Reconstruction and the west - Essay Example

Reconstruction and the West THE SOUTH After the civil war in 1877 in the south the term ‘new south’ was used in contrastto the old south that had faced depression from the war and was still agrarian as it was still fully depending on a few crops that grossed little income but, they looked up to the industrial growth of the north and had hopes for some economic growth in the future. The old south was in great need of industrialization and urbanization. The new south campaign had been championed by the southern elites who wanted sectional reconciliation, the regeneration of the economy and racial harmony.

People like Richard Hathaway Edmond of the Baltimore’s Manufacturers’ Record, which was among the most read papers, had also advocated for the new south among others (Norton et al, 2011).Ways in which the South succeeded in reinventing itselfThe south was able to reinvent itself through industrialization. This was made possible through southern industries such as steel, mining, and ship building that had greatly flourished during World War 2 (Norton et al 2011). The Tennessee Valley Authority had built dams which generated electricity and employment which greatly affected both the residents and manufacturers.

African Americans were also able to vote due to the changing of civic rights unlike in the past where they did not partake in any of the political activities, slavery was also abolished and eventually there was growth in economy, this lead to the increase in population, despite the fact that the south had been viewed as a huge economic failure.Ways in which it failed Although slavery had been abolished there was still racial segregation because the whites were still viewed as the superior race.

For instance Henry Grady stated in a speech in 1888 that the supremacy of the white race of the south must be maintained forever because the white race is superior over the black race (Norton et al, 2011). Due to industrial growth, labor was required and most of the laborers were women who received very low wages and due to relying on cash crop farming many people lost their land and had to resort to being tenant farmers.THE WESTThe Lakota Sioux mainly hunted buffalo as it was their main source of food.

They also used the skin for clothing, making utensils, mobile huts while they also used the bones for making knives, scrappers among other tools. In the 17th century they acquired horses from the Spanish through trade and sometimes they would steal the horses. They included the horses in their routine buffalo hunting. In 1776 the Lakota people fought and defeated the Cheyenne people taking over the black hills region from them which the Cheyenne had taken from the Kiota (Norton et al, 2011).The Lakota people would not allow the United States expedition any further into their territory around 1804-1806.

Some leaders signed the treaty in 1877 for the black hills, the Lakota people had valued the black hills as they were sacred to them and had signed the ‘fort Laramie treaty, 1868’ by the US which had exempted the hills from mining. However, four years later gold got discovered and the US violated the treaty hence the wars, so that they could be protected and the recognition for their culture and land rights. The Lakota people attacked settlers and miners and they were also involved in a series of other wars with the US Army which they won but their victory did not last for long.

The US Army expanded their force and this resulted in the defeat of the Lakota in a number of battles which concluded it in ‘the great Sioux war’ in 1877 (Norton et al, 2011). The Lakota people were thus forced to cede the Black Hills to the US. They were hence forced to accept to live in reservations, they could no longer hunt buffalo’s and got forced to accept food distribution from the government.Reference Mary Beth Norton, C. S. (2011). A People and a Nation: A History of the United States, Volume I: To 1877.

New York: Cengage Learning.