The reconstruction of the United States produced many hardships for former slaves in the South. There are many economic hardships that they suffer from. Many rights are limited for them even though for the whites they are not limited, and the new challenges of the new African-Americans that come into the world. There were many problems of the Reconstruction. It was a failure in all places.
The economic woes crushed the former slaves, and the United States. The major cause of these hardships was Jay Cooke. He invested in railroads which cost tons of money, and eventually fell into debt, causing the Panic of 1873. In the panic of 1873, a lot of small banks closed, and the stock Markey collapsed for a small period of time. Many small and some of the rather big corporations failed in this time period. The panic of 1873 triggered a 5 year economic depression, where 3 million slaves, whites, and immigrants lost their jobs.
English: William Joseph Simmons, founder of the se...
Ku Klux Klan members and a burning cross, Denver, ...
Description: A Ku Klux Klan meeting in Gainesville...During this period all the paper money lost its value because there was no gold to back up the value of it. If there is no money, the amount of products getting sold decreased to a dismal few. Especially for the slaves this was a problem because they had no money to begin with, where a lot of these other people had some money but not tons.
The largest reason the African-American rights were restricted was because of the Ku Klux Klan. They prevented African Americans from exercising their rights. Amendment 14 was the rights of the slaves, which the radical republicans adopted. This amendment guaranteed civil rights. None of the new states approved Johnson's conditions allowing free blacks to vote. Johnson himself opposed the idea. Southern legislatures also ratified a series of "black codes" putting restrictions on...