The essay must have a thesis statement in the introduction of the paragraph. The body of the essay must have 3 points that support the thesis statement. Part A: Answer one of the following questions. 1. Explain the course of Reconstruction by way of addressing the following issues. Discuss the various groups that had a stake in determining the character of the “New South”, the alliances that developed among them, and the strategies that each group employed to achieve it goals. Describe the dominant system of black labor that emerged at the end of Reconstruction and explain why it took hold. Finally, explain why Reconstruction failed to establish racial equality and black freedom. 2. Explain how the rapid industrialization of the United States under the system of “free labor” in the years after the Civil War led to a social crisis by the end of the nineteenth century in which the traditional American values of democracy, equality, and opportunity seemed to be disappearing, and in which class conflict threatened to tear society apart. How did the capitalists and working classes attempt to enhance their own power and interests in their struggle with each other? Why was the working class unable to achieve much, despite valiant efforts? How did the middle-class respond to the struggle between labor and capital as well as the changes that American society underwent during the late nineteenth century?
