Culture Changes with Time not by Force: Southern Culture Following the Civil War

Division within the United States was obvious following the Civil War because an entire society had to be rebuilt within the South. The southern culture was one of slavery for around a hundred years and now half the nation had to change its ways. To make matters worse, southerners did not even think that the war was about slavery. "The Lost Cause" became an idea perpetuated throughout the South. This was a philosophy of state's rights and fighting the northern oppression over industry. Although the term "Lost Cause" did not gain prominence until 1866, the philosophy was clear since the Civil War ended at the Appomattox Courthouse. When entering into negotiations, Grant believed northern ideals won and that slavery was becoming a relic of the past. Lee simply believed that the south lost and that they had less military might. Lee did not see this as an ideological battle and therefore, made no ideological concessions. I guess the fact that 180,000 blacks joined the Union Army never crossed Lee's mind.

Reconstruction was meant to rebuild the South, readmit states, and purge slavery from society. Lincoln even suggested that intelligent blacks and veteran blacks should vote. Reconstruction was good in theory but failed in practice because the government did not have the ability to change the culture in a short span of time. The people of the South continued to oppress the black population wherever the government was not present. It was simply impossible to station a military presence everywhere. The nature of the South was different only in name and nothing more. While blacks were trying to find their long lost family members, whites were drawing up the Black Codes for their respective states. These codes forced blacks to sign contracts under whites and work for them. If a black person was unemployed they could be imprisoned or lose their children to "caring" whites who would teach the kids to farm the land. To make matters worse, if a black person was in debt to a white person they could be sold into indentured servitude which was de facto slavery. These laws evolved into Jim Crow, which was an institutional form of slavery cemented in law throughout the South until the 1960s.

If you are interested in watching the video that provided me with the information written above, the link can be found below. 

http://fys1000.blogspot.com/p/reconstruction-video.html