The Freed Men

After the Civil War the freedmen had no idea on how to survive in the world. They had no food or shelter, or couldn’t even find a job. Blacks would go to union lines for protection, considering themselves as dependent on the Federal Government for their existence, just like they were with their masters. Others, would be hired by Unionist plantation owners to work for them for low pay, and others in the Western theater were sent to lands for subsistence farming. Not to mention that, others would sign up and join the military. . To help the freedmen, on March 4, 1865 the “Freedmen’s Bureau” was created. This act was established to help former slaves settle down to establish a better lifestyle. Congress only permitted this Act for just a year,

For the ex-slaves this was a difficult and confusing time. They were free, but didn’t have anywhere to go and no money. Many didn’t want to leave the plantations that their families have been farming for generations. The Freedman’s Bureau was given control of abandoned or confiscated land and was authorized to give it to black settlers and in 1865 40,000 black farmers were working on 300,000 acres of what they thought would be their own land. President Johnson pardoned the owners of most of the land consigned to the ex-slaves they were never able to purchase this land. The black men settled for wage labor from their previous owners and then developed contract labor system, and eventually sharecropping. When the blacks were allowed to

Although the declaration of independence states that “all men are created equal” but this was not true for the African American at that time. In 1865, the thirteenth Amendment was ratified to end slavery. But that was not enough so the Fourteenth Amendment (1868) help strengthen the legal rights for the freed African Americans. Despite all these Amendments, the blacks were often treated unfairly then the white in American, especially in the south. Fact in some states they legislated enacted laws that led to the legally mandated segregation of the races. Meaning blacks and whites could not be in the same building let alone the same bathroom.

Furthermore, another major revolution during this period was the major social and constitutional developments of the rights of the Freedmen. After the Civil War, many of the freed slaves happy to have gained their freedom yet were disturbed that voting rights, as well as other basic rights, didn’t come with liberty. As addressed in Document C through a petition from American citizens of African descent, many previous slaves desired to be equals in the eyes of the government for they were not the “traitors” of the Civil War. Luckily, this plea was met on July 9, 1868, when the 14th Amendment was passed which granted full citizenship to all born in the United States including Freedmen. However, it was at a price for the ominous black codes, passed

Booker T. Washington’s philosophy and actions betrayed the interests of African Americans because he was more interested on the blacks getting educated and getting the respect of the white authorities, instead of worrying on getting their political and social equality right away, which was the main interest of the African Americans. In “The Atlanta Exposition Address”, Washington said that blacks would sacrifice their civil rights and social equality for the time being, as long as whites guaranteed that they would receive industrial education and jobs because he believed that in order to fully obtain equality, the blacks should improve themselves. “It is at the bottom of

In 1863, Abraham Lincoln passed the Emancipation Proclamation which freed African Americans slaves in the Confederate states. After the Civil War, the Thirteenth Amendment emancipated all United States slaves. As a result, the mass of freed blacks in the South now faced the hostility of whites. As the social challenges arose, the freedmen experienced difficulty being accepted as just that- freed men. One freedman, Houston Hartsfield Holloway, wrote, "for we colored people did not know how to be free and the white people did not know how to have a free colored person about them." The nation was unprepared for the questions of rights and citizenship of its newly freed population and the turmoil that came with it. Due to the unwillingness of whites,

Since the end of the Civil War in 1865, African Americans were promised citizenship, however they were still treated as if they were unequal. The black population faced racism and discrimination on a daily basis, still not receiving the benefits of the full rights that the Constitution promised in the Fourteenth Amendment, which defined national citizenship and passed in 1866. Change had to happen During the Reconstruction Era, plans to end segregation were put in place however, strong personal beliefs of many Americans prolonged the process. Many African Americans believed the new civil rights, would allow them to be free and have the same rights as the white population. In the context of civil rights, slavery would be abolished.

The Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution was enacted in 1868 to grant citizenship rights and propose equal protection opportunities for former slaves. When it was ratified, it “prohibited states from denying or depriving the privileges or immunities of any U.S citizen” (Wormser). This included giving newly freed slaves the opportunity to receive an education, which was previously a deprived right. It also overruled many segregation attempts in the future, which aided in the initiation of integration. Although this amendment was introduced so that every citizen would be given equal rights and protection, law makers created loopholes so that black citizens remained

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.

“Freedom means you are unobstructed in living your life as you choose. Anything less is a form of slavery,” Wayne Dyer. This quote, is a great description of how even though the slaves were free after the war, there were still many rules and discriminating against them. Hiram Revels became the first black politician to serve in congress, they joined the government to make sure the freedmen’s voice was heard. In 1870 the, 13th,14th, and 15th amendments, were created to ensure equality for freed slaves. The Civil War changed the lives of the freedmen though, with the creation of the freedmen's bureau, their influence in the government, and the creation of the 13th, 14ht, and 15th amendments. After the war, many freedmen took the advantage of

Freedom meant escaping the numerous injustices of slavery. Blacks after the Civil War enjoyed many privileges that their predecessors could only dream of. The most important was that slavery was abolished by the Thirteenth amendment and so blacks were no longer property but free people. They could move where they wanted to and have control over their own lives. The fourteenth gave them Citizenship and the Fifteenth promised them the right to vote. Also,The Freedman's Bureau was set up to help blacks who were left homeless and jobless after the Civil War. Although black slaves were freed, they faced many difficulties. However, blacks experienced severe restrictions on their freedom after the Civil War.

In the 1870s, right after the Civil war was over, begins a important period of time for African Americans.Previously, in 1865 the 13th amendment was added to the constitution, which abolishes slavery in the United States. Now, African Americas are free for the first time. However, they realized that there is not point to have freedom if they lack of economic support or equal oportunities than other citizens have. Is on 1868, that the 14th amedment is ratified, which states that all persons born in the United States are citizens, and shall have equal protection of the laws. And on 1870, the 15th amendment is addressed to the constituion, stating that the right to vote shall no be denied by any state. All these three amendments were ment to protect the rights of african Americans and to improve their standards of living. However, they had to face many differet issues from the 1870s to the turn of the 20th century because there were a lot of people against them.

The Civil Rights Movement caused a struggle of social justice for blacks. Blacks in the South continue to encounter the calamitous possessions of racism. By the mid-20th century African Americans had more enough of discrimination and attack against them. Blacks along with some whites began to make campaign about their equal rights for the past two decades. In 1868 the 14th Amendment gave blacks equal protection under the law. In 1870 blacks was granted the rights to vote in the 15th Amendment. Many white Americans believed that it was unpleasant that people that once was their enslave was now a more-or-less equal playing

Freedmen’s social identity was constructed through their work. Where slaves quantitatively outnumbered freedmen, freedmen qualitatively outranked slaves as agents and entrepreneurs. Whereas unskilled slaves were easily replaceable, skilled freedmen were not. In crucial sectors of the economy, slavery was a passing phase necessary to produce freedmen: an investment in human resources yielding its greatest fruits after manumission (Ramsby 2013, p.88). Freedmen bore the fruits of the investments made by their former owners in both practical training and education. Freedmen were agents of the Roman slave economy, not only being products of the system, but also often owning slaves themselves at some point.

Following the conclusion of the Civil War, a light of hope appeared for all African Americans, both freed and enslaved. For years they had been subject to tortures that were inhumane, such as being split apart from their families, being forced into manual labor, and severe punishment for failure to obey the rules their harsh masters had put in place for them. With people like Charles Sumner and Abraham Lincoln working within the government to bring rights to the enslaved, people began to think that they stood a chance. Many different legislations were passed that gave African Americans rights, however the South was very displeased with this. The state governments of the former Confederacy made it so that it was nearly impossible for these legislations to have any effect on the blacks that lived in the South. The African Americans of the South had finally gained their rightful freedom, but government officials not only made it so that they had a harder time living, but it was almost as if they had never gained rights at all.