Question #2 - During Reconstruction, the Republicans continually tried to promote and secure social and political rights for the former slaves. What was some of the major legislation used to achieve these goals and how effective was it? Do you think that the Republicans had the authority to implement this legislation, why or why not?

During the reconstruction period, the Republicans were the Americans who continuously fought to protect and preserve the newly granted rights of freed African American slaves. The Republicans made several attempts to aid the African Americans, through both legislation and direct action, yet nothing ultimately yielded the desired end result. Fundamentally, because the majority of Republicans lived far away from most of the freed slaves, they lacked true authority to see the legislation through. The first act during the Reconstruction that symbolized the rise of equality between black and whites was the Civil Rights Act. This voided the black codes, and gave African Americans many of the same rights as whites. Subsequently came the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment, which is what initially freed the slaves because blacks were no longer seen as possessions, but rather as American citizens. After this, Congress passed the Military Reconstruction Act, which placed members of the Union’s militia in each of the remaining Confederate areas. This would help keep the pressure on to obey the newly implemented rules and regulations. The next drastic piece of legislature was the Fifteenth Amendment, under which blacks were given the right to vote. After these pieces of legislation had all been implemented by the United States government, it initially seemed as though rapid strides were being made towards the progression of African American equality; however, new problems soon surfaced that directly impacted the effectiveness of the Republican Party. The new laws deeply satisfied all Republicans, and produced a new viability of the Republican Party in the South. The problem was that the south was incredibly divided. The majority of southern whites were against the Republican Party, as they remained rooted in their racist tendencies. It was evident that any progression towards equality was going to be a severely intense battle. Essentially, the immense opposition that stemmed from southerners negatively affected the newly implemented legislation. For example, with the south divided, efforts of the Reconstruction began to diminish. This decline officially began with the presidential election of Ulysses S. Grant. His indecisiveness proved to be his biggest flaw. He would not fully commit to the Reconstruction, and, as a result, many northern Republicans began to lose faith, and, thus, withdraw from the plan. Without complete support from the north,