Using Radical Reconstruction: A Brief History with Documents, you will need to write an essay of at least 750 words answering ALL of the following questions using specific evidence from the second half of the book to support your answers fully.
2 pages will be enough
1) Who were the Radical Republicans? What background did many of them have prior to the Civil War? What were some of the main goals that they had for the Reconstruction era? What were their beliefs about freedmen in the and how did they see their role in American life?
2) Why does Prince believe that Reconstruction started with the Emancipation Proclamation and not the end of the war? What forms did Reconstruction take prior to the Radical Republicans taking it over? How does the debate over who was in charge of Reconstruction- the President or Congress- shape this period?
3) Why did the Radical Republicans want to impeach Andrew Johnson? What were some of the main arguments they made for impeachment? Under what charges was Johnson impeached? How did the Senate vote after his trial? Why the author believe that Johnson was acquitted?
4) What was the importance of the 14th Amendment? What main provisions did it provide? Were the Radical Republicans happy with this amendment? Why or why not? How did the Southern states stance on this amendment allow the Radicals to gain further power?
5) What were some of the main arguments made for African-American suffrage in the post-Civil War period? Did northerners appear to support this idea? How did the womens suffrage movement try to use this momentum to gain the right to vote for themselves? What ultimately is going to lead to the 15th Amendment being passed?
6) What was the legacy of Radical Reconstruction? Ultimately, do YOU believe it was actually radical in what it achieved? How did the South- both individually and governmentally- work to stop the gains of Reconstruction? Were they successful? Be sure to fully explain your answer.
