Document Type

Research Paper

Publication Date

5-2022

Abstract

The Reconstruction Era within U.S. History is (generally) defined as commencing in 1865 and ending in 1877; however, the social, cultural, and political impact of this time in the nation’s history suggests that its ending is less tidy. Those who worked both for and against the progressive goals of Reconstruction continued their efforts beyond 1877. The Federal Elections Bill of 1890 was written with intent by the remaining Reconstruction Republicans to provide federal oversight to elections, which had become a primary target of Democrats in the former Confederate states as they regained their power. Efforts within these states to prevent Black Americans from casting their ballot had undone much of the initial progress they had experienced in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War. This paper argues that this piece of legislation - and its brief life within Congress - is the last gasp of Reconstruction and its lost potential to remap the trajectory of civil rights within the United States.

Keywords

Reconstruction; Voting Rights; Civil Rights; Radical Republicans; Federal Elections Bill of 1890; Force Bill

Disciplines

United States History

Place Name

United States of America

Time Period

Reconstruction

File Format

pdf

File Size

3300 KB

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Additional Files
Calvert Submission Essay.docx (9 kB)
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