Civil War and Reconstruction

It would be a massive understatement to call the early 19th century in America a turbulent time. Dangerous buildup of frustration, confusion, and plain outrage are some ways to describe the mood of the nation's thirty million or some population. Some conditions of the time make this number rather "unreliable", in fact an entire war was fought over a debate such as this. From 1865 to 1877, the young divided country had to find its identity as times began to change. The North and South however, had totally different opinions on what this identity should look like. 

The war began under Abraham Lincoln's presidency, most famous for the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. His presidency granted slaves the freedom they had desired for centuries, much to the dismay of the south that was on the brink of imminent anger. The battle had begun years earlier at Fort Sumter, however it was always theirs to lose with Union having more military and naval might, in addition to population and local resource. The south was economically strangled and on its knees by the time the confederacy surrendered, with foreign allies no longer able to supply them of the supplies that they could barely produce.

After this conflict, another rebuild that had been looming on the horizon had arrived. And in turn, it's own conflict. The Reconstruction Era began in 1865, with the freed slaves struggling to integrate themselves into a society that struggled to accept them. From the assassination of Lincoln to the narratives of Fredrick Douglas, the struggle between the north and south still lived. Violence and terror from organizations like the KKK caused even more trouble for blacks that were desperate for a change. The compromise of 1877 took the remaining troops out of the south, and passed a legislation to help industrialize it. For civil rights of African Americans however, this was only the beginning, as many more hardships would continue to deny them of their God given human rights.

To conclude with some opinions of my own, it is also unbelievable to research the lengths that people went to in order to deny others of basic rights. I understand that slavery was not unique to America, and that racial descrimination was prominent in most countries  at the time, but it is interesting to see how hypocritical the law can be when dealing with people it its legislators do not like. On the other hand, the progress that has been made since a time like this is commendable and impressive, however it should have never been this way in the first place. One could only wonder how much more progress this nation could have made had it not been for the time wasted on such petty disagreements.