English, asked by sajid2503, 1 year ago

What does the speaker fe about other boys in the schools the speaker

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Answered by MohammedRahil
1
DR. ERIC FONER, THE DEWITT CLINTON PROFESSOR OF HISTORY AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, PRESENTED “THE CIVIL WAR, RECONSTRUCTION, AND THE CONSTITUTION” AT THE 28TH ANNUAL DAVIS R. PARKER MEMORIAL HISTORY LECTURE ON APRIL 4.

The next day, Foner taught an Upper School master class and presented about Abraham Lincoln’s presidency and legacy at an all-school assembly. 

During the lecture, Foner traced the history of Reconstruction, which he defined as both the period after the Civil War, usually dated from 1865-77, and as the process by which the United States “tried to come to terms with the consequences of the Civil War, the most important of which were the preservation of the nation-state and the destruction of the institution of slavery.”

Foner noted that modern issues facing our society today are lingering questions from Reconstruction, such as who has the right to be a citizen; civil rights, including who has the right to vote and why; race relations in an interracial society; and the relationship between the state and federal governments. 

“You can’t understand American society today without knowing something about that period a century and a half ago,” Foner said. 

Foner talked about the “profound” changes made to the U.S. Constitution during Reconstruction, including the ratification of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. “They didn’t just change the Constitution but they fundamentally altered it, creating a new document,” he said. 

The 13th Amendment, ratified in 1865, irrevocably abolished slavery throughout the country.  The 14th Amendment was ratified in 1866 after Lincoln’s assassination. Its first section establishes the idea of birthright citizenship – that anyone born in the United States is a citizen--and all citizens are entitled to due process, privileges and immunities, and equal protection of the law. 

“The 14th amendment wrote the idea of equality into the Constitution for the first time,” said Foner. “This is the most important change to the Constitution since the Bill of Rights.”

Through the 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870, black male suffrage was extended to the entire nation. “The advent of black male suffrage launched the period we call radical Reconstruction, when new biracial governments came into power in the South,” said Foner. “Black men for the first time in American history held public office in significant numbers.” 

But ultimately, Foner noted, Reconstruction failed. By 1877, less than 10 years after the 15th Amendment was ratified, the entire South was under the control of white supremacist Democrats, who would dominate it all the way to the Civil Rights era. 

“Today, most historians see Reconstruction as a noble, if unsuccessful, attempt to establish for the first time in American history an interracial democracy, and as a precursor to the modern Civil Rights movement,” said Foner. 

“Reconstruction was a revolution that went backward, but that it happened at all laid the foundation for another generation a century later to try to bring to fruition its goals and aspirations and the concept of a country beyond the tyranny of race.” 

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