Democracy During The Reconstruction Era

Despite the black codes had provided rights such as the marriage legalization and the ownership of property, they violated the free labor principle and denied the African-Americans the right to vote, and sue any white man. Foner (2014) found “In response to planter’s demands that freed people be required to work on the plantations, the Black Codes declared that those who failed to sign yearly labor contracts could be arrested and hired out to white landowners” (p. 570) . In fact, it was a totally failure of what freedom was supposed to be.

Following the Civil War, America was in shambles. There were many groups with strong, conflicting ideas of how things should be. However, most groups had one idea in common: reducing the rights of African Americans as much as possible. Freed slaves had very little freedom under the law, were treated like a lesser species by those around them, and faced dangerous environments everywhere they went. Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation may have legally freed slaves, but African Americans were barely more than paid slaves.

The reconstruction era was a time that then affected America in positive facets and negative aspects as well, and still affects America today. Thanks to the reconstruction era, there are several implementations that geared the world on the path in which it is today. Had it not been for some of the laws that were set in place African Americans may have not had many of the opportunities that were presented during the reconstruction period, therefore the years of oppression and cruelty might still be present.

As much as Reconstruction had initially tried to help the South, it was the sole goal of this movement to, “undo as much as possible of Reconstruction.” State facilities originally that were supposed to help everyone were closed down, and the gap between black and white expenditures on schooling increased. Due to the depression in the 1890’s this worsened the situation for black families trying to make a living in the South couldn’t keep up their farms or the places that their children would learn. “In 1900, no public high schools for blacks existed in the South. Black elementary schools, one observer reported, occupied buildings “as bad as stables””. New laws about segregation also affected blacks in more ways than just demoralization, it also showed what kind of jobs were considered good work for them. In the instance of segregation on railroads, “many blacks could be found in “whites only” railroad cars. But they entered as servants and nurses, not as paying customers entitled to equal treatment. The rise of lynching also affected the way blacks lived their lives, by controlling the way they vote, how they treated whites, and how they couldn’t rely on the justice system to address their grievances. An example of the reduced number of voters is best seen in Louisiana, where the number of voters dropped from 130, 000 to 1, 342, which is directly linked to the use of violence as a way to intimidate black voters. Blacks also had to be careful how they acted around white, since murder wasn’t a federal crime and was handled by the state, many blacks were lynched without fair trials and accused of crimes like raping white women, murder, and theft. A majority of the accused never when to trial. All in all blacks in the South were largely affected negatively as a result in policy changes, social factors, and widespread violence. This injustice carried on

Slavery was not a word that was unknown in the United States of America; the word was at the tip of almost everyone’s tongue, only it came with many names. After the civil war, slavery became more pronounced for the black people. The south then thought something ought to be done and passed laws called the black codes which begun the limitation of blacks’ rights and separated them from the whites; white supremacy began. Before, these laws would have been unnecessary because most of the black people were slaves and they were already segregated in public places like schools and theatres. In 1866, Congress did not like this and they responded to these laws by putting a stop to it. Republicans had managed to begin reconstruction on the society and understand the black community. But in 1877 things took a turn for the worse when the Democratic parties recovered control and stopped the progress of reconstruction. This in turn caused the reverse of all the progress made in the past few years to understand the black community; they lost their rights to hold political seats, vote and generally participate as though they were members of the community. Slowly but surely, the south started to restore their racially unfair laws. The aim of the laws? To ensure segregation and alienation of the black community. One of the main powers taken away was the right to vote and they did this by imposing poll taxes, having expensive fees to be paid at the voting booths and

The reconstruction amendments established in the 19th century made many believe that African Americans would finally reach equality. However, the abolishment never changed society’s view on African Americans and instead, barriers such as oppression and segregation came out of it. Despite the ceaseless barriers faced by African Americans in the South, they were able to utilize methods in which gave the movement strength in the 1950s and ultimately, led to their gained civil rights.

From this time on through the south, Freedmen didn’t wanted to go to white churches so they made their own and they even did their own schools. They could now do what they wanted like learn to read and have their kids to learn to read. When masters no longer were master and slaves were no longer, In “The Late Convention of Colored Men” (1865). Former slaves asked the federal government for security and assistance now that they were free. This was because it was it primary concern in order to sustain life. Also it was important for them to own land so they wouldn’t be workers anymore. On the other hand, the Mississippi Black Code (1865). Created by the white Mississippian’s who strictly made labor contracts by which slaves had to sign or they will be arrested and they would also be hired out to white landowners. However it did grant freedmen the right to legally marry, own land and limit access to court. Freedmen and Frederick Douglas were demanding on the antislavery society it was a shout out, Douglas was afraid that a lot much had to be done. Another agency helping the freedmen and after the civil war was the freedmen’s

The Union went on to win the Civil War, maintain the union and abolish slavery. Problem solved right? Well, not quite. In fact, America’s problems had only just begun.  After the Civil War, the country needed to be reconstructed for a few reasons. First of all, much of the Confederate land was now wrecked, with farms and plantations burned down and crops destroyed. People were using now illegitimate confederate money and local governments were in disarray. Former confederates needed to be effectively incorporated back into the Union. Most importantly, slaves were now freedmen and needed to be integrated back into society. The United States was a “new nation,” that, for the first time was “wholly free” (Foner 477). But with the abolishment of slavery, “What is the true definition of freedom?” became a central question in the nation. Black people in America after the war were facing intense scrutiny, racist ideologies and bigotry that was still very prevalent throughout the country. In 1865, Congressman James A. Garfield asked, “Is it the bare privilege of not being chained? If this is all, then freedom is a bitter mockery, a cruel delusion” (Foner 477). Was freedom simply just the absence of slavery, or did it give other rights to former slaves?

The Reconstruction Period I think is a problem for the African Americans back then. They were treated unfairly during this period, when it was to being them a new started and hope of change. Don’t get me wrong there were some people who were for them to e happy, but not many. So, let start at the being; where it all happened. In January of 1865, Union General William T. Sherman issued a special field order Number 15, which temporary granted each freed family 40 acres of land off the region of Georgia in the islands and coastal area. Also the Union Army donated mules to them after the war was over. In the summer of 1865 when President Andrew Johnson was in office, his first act of Reconstruction was to give back all the federal control land back to its previous owner. When the land was giving back to the owners, freed men and women could sign a labor contracts with the planters or they could leave the land they occupied this was called Freedman’s Bureau. Soon after when the land was giving back, the former Confederate state stated “Black Codes”. Black Codes would deny African Americans to legal have equality and political rights. Also it would require then to sign yearly labor contracts with the planters. When this happen, Congress made the Reconstruction Act in the 1867, when the 14th (June 13, 1866) and the 15th (February 26, 1869, ratified on February 3, 1870) Amendments. These two amendments granted African Americans the right to vote, and equality before the law and

The promise of freedom to all “slaves” came with the end of the Civil War. The 13th amendment, ratified on December 6, 1885 officially freed any remaining slaves. Then, the 14th amendment was ratified in the summer of 1968; it stated that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States” would be given citizenship. The 15th amendment followed and gave all men, but not women, the right to vote regardless of race. It appeared as if all freed men and women would soon be as fortunate as any white person. Unfortunately, this was an illusion. While Congress could ratify amendments, the states retained a massive amount of power and utilized this to reissue the Slave Codes as Black Codes. While all of the southern states passed Black Codes,

When Confederate states wanted to join the Union after Civil war, they were required to undertake “Civil War” Amendments. The Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments were developed, with each supporting equality within the states. However, these Amendments proved to be insufficient in the provision of equal rights to African American citizens (Medley,2003). In the late 19th Century, laws limiting civil rights of the Blacks swept through state legislatures. Segregation then became a requirement in both Southern and Northern states.

The newly passed laws became known as “Black Codes” and socially, they directly impacted the lives of all freedmen and indirectly benefited the white race. These laws restricted the rights of free African-American men and women (Doc A). In Opelousas, Louisiana, some of these restrictions were the denied right to keep or own a house in the town, the denied right to enter the town without special permission, the denied right to hold public meetings, the denied right to carry firearms or any kind of weapon, and a requirement that every negro must be in service of some white person (Doc A). The elite members in the South did everything they could to prevent blacks from gaining civic power, and the reasoning for supporting these codes ranged from fearing black political influence to the comfort of knowing farmers still had a stable and reliable work force. Even in the post civil war North, people believed blacks were unfit to be government officials (Doc E). Pro-freedman presses ran racist letters arguing blacks were not fit for the proper exercise of political duties, and their generation needed a period of probation and instruction in order to learn the ways in which society ran (Doc E). Many northerners felt blacks were incompetent to hold important jobs; therefore, the government was in no way aiding the reconstruction efforts to provide equality to all people in America.

America was in disarray following the events of the Civil War. Southern economy was in shambles while congress was struggling to find a middle ground between the radical republicans and Lincoln’s lenient policies. Many Southerners faced the aftermath of uprooting their society and their way of life while thousands of newly freed slaves struggled to find a way to support themselves. The country needed a strong leader, however on the 14th of April, 1865 President Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in the Ford Theatre in Washington (Farmer). Without the man that had once held the nation together, the country now faced an enormous obstacle; reconstructing American economics, politics and social life.

In 1865, the United States government implemented what was known as Reconstruction. Its’ purpose was to remove slavery from the south, and give African-American’s the freedom in which they deserved. However, the freedom that they deserved was not the freedom that they received. With documents like The Black Codes restricting them from numerous privileges that white people had and the terroristic organization known as the Klu Klux Klan attacking and killing them, African-American’s were still being oppressed by their government as well as their fellow man. Slavery may have been abolished, but African-American’s were not yet given the freedom and rights that their white counterparts took for granted.

Those who felt threatened by the massive amount of African-Americans who would now be participating in the government criticized this Amendment, which allowed all male citizens the right to vote regardless of race. Ex-Confederates, many of which were not allowed to vote after bitterly losing to the north, argued that African-Americans were not ready to vote because they were ignorant to the political system of the U.S. The political power of the south would be in the hands of the formerly oppressed, as opposed to their oppressors, who would be practically powerless. The debate on this topic would cause more tension in southern society, which was already undergoing a difficult period of adaptation. Another problem which arose in the south were laws which would further the oppression of the African-American population. Commonly called Black Codes, these laws also punished white persons who supported emancipation during the Civil War. These Black Codes were often unreasonable or unneeded to keep order within society. They were simply created as bitter retaliation by the ex-Confederates who were not pleased by the integration, which had just taken place. Black Codes were created and enforced on a State level which became superior to the Fourteenth Amendment. The laws would be psychologically damaging to the African-American population, who would be forced to feel