Why Reconstruction Matters

When studying history, it can often be easy to think of events in the past as being separate from and not having any relevance to today. Here is an article I found about Reconstruction and its importance in today's society: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/29/opinion/sunday/why-reconstruction-matters.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=c-column-top-span-region&region=c-column-top-span-region&WT.nav=c-column-top-span-region&_r=1

The article mentioned the idea of birthright citizenship as guaranteed in the Civil Rights Act of 1866. This guaranteed citizenship to anyone born in the U.S. (except Native Americans, at the time). This still affects us today, as this right has been extended to the children of undocumented immigrants. And later in the Reconstruction Era, birthright citizenship was incorporated into the 14th Amendment. Today, this amendment has been used to expand the legal rights of the gay and lesbian community. The Reconstruction Acts, along with the 15th Amendment, were also passed, giving black men the right to vote. 

The article also painted a very negative picture of President Andrew Johnson and talked about how his views on Reconstruction have "haunted our discussions of race" today. Johnson, who vetoed the Civil Rights Act but was overridden by Congress, argued that the law favored blacks and hurt whites. Today, this is known as "reverse discrimination" and often comes up in debates over affirmative action.

The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments passed during Reconstruction have stayed in the Constitution even after the end of Reconstruction. They show that this era, though not entirely successful, has been instrumental in shaping the kind of society America is today. Additionally, attitudes like Johnson's towards civil rights continue to divide our country. Though Reconstruction started just a little over 150 years ago (Lee surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865), it continues to influence our society today.