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Reconstruction Era Research Paper

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Sammie Carey
2nd pd. Government
Mr. McKown
5 December 2017
Reconstruction Era and Amendments
The years after the Civil War are referred to as the Reconstruction Era, during this time the country was rebuilding the south, and making progressive changes to the United States Constitution. Prior to the end of the Civil War, African Americans were enslaved by white masters. Of course, this has never been morally correct, but by the summer of 1862, blacks had started pushing the issue of being free, leading to Former President Abraham Lincoln giving the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. This was only the beginning of the fight for civil rights. In 1862, thousands of enslaved African Americans headed to the Union lines as President Lincoln’s troops marched through the south, to push and fight for their rights. A common belief about the slaves was that they were accustomed to the bondage and basically, did not mind that they were slaves. This, of course, was a myth, and them heading to the Union lines during the Civil War further proved to Lincoln that he needed to free them. Prior to this, Lincoln personally did not support the enslavement but was concerned as to how the Northern slave states would react to the Union wanting to free their slaves. He was worried they would join the Confederacy. However, he realized that emancipation was a necessity, both politically and for the military.
In early 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation was issued and more than four million slaves

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