The Failure of Reconstruction
By Chris Schlosser
Race proves to be one of the larger themes in Twain’s work given the time era. This post will briefly cover some background information about race relations toward the end of the Civil War, but more importantly during the Era of Reconstruction. With President Lincoln issuing the famous emancipation proclamation on January 1st, 1863 and the Union claiming victory in 1865, it was time to rebuild the United States of America. The Reconstruction era was meant for change and prosperity for a country once divided now whole again, but little did change in race relations among the Southern states, and discrimination continued to thrive. Though the institution of slavery was abolished, the elicit racism and inequality threatened blacks more than ever before.
Race Relations:
.The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free."
The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were passed shortly after the Civil War. The 13th abolished slavery. The 14th granted citizenship to all persons "born or naturalized in the United States," including former slaves, and provided all citizens with “equal protection under the laws. The 15th amendment prohibited states from disenfranchising voters “on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”
Race relations during the Reconstruction were also complicated and presented many problems for the national government to address.
Founded in 1866, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) swept across every southern state by 1870 and proved resistant to the Republican Party’s Reconstruction-era policies. These policies aimed at establishing political and economic equality for blacks. Congress passed legislation in order to stop the Klan terrorism, however the organization continued toward its primary goal, to reestablish white supremacy and the glory of the Confederacy via Democratic elections across the southern states in the 1870s. This was done with intimidation and violence targeted at white and black Republican leaders.
Education also proved to be an issue. The government recognized the necessity and pressing need for education in the South it was clearly a process that would take years and millions of dollars in funding. Schooling also brought up the question of integration, which a majority of the South strongly refused the idea. Further segregation continued and eventually the Jim Crow Laws were imposed creating a nation once again divided, by race.
Check out the Jim Crow Laws Here---> http://www.nps.gov/malu/forteachers/jim_crow_laws.htm
This racial discrimination divided the Republican Party, showing the limitations of the party and its ability to work as a unified front towards racial equality. As a result Reconstruction was to be a long arduous process that would not truly end in many ways for nearly 100 years.
From 1876 to 1883, Twain wrote his novel Huckleberry Finn. This was also the time period where the Reconstruction programs toward black equality was null and void. The idea of racial equality was not accepted in the North any more than in the South. Twain points out the hypocrisy in the failure of Reconstruction throughout Huck Finn, what are some examples of this?
"He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it."
-Martin Luther King Jr.
I am really glad that you blogged about this because it will be very helpful to have this knowledge while reading Huck Finn. I like that you included so many links and documents as well. It will make reading this novel much more interesting. I looked over the Jim Crow Laws and I found it very interesting that there was segregation in prison. I boggles my mind that during the reconstruction period the KKK was able to withstand. How do you think they were able to continue with their violent acts during this period?
ReplyDeleteI would encourage you both (and others in your group) to think of ways to integrate this information into your reading of the novel, as Violet suggests. Given that the novel (Huckleberry Finn) is narrated from the point of view of a roughly 13-year old uneducated boy, who in other words would not have access to or understanding of the broader movements of politics and history, how does "history" as such "fit in" to this novel? Where does it belong? and where, if at all, do we see the larger, more sophisticated issues creep into Huck's narrative?
ReplyDeleteOne quotation that I thought integrated the controversy over race at the time was, "It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger; but I done it, and I warn't ever sorry for it afterwards, neither. I didn't do him no more mean tricks, and I wouldn't done that one if I'd a knowed it would make him feel that way" (Twain, 98). I think this raises an interesting question about Twain's motives. Huck is obviously still racist considering how hard it is for him to have to apologize to a black man, however he does bring himself to do it which is a rare thing to see during that time. So I guess Huck could be "less racist" than others. It is hard to tell if Twain is praising Huck in this moment or shaming society to try and say we can still do much better.
ReplyDeleteChris, your blog brought up an interesting parallel that I was thinking about while reading Pudd'nhead Wilson... I felt that at the end, the character of Chambers was symbolic to the Era of Reconstruction, as he thought he was black his whole life, and then was considered white and he couldn't assimilate himself into their society. I think that this was probably the case for most slaves after they were released from slavery. I'm sure that many of them felt much more uncomfortable as Chamber's did, and struggled immensely with the new concept of being free.
ReplyDelete