American History

The Civil War (1861-1865) was one of the phenomenal event in the history of America. The survival of todays most powerful country was an outcome of the nations ability to bring the ideals of liberty, human dignity, equality and justice during the reconstruction process. This reconstruction process was one of the most chaotic and divisive periods in Americas history. The reconstruction began when President Lincoln issued his proclamation more commonly known as the Ten Percent Plan. This plan was faced with the difficult task of reestablishing and developing the political, social and economic structures within the society including war-weakened economies and highly polarized political and social relations, regaining economic stability, and giving participation for the political groups that offered meaningful participation in various organizations. Consequently, the rebuilding of economic institutions, government institutions and the communities were the primary priorities of the said plan.
The transition from war to serenity posed great challenges for the economic targets, and the reforms were merely needed to enhance the economy and fuse peace and order in the society. Different economic efforts in cooperation with reconciliation and demilitarization reconstruction helped communities build strong and prosperous institutions. In addition, a plan for recovery and reconstruction focused both on short and long term development activities. The government gave people a reasonable access to basic needs like nutrition, education, health care and housing to meet the immediate needs for young children, pregnant women, elderly and handicapped individuals. Furthermore, to eradicate poverty, the government rehabilitated basic physical infrastructure including health and education services, water and sanitations system and other important facilities for the benefit of the poor sector of the society. Long-term development programs include the establishment of market institutions, equitable banking system, and the formalization of economic transactions in government. One of the fundamental requirements for this growth was a state capable of furnishing goods and legal framework for investment. This long term activities required the government to distribute property, enforce property rights and perform necessary economic tasks not fulfilled by markets to strengthen the economic activity.
Therefore, reconstruction understood in terms of capital accumulation is a crucial step on the way towards economic recovery. How reconstruction should be financed is the central theme of the document. Given that domestic savings are the most systematic determinant of investment, one of the priorities in post-conflict countries like what happened during the American civil war must be to rebuild their financial systems. Such a policy could encourage economic agents to save and invest in the domestic economy as political stability returns to the country. However, this process takes time. Regaining the lost confidence of local investors is a slow process and the speed of recovery depends on the nature of the signals sent by those tasked with the management of post-conflict transitions in the process of recovery.