A clash between President Johnson and Congress over Reconstruction in America South

The American Civil War in 1960 is the most destructive war in American history that cause over 600,000 death. The cause of the war is far deeper than just the slavery. The war illustrate the deep division between the North and the South. One of the most prominent cause that led to the conflict is economic development and the issue of state rights over federation to keep the slave. They south formed its own government call 'The Confederate States of America’ in attempt to separate from the North, claim that they are the true America. The result is the South lost the war during Lincoln presidency. However, after the war, on April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth, a famous actor and Confederate sympathizer, assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. After Lincoln assassination, Andrew Johnson who was Lincoln vive president, then became president.

This essay will offer analytical account since the end of civil war 1865 onward especially the political environment that develop in America during this period during this time or know as ‘congressional reconstruction’. This essay will discuss how effective is it as well as what is the relation with ‘radical reconstruction’.

After civil war, slave was abolished. The 13 Amendment was establish to ensure that there will no salve exist within United State. Meanwhile in the south, which it used to be informed by slave society and the whole structure was develop on the plantation society began to face problem.The south economy based on agricultural production, usually of a few commodity crops grown on large farms. It consists of many salve who are brought to be a worker in the realm of economic activity. Plantation economies rely on the export of cash crops as a source of income which is cotton. However, after the slave was banned, some plantations were abolished and the south economy was in trouble.

There are a lot of riot among former slave too, as they now became free but they don’t know what to do. Because they’re enslaved for a long time, they are still incapable of living on their own affair. Most of them tried to detach from the white and form their own community such as building their own church and school. This, however, annoyed the southerner white elite. They fear that black will revenge against the white, fear of black being violent. Furthermore, they are still in need of slave because of the lack of worker in plantation. The result is the south still was a very racist place in America. There are a lot of discrimination in the south and the southern white still hate black people. There are a lot of violence against the black in the south.

While after the war, tried to reconstruct and modernize the south. There are debate about black position in the society, how much rights should they get or what will happen to the south.

In federal government, after Lincoln was assassinated, Andrew Johnson became the next president under Republican majority. Johnson is was the 17th President of the United States from Democrat. He is a Jacksonian style president who espoused greater democracy for the nation, to be more compromise to the south to make united America. He apply it to the south that favor state rights of the south over federal government. He assert that the should should be allowed to due with their own affair and believe that federal should not impose itself upon state rights of the south.

Johnson himself is a southerner and is pro slavery. He introduce a reconstruct the south called ‘presidential reconstruction’ which gave the rights back to the south to due with former black people.

As a result, the ‘presidential reconstruction’ program gave the rights back to the south to due with former black people. The new southern state legislatures passed restrictive “black codes” to control the labor and behavior of former slaves and other African Americans. It’s a law that intend to restrict black behavior. It’s seen as the attempt to reconstruct racial discrimination against black people to bring them back to the closest thing to slavery. Black code limit black freedom, prevent them from voting rights, bear arm, carrying arm, assembly in number, compelling them to work in a labor economy based on low wages or debt. A lot of black people end up in jail if they don’t follow. This enable white southerner to have control over former slave.

Subsequently, the south became even more discriminated, racist place than it ever. Even the slavery was abolished but the life of former slave was even worse under black code and democrat southerner state. There is a secret society that try to hunt former slave called KKK ‘Ku Klux Klan’, a racist religious organization that promote the idea of white supremacy. Most of the member are white professional, former south solider who covered themselves and want out, hunting, killing, massacring black people. They carried out the campaign of terror or would be called terrorist today. This shown that South state became a mess over racial issue as a result of Johnson ‘presidential reconstruction’.

Under the circumstances, the south radical action led to the enrage of the more radical wing of the Republican Party. Johnson was Veto and seized controlled the administration of the reconstruction program by Republican majority in Congress. The medical wing of the republican consist of many abolitionist who are radical anti slavery. At this point, Johnson was seen as ineffective government and not be able to deal with the racial issue of the south which he’s wiped out from 1868 election.

The reconstruction program of the republican congress, it’s known as ‘congressional reconstruction’. It appalled mass killing of former slave, KKK was made illegal, repel black code. The congress also extend to power override state law to make black people be able to work, and introduce 14 Amendment that guarantee the citizen rights of people who are born in American to be American, to make the next generation of slave became fully American citizens, guarantee equal rights of them and make sure that they won’t be enslaved again.

Thus, Ulysses S. Grant, republican in the 1968 election. Under Grant, the south are still full of racist white and did not get rid fully of white supremacist idea even after the congressional reconstruction.

So the republican who is now dominated in congress and federal government have have stratagem that in order to readmit into the union, they have to sign for the republican ratify.

The term ‘congressional reconstruction’ also known as ‘Radical reconstruction’ because of the domination of republican over policymaking in Congress. The republican extend the reconstruction program to the politic to ensure that Democrat won’t dominate in congress again. For example, they introduced 15 amendment 1870 that ensure the rights to vote for everyone including former salve. The result is the majority of former slave became Republican supporter as they are the one that is one their side, fight for them during the civil war and also free them from Democrat attempt to restrict their freedom. the fact that they gave right to vote for black people, it almost guarantee their domination in American politic even in the south. Due to a huge number of former black voter in the south, republican now dominated in souther state too. Since keep democrat out of political power and hard for them to get into political process for at least 20 years.

The congressional reconstruction is seen as very effective in dealing with racist problem in the south as well as ensure that democrat will not be able to restore its political power in the south from political stand point. However, the southerner are still racist and some of them want to restore slave or at least something that’s close to slave. In 1870s, there was massive immigration from the South to the North with the economic depression. So the reconstruction became expensive price to pay. When the declining power of Republican occurred, the rising of Democratic Party was took place. The Republican Party won the election of 1876. It led to the compromise over the reconstruction to move the military out of the south. There was the segregation between the blacks and the whites such as separated school and transportation. The right of individual was brought as the claim to be racist against the blacks. This show that the idea of white supremacist are stillest in the south even they are suppress by the law and media but nonetheless they are still exist even today. American still a racist place. For some they still see the black as inferior even they made to have equal status.