Chapter 14 Apush Dbq

The Freedmen Bureau was the federal institution in control of those terrains given to blacks and now they had to take it back. Under the administration of O. O. Howard the bureau functions were to "establish schools, provide aide to the poor and aged, settle disputes between whites and blacks and among freedpeople, and secure for former slave and white Unionist equal treatment before court," (Foner 483). The Bureau did not have enough agents to put in action the task appointed to it in the south. The Freedmen Bureau was dissolved after five years living the black man on its own.

Congress comes in to play in December 1865. The Congress was made up mostly of Republicans and they refused to let past Confederates to take their seats in Congress at this time. This marked the beginning of Radical Reconstruction or sometimes known as Congressional Reconstruction. The president and the congress did not agree on many issues. Congress overrode President Johnson on the Civil Rights Act of 1866, The Fourteenth Amendment, and the Freedmen’s Bureau Bill. The Fourteenth Amendment spelled out rights of both black and white citizens as equal. It prolonged Federal powers for the enforcement of civil rights. States that approved the Fourteenth Amendment were considered reconstructed, and Tennessee did so. President Johnson advised other southern states to oppose doing this. Congress passed many laws to limit President Johnson’s powers. They passed the Reconstruction Acts of 1867 which set new

Another important characteristic of the Reconstruction after the civil war was the creation of the Freedmen’s Bureau. Its responsibilities according to Foner (2014) were related with social work, “ Bureau agents were supposed to establish schools, provide aid to the poor and aged, settle disputes between whites and blacks and among the freedpeople, and secure for former slaves and white Unionists equal treatment before the courts” (p. 562) . Still, the Bureau lasted only until 1870, but made many achievements helping the black community.

After the Civil War, the southern whites were extremely resentful and bitter. In 1865 the southern states began issuing “black codes,” which were laws made subsequent to the Civil War that had the effect of limiting the civil rights and civil liberties of blacks. This term tends to refer to the legislation passed by southern states to control the labor, migration, and other activities of newly freed slaves. When the slaves were freed, they still had

However, all the privileges that come accompany freedom were still unattainable. It was no secret that the Republican Party wanted freedom for the slaves and in 1864 Lincoln granted it by establishing the 13th amendment. This amendment abolished slavery forever. Even though, the act was a noble one, the end result was not favorable for blacks. They were still segregated, and not given any rights. They could not vote or receive a decent education. They were separated from whites at social events and public places. This amendment may have ended the Civil War but it did not help the African Americans in their quest for fair and equitable treatment.

In 1865 Lincoln was assassinated, Andrew Johnson became president, the black codes were passed by Southern state governments, and the Thirteenth Amendment was added to the Constitution. Those four events paint a picture of just how much tension there was in the United States at that time. Congress passed the Thirteenth Amendment to abolish slavery and outlaw involuntary servitude in the entire nation. Involuntary servitude was only to be allowed as a punishment for a crime. The crime had to be one in which a person had been properly sentenced, and Congress had the authority to see to it that the law was being followed. Southerners rejected the new amendment and pushed the boundaries of the law as much as they could. They searched for loop holes in order to limit the amount of autonomy freemen experienced. The black codes that were put into place seemed to almost negate the Thirteenth Amendment. This further increased the tension in the South.

The Union Victory in the Civil War in 1865 granted freedom to approximately 4 million slaves, however, the process of rebuilding the South during the Reconstruction period 1865-1877 brought a lot of challenges. In 1865 and 1866 under the supervision of President Andrew Johnson, new Southern state legislatives passed the “black codes” to control the labor and behavior of former slaves and other African Americans. During the Radical Reconstruction in 1869, new enfranchised blacks had a voice in the government for the first time in

“The Freedmen's Bureau” was created and placed under military supervision because Congress saw a need to defend Black settlers from racist White

Regardless of the many disparagements, the Freedmen's Bureau helped African-Americans achieve the rights that they were deprived of during slavery. The Freedmen's Bureau aided the African-American group of people in establishing schools and churches. Underneath slavery, African-Americans had been deprived of the right to education and religion. The Freemen's Bureau kept an eye on the civil authorities just in cases it involved African-Americans, moreover, the Freedmen's Bureau directed its own court of law during the time it was illegal for a black to testify in courts in the South. The labor structure of the South had to be completely restructured after the war, with that the ex-slave owners tried to fool its former slaves into signing contracts with the same terms as the slavery system. The Freedmen's Bureau represented the African-Americans in convey unbiased contracts for labor and property. Liberty presented African-Americans the opportunities to start a family, moreover, the Freedmen's Bureau aide African-Americans in locating their lost relatives and arbitrated local

Following the official end of the Civil War in 1865, the Freedmen’s Bureau was established. Although enacted before Lincoln’s death, it still had a significant impact on the lives of African Americans well into the 1870s. As noted in The Freedmen’s Bureau is Established: March 3, 1865, it explains that the Freedmen’s Bureau was “designed by Congress to function for one year after the end of the war to aid former slaves in securing food, housing, education, health care, and jobs in the midst of their changed circumstances.” This Bureau, with the help of Congress, helped thousands of newly freed slaves transition into American society with a bit of ease. They also did more than just securing the fundamentals of American society like jobs and education into the lives of African Americans, they established schools for blacks, mediated labor conflicts, and helped serve justice in state courts. To further establish the rights of African Americans,

Reconstruction did not help African Americans move closer to the American Dream. Even though there were positives, there were also negatives. Due to Reconstruction, hate groups started, there was not any safety for African Americans, and the Black Codes or Jim Crow laws. One of the most infamous hate groups to rise was the Klu Klux Klan. KKK for short. African Americans were terrorized by this group. They are responsible for many hangings, burnings, and other horrors that were inflicted upon African Americans. Also, there was not any safety from the groups. It was not like being in the center of a city was going to help. There are unfortunately many pictures of African Americans being hanged in very populated areas. Also, there was the rise of Black Codes(Jim Crow laws). It is like how the saying goes, out of the frying pan and into the fire. Some of the codes, but not limited to, was the Grandfather clause, which basically said that if your grandfather could not vote, you cannot vote. There were also many other ways that African Americans were restricted from voting. There was poll tax, and unfair evaluations of voting tests. This also included segregation of schools (separate but equal). There was even a law forbidding a white person from marrying a black person. However, even though all of these horrific things came because the end of slavery,

1865 saw the creation of the freedman bureau to provide food, shelter and medical aid and land to ex- slaves. The passing of the 1866 freedman bureau act over President Johnson’s veto meant an extension of work of the bureau. It also included the right of military courts in the south to hear racial discrimination

In 1865, the American government successfully passed the thirteenth amendment: ending the institution of slavery in America. “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” The thirteenth amendment opened up economic opportunity for African Americans as slaves were no longer owned by someone else. However, not long after the thirteenth amendment was passed, former slaveholders and southerners created the black codes. Black Codes were a set of laws intended to restrict African American freedoms, causing them to go into low wage labor. A black code passed in the state of South Carolina stated, “To do farm work, a black in South Carolina had to have a written contract, attested to by white witnesses; failure to obtain one before commencing to work was a misdemeanor

During the time of Reconstruction, the federal government did little to help the people of America as a whole, they concentrated on bettering African American lives and “reconstructing” the South. The focus during this time period was to protect the rights of African Americans, which had long and hard been fought for. The federal government made it their priority to ensure equal rights among all black people. Also, the readmission of the Confederate states was essential to the federal

Through the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments to the constitution, the republicans tried to protect and establish black freedoms. At the same time southern state legislators were passing laws to restrict free blacks’ freedoms. Through the use of black codes and vagrancy laws, the south attempted to keep blacks in a state of slavery. These laws were worded in a way such that blacks rights would be so restricted that it would remain impossible for them to gain any real freedom.