Module One Discussion, Initial Reply Due by Thursday

Before discussing the reconstruction era it is imperative that you understand the grueling war and its causes that the country went through prior. 1861 was the official start of the civil war when confederate soldiers attacked Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. This attack was the start of the deadliest conflict in American history causing “an estimated 1.5 million casualties. Of these, some 620,000 were fatalities (compare with 405,000 in WWII, the second bloodiest)” (Wills 1). This war was started somewhat due to southern states fighting for their right to keep slavery in place. In order to understand the civil war and the reconstruction era it is important to keep in mind just how large of a role slavery played in the south. Slavery was deeply ingrained into the south's economy, social structure, and politics. In contrast to the northern states whose “manufacturing and industry was well established, and agriculture was mostly limited to small-scale farms, while the South’s economy was based on a system of large-scale farming that depended on the labor of Black enslaved people to grow certain crops, especially cotton and tobacco.”(History.com Editors). To maximize profits plantation owners used slave labor to work these plantations, due to them being considered property who did not need to be paid any wages. This went on to affect the south's social system which was a racial hierarchy with african americans being at the very bottom. Slavery was even entrenched in their politics with there being multiple laws being passed to maintain slavery such as the fugitive slave act, which entailed that escaped slaves be required to be returned to their plantation even if found in a free state. With slavery being as powerful as it was in the south it was no surprise that they were willing to secede and form the Confederate States Of America. Understanding just how deeply ingrained slavery and racism was in the south would give you an idea why the reconstruction era was so difficult.

Work Cited
History.com Editors. “Reconstruction ‑ Civil War End, Changes & Act of 1867.” History.Com, A&E Television Networks, 29 Oct. 2009, www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/reconstruction.

Wills, Matthew. “An End to All Hell: 150th Anniversary of the Civil War’s End - JSTOR DAILY.” JSTOR Daily, 9 Apr. 2015, daily.jstor.org/end-hell-150th-anniversary-civil-wars-end/.