them to lose their seats in Congress. A few strides forward in Civil Rights, such as the right of women and African-Americans to vote, were reversed when wording was inserted to the Constitution banning it (Marcus, p. 459). The only thing that black people had gained was the fact that they were no longer slaves, but their rights were far from equal. Women and African-Americans would continue to be oppressed groups for many decades following the reconstruction. For many in the South, the reconstruction effort was regarded as a greater insult than the war itself (Marcus, p. 463). After the battle, the Southerners would try to keep dominance by enacting state laws and local ordinances that would allow them to preserve the cultural character of their region that existed prior to the war.

There was a fear that the power of the Southern States would allow them to one day seize control of national interests and restore their own form of government to the country. Congress decided it was necessary to put in place protections to ensure that this did not happen again. So, they intended to pass legislation that would require former Southern states that had achieved success to reaffirm their devotion to the United States by a specific percentage of their voters (Marcus, p. 457). Even after all of this time, there was still a significant environment of mistrust between the Northern and Southern States. Specifically, the Northern states desired to ensure that they would be able to maintain firm control over the direction of the nation’s affairs.

Although blacks and women did not obtain genuine equality in the ability to vote, they did earn new political positions as a result of the Civil Rights Movement. Women would rise to prominence as a political and social force, and women would be accepted to posts in Congress for the first time (Marcus, p. 460). It is possible to evaluate the rebuilding of the United States as a success from the aspect of geographically reuniting the country. On the surface, the reconstruction may be viewed as a triumph in terms of abolition of slavery, but the reality was more complicated. When one examines under the surface of these concerns, it is possible to conclude that the rebuilding was a failure. The tense relationship that existed between the Northern state and the erstwhile succeeded states of the South was characterized by suspicion and caution when it came to tactics for gaining power. Slavery was abolished in terms of civil rights, but the South rapidly made it plain that blacks were not equal in any way after the Civil War. Women gained more independence, but they were still far from having equal rights. When one examines behind the surface of the concerns, it is possible to conclude that the rebuilding was only a marginal success, at the very best. It did not totally accomplish all of its objectives.

References
American Firsthand, edited by Robert Marcus, David Burner, and Anthony Marcus, is available online. Bedford/St. Martin’s Publishing Company, Boston, Massachusetts, 2009.
Was the reconstruction project a success?

Reconstruction, which took place in the aftermath of the Civil War in America’s Southern States, was a resounding success in terms of social reform; for example, hundreds of thousands of freed slaves were given the opportunity to receive a basic education. Politically, this phase in United States history was also a triumph; the Confederate states promised loyalty to the United States government and amended the Constitution to remove references to slavery from the Constitution. These improvements, on the other hand, did not prevent racism from having a pervasive impact on society. Reconstruction was the beginning of a period of hardship that would persist until the Great Depression of the 1930s, from an economic perspective. Overall, reconstruction has been a success in the long run; nevertheless, it has taken far longer than the actual period to feel and notice the consequences of the reconstruction.

The Most Influential and Important American Inventor and Invention
Thomas Edison, in my opinion, was the greatest American inventor, and his commercial electric lightbulb was the most important invention in the country. Let us consider the developments that have transpired since Edison’s public demonstration of incandescent electric lighting in 1879, which the great man himself predicted would be so inexpensive that only the wealthy would continue to use candles. In 1880, Edison’s company introduced the world’s first electric utility to compete with natural gas.

Because of improved street lighting, public safety would have been enhanced, work hours would have been more flexible because people would have been able to work at night, and there would have been fewer house fires because people would no longer have been using candles or lamps in their homes, among other benefits.

Inventor Thomas Edison is well-known for noting that genius is primarily a result of hard work rather than natural talent. This man put in a lot of effort, as seen by the nearly 1,000 patents he has to his name for inventions relating to electricity. Thomas Edison’s incredible and beneficial innovations have made it difficult to envision a world without them.