significant figures
Abraham Lincoln
This is pretty obviously gonna make this list. Lincoln is probably the first person many people think of when talking about the history of the United States. He was the 16th president, and was the president to be in power during the civil war. A few of his many major achievements include:
The Emancipation Proclamation
abolishing slavery
preserved the Union
in power when the 13th amendment was passed
unfortunately, Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth on April 14th, 1865, ending his second term early only just over a month in
Famous photo of president Abraham Lincoln
Image taken from Wikipedia
portrait of Frederick Douglas
Image licensed by Google
Frederick douglas
Yet another recognizable name. One of the most recognizable names from this time period from someone who isn’t a politician or war general. He had moving speeches, powerful writing, and was an influential activist. He was one of the reasons Lincoln allowed black men to enlist in the military, and “demanded that the Emancipation be part of the Union’s mission.” He also emphasized how the Nation was full of hypocrites. How could a country that claimed to be built on liberty have slaves? Douglas continued to fight to equality, becoming very popular in Reconstruction pushing for voting rights. He pushed and the 14th and 15th amendment were added.
Jefferson Davis
The leader of the Confederates, so of course he’ll be important to this era of America. He represented the Confederates, so he ran the south. They believed in slavery since their economy was built off of it and they would surely collapse if slavery would vanish. Despite losing the war, Davis’ beliefs would remain in America for long after the war, and many rebellions were held in the following years, and the battle for civil rights would continue, just not with violence.
Drawing of President Jefferson David
Image from Britannica
societal changes
end of slavery
with the addition of the 13th amendment, slavery was no longer legal, with the amendment stating “all persons held as slaves within any state, or designated part of a state, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.”
reforming the union
with the defeat of the Confederates, the Union claimed the victory of the Civil War. The government worked on fixing issues like slavery and other moral problems. After the confederated joined the Union again, it was the United states again, because they were all together.
change in democracy
the Civil War & Reconstruction changed for a more inclusive democracy. The war helped people realize the morality of what they were doing, and this helped shape the government to view everyone the same. There was still inequality however, as explained in the Limit to Reconstruction section.
birth of civil rights
with slavery being ratified, it ended legal racism and started legal civil rights. Following this, the
14th amendment was added, which states that all can be citizens of the United States, and equal legal protection
15th amendment was added, which states that banned federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on race.
limit to reconstruction
Despite there being legal equality for the most part, the Reconstruction era failed to protect everyone, because there was still racist protests and segregation under Jim Crows Laws, which was still a law making it hard to promote equality. This showed there was still a white supremacy bias in the government and in the nation.