The Reconstruction Era Was A Time For America To Heal,

There were still acts in place to limit rights and a corrupt government. Some southern states set up black codes to restrict rights against the African Americans. Under these laws, no African American can own or rent a home, carry a weapon, and all must work for white (document A). These laws go around the 13th and 14th amendment of abolishing slavery and all have citizenship. White Americans believe that African Americans will bring disarray to the government. The freedoms of the African Americans were still confined during the reconstruction. African Americans are apparent to argue and be aggressive in the picture (document G). This shows that African Americans were unfit for government and were not capable to be a part of it. Restricting the

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

During the Reconstruction Era, African Americans got more opportunities which led to their growth. Some of these opportunities were education and many different work choices that wouldn't have happened without Reconstruction. In the history alive article it explained how after the Civil War, people built schools and colleges for black children across the south increasing their education greatly. Also, the reading ability rate of African-Americans went from 5% during slavery to more than 50% after slavery. Because of their ability to go to school, African Americans learned how to read and other educational experiences which made them have the same rights as white people providing for growth. After the Civil War, between 1865 to 1903 22,000 more black people than before owned business’. This led to success of African Americans in financial ways gaining more money. After reconstruction a lot of African-Americans started their own business leading to the success rates of African Americans going up greatly. Furthermore, 1/5 of the new office holders in the south were actually African Americans after reconstruction and they were all smart they were all smart, hard-working, focused, and ambitious. This was huge for the black community because they had never had black government politicians before. This made it so the government in the south was less white supremacy and more equality, bringing in new opinions from African American

The Radical Republicans, and the rest of Congress, were the ones who passed most of the bills for Reconstruction, because of their ability to override the president with their majority. They expanded the Freedmen's Bureau, which did show some progress in the helping of former slaves and poor white men. The Freedmen’s Bureau set up hospitals, schools, and also gave out supplies. This achieved the enablement of former slaves having the right to free education. Later on, however, the Freedmen’s Bureau became neglected, and was often forgotten or overlooked. The Freedmen’s Bureau is accurately described in this following statement, “This auspicious beginning belied the great disappointments that lay ahead,” (CITE TEXTBOOK).

With the era of American Reconstruction in America during the mid to late 1800’s came a sense of opportunity and hope for its people. America was on the move as nation, railroads being built faster than ever and the freedmen looking to find their niche in society. Although in the beginning the government provided support for these new citizens, efforts toward reconstruction faded as the years passed. Those efforts faded to a point where they were all but nonexistent, and with the unwritten Compromise of 1877, what feeble efforts that were left of reconstruction were now all but dead. Politically, reconstruction failed to provide equality by pulling Federal troops from the South, allowing former Confederate officials and slave owners

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 newly freed men became scapegoats for the defeat of the South. The former slaves were a reminder of how much everything had changed after the war. Instead of working in the fields under white masters, they now competed for jobs with poor white farmers. The way that white southerners distinguished themselves from the freedmen was by the terrorism of the Klu Klux Klan (KKK). By joining the KKK a white southerner could take action backed by a large organization without fear of repercussions. At anytime the KKK could come to your door and hassle, berate, or even hang you simply because you were now free and had committed some tiny infraction. The testimony of Harriet Postle is a prime example that no freed person was safe. Her family committed no crime yet the KKK still burst down their door, and severely beat Mrs. Postle. The fact that she was around eight months pregnant didn’t deter the KKK from abusing her. Harriet Postle stated in her testimony that the KKK, “beat my head against the side of the house till I had no sense hardly left.” Now the freedmen lived in their own homes without a master, but any Klansman could come in and do what they pleased. Before the Civil War black men and women had no fear of the Klan because they didn’t exist. Now the newly freed person had the Klan breathing down their back along with the inability to assemble or go where they pleased.

As a result of the North’s victory in the civil war and the reconstruction period that followed, African-Americans were seemingly on the verge of being able to enjoy the freedom of no longer being slaves. During the reconstruction era, important pieces of legislature were written in order to protect the rights of the newly freed men. Those pieces of legislature were essentially trying to somehow transform former slave into free productive members of society. However, a number of disgruntled southerners took it as their duty to prevent African-American from being free of their former masters. They saw the northerners demand as an infringement of the South traditional values. Although the

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,

African American that became a Freedmen are now officially a full United States citizen, but now face with segregation from the white. The government however, help with these problem with the Freedmen Bureau program. The South’s reaction to the Reconstruction that were given out to the North however, felt that their land are being taken by the carpetbaggers from the North for their political and economic gained during the 1863 to 1877. The Reconstruction are still seen overall as both positive and negative because it has had it’s downfall and gain from it. The aftermath of Reconstruction however, allowed blacks many rights that they have never gotten before and it’s a good beginning to Americans and the country as a whole for ending the unholiness of

As a nation, America has gone through many things including war and political changes. People in the United States went through much throughout history. The people that once lead this country had different intentions and targets. One moment in history that was very important and very influential today is the Reconstruction Era. The Reconstruction Era was a time period that contains many accomplishments, failures, leaders, and aims. There were many events in this era which made people call it a failure and a success. In the year of 1865, right after the Civil War, Reconstruction began. The Reconstruction Era was known as the time of “repair” after the civil war. At that time, the leader of the nation was Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln wanted the south to join the Union so he freed the African Americans. When looking at the Reconstruction Era, there are many events that make up this era such as the reconstruction amendments, the freedman’s bureau, and the Ku Klux Klan.

Ever since Lincoln's emancipation proclamation, African-Americans had been Republican. The GOP was the party of Lincoln, the party that had given them the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments. The Republican Party supported blacks, whereas the Democrat Party was the party of the South, and the Southern, White plantation owner. To the black community, the Republican Party represented "the high-minded, idealistic, God-fearing people," whereas Democrats "dabbled in influence-peddling and vice" (Weiss 1983: 3). All blacks knew where to lay their loyalties -- with the party

Certainly, freedom was supposed to be “freer”” for those slaves that had fought for their rights after years of submissionn, but, unfortunately, many white Southern people continued to ignore the law by not showing any respect for Africans-Americans. Because of the radical reconstruction in the south, the African-Americans were a step closer from the same political

By 1870, the Northerner lost interest in reconstructing the south. The north tried to reconstruct the south and change southerners attitudes about black people. Although they failed at this because many southerners were still racists and believed that the white race was superior to others, blacks were not as good as southern white men. To add to that, the Northerners lost interest in the reconstruction, which gave southerners a chance to gain control of their state governments again.

One of the biggest ways the reconstruction efforts failed was with giving equal rights to the black community. Although the slaves were freed it was very conditional freedom. The creation of Black codes made it seem like they were free. These codes made it possible for black families to remain intact. It also gave blacks the right to sue in court, and own property. This seems like progressive thinking at the time. The big problem with these codes is what they denied blacks. Blacks could not testify against whites. They could not own guns, or travel without permits. Although slavery had ended blacks were still being controlled. Without slaves to work in the fields the plantation owners needed workers. A lot of them would rent out their land to newly freed blacks. In exchange these poor blacks would have to give up 2/3 of their crop.3 The rest would be used to pay off their debts. This would