Thursday, January 24, 2008
Martin Luther King article
The article "Popular view of King ignores his complexity" from The Duluth News Tribune was about the fact that most Americans don't know much about Martin Luther King, Jr. Almost everyone knows that he stood for civil rights and gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, but few know much more about him. Before reading this article, I didn't know that King also was working on anti-poverty and anti-war issues. He wanted peace and equality not only between races, but between all people, rich and poor. I also didn't realize just how unpopular King was at the time of his death. I knew that the KKK and other racist groups obviously didn't like him, but the hatred was more widespread than I thought it was. The article helped me to see how important it is to not limit our knowledge to certain events or facts because it we do, we will never be able to see the full picture.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Was Reconstruction a "splendid failure"?
In The New View of Reconstruction, Eric Foner says that even though Reconstruction failed to meet the goals of Radical Republicans, painlessly rebuild the South, and give the freed blacks complete rights and opportunities, Reconstruction did give African Americans some new chances and a brief taste of a free society. Political, social, and economic progress was made by blacks through the 14th and 15th amendments. Good things came out of the chaotic period of Reconstruction. The South actually was made more democratic than ever before. Public schools for blacks were established, blacks were granted full citizenship, and a small fraction of political offices were also held by blacks. Many whites in the North and South supported civil rights amendments and wanted to help the blacks. Foner believes that Reconstruction was a "splendid failure".
LaWanda Cox, however, disagrees. In Reflections on the limits of the Possible, she states that even Lincoln might not have been able to make the period of Reconstruction successful. It was a time of economical hardships for both blacks and whites in the South. A combination of poor crops and not enough land for the African Americans made many go into subsistence farming, which was a vicious cycle of poverty. There was much distrust in Congress and many different opinions, so it would have taken a very talented person such as Lincoln to handle the situation.
I agree with LaWanda Cox that Reconstruction was not a "splendid failure". Although, some blacks were able to get involved in politics, many lived in poverty and didn't have the skills of a certain trade or education to get themselves out of the situation. It took more than 100 years after the end of the war for blacks to receive all of their rights. Some good things did come from the war, but the economical situation of the South and the painful way they were brought into the Union caused hostile feelings to go on for generations. There wasn't very much that was "splendid" about the Reconstruction period. Poor leadership from Andrew Johnson, distrust, bad feelings, racism, and the economical hardships all combined to make the Reconstruction period fail to reach the high goals of equality and forgiveness.
LaWanda Cox, however, disagrees. In Reflections on the limits of the Possible, she states that even Lincoln might not have been able to make the period of Reconstruction successful. It was a time of economical hardships for both blacks and whites in the South. A combination of poor crops and not enough land for the African Americans made many go into subsistence farming, which was a vicious cycle of poverty. There was much distrust in Congress and many different opinions, so it would have taken a very talented person such as Lincoln to handle the situation.
I agree with LaWanda Cox that Reconstruction was not a "splendid failure". Although, some blacks were able to get involved in politics, many lived in poverty and didn't have the skills of a certain trade or education to get themselves out of the situation. It took more than 100 years after the end of the war for blacks to receive all of their rights. Some good things did come from the war, but the economical situation of the South and the painful way they were brought into the Union caused hostile feelings to go on for generations. There wasn't very much that was "splendid" about the Reconstruction period. Poor leadership from Andrew Johnson, distrust, bad feelings, racism, and the economical hardships all combined to make the Reconstruction period fail to reach the high goals of equality and forgiveness.
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