Reconstruction_Of_The_CivilWar_Destruction

Reconstruction After the Civil War By: Michelle White



April 19, 1865 I walked slowly among the rubble that had once been my home and farm. [|Railroad ties were wrapped around several large trees] on the plantation. The fences and fields were charred. I could still smell the smoke and I could almost feel it's harsh sting in my eyes. As I walked farther I saw the horrifying sight of slaughtered cows. Their mangled bodies lay strewn across the field. The ground was covered in blood and black flies covered everything, like sand covers the beach. Everything that I had ever known had been left in tatters. Not a single cow or hog stood alive, our horses were gone, our crops burned, our barn partially collapsed, and all of our chickens had had their necks wrung. Broken eggs splattered the chicken coop's walls and floor. My poor mother was on her knees in front of the barn. Tears poured down her face; a waterfall that never seemed to go dry. Our slaves were long gone and all of the slave quarters burned. I hadn't thought our family to be cruel and I had never thought the slaves would run so quickly. Only our maid, Harriet, remained. She comforted my mother and my siblings.

There was a sudden //Crack!// and the remainder of our barn came tumbling down. My mother, my siblings, and Harriet scrambled to get out of the way. Dust and ash flew into the air and settled on my family. I didn't see my father anywhere, but somehow I knew that he wasn't in the barn. Mother would've sobbed much harder than she was now, it that was even possible. My two younger brothers didn't understand what was going on. I assumed that my older brother was with my father. How could they do such a thing to us? Just because the North had [|William Sherman] on their side did not give them the right to [|"March to the Sea"] and destroy everything in their path!

Harriet lightly pushed my brothers towards my mother and walked over to me. She rested her hand on my shoulder. Her caramel brown skin shone with sweat.

"[|You are free now], Harriet" I told her, "You don't have to stay here anymore." Harriet smiled and tightened her apron.

"Your family consist good people. So I stay." Harriet said, her English was broken. I smiled and felt a tear slid from my eye.

"Go. Find your father and Samuel." Harriet said.

I nodded and ran off in search of my father and brother. I stopped running after a few minutes because the brutal sun was tiring. I finally found the two men on the largest hill of what was our plantation. They stood looking out over many miles. I saw that our plantation was not the only one that had been damaged. For miles around you could see horrendous scorch marks and destroyed villages and towns. I started to cry. Samuel turned and rushed to me as soon as he saw my tears. "It'll be ok, Anne. We can rebuild it." My brother said encouragingly. My father rushed to me as well. All I could think about was how long it would take. It wouldn't be easy, but I had hope.

= Reconstruction of the South =

After the Civil War, the South was in tatters. People everywhere had lost their homes, barns, livestock, slaves, and their way of life. Sherman's March to the Sea had an extremely heavy impact on much of the South. A sixty mile wide path had been scorched through the land. Everything and anything that had been in their way had gone down. Families had to start all over and most of the time, they couldn't. Their work hands were gone and many women had been widowed. All the work of harvesting cotton and tobacco was now placed on their shoulders. These were hard years for the South. Many Confederate soldiers that survived were forced to walk home because of the state that the war had left the South of the country in. White men from the North came down to the South hoping to gain fortune and power from the damaged states. These men, called "carpet baggers", just wanted to take advantage of the South's fallen state. Soon after the states were somewhat recovered, black codes were enforced. These codes allowed for marriage, education, and property ownership, but denied other rights that whites had. They could not move, changed jobs, own guns, or serve on juries. The government quickly put an end to the codes, but blacks and whites were still separated or segregated.The [|Ku Klux Klan] started it's rise in the Southern most states.

= Reconstruction and Changes in North Carolina =

Soon after the war, William Holden became temporary governor of North Carolina. In 1865, Jonathon Worth became governor. The 13th Amendment was ratified and North Carolina began to draft a new state constitution. William Holden and the Republican party accepted the repeal of the Black Codes made by Congress. In 1867, the Republicans won the election with help from black voters. Half of these white Republicans were new to office. Holden was once again elected governor. After Holden's election, the state's condition began to improve. A new state constitution was approved and in 1868, North Carolina was readmitted into the Union. Legislature passed laws that allowed money to be borrowed to rebuild railroads, plank roads, [|expand institutions for the mentally impaired], improve schools and education, and built the first prison to house the state's prisoners.

Things were finally starting to look up for North Carolinians and Southerners alike.

Bibliography:
 * Sherman's March to the Sea. Tumblr . Web. 15 Mar. 2011. .
 * “Emancipation Proclamation” Yale University n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2011. .
 * "Sherman's Neckties." Civil War Home. n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2011. .
 * "William Sherman ." Spartacus Educational . n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2011. .
 * "General Sherman's March to the Sea." Son of the South. n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2011. .