Were African Americans Free During Reconstruction

Were African Americans free during Reconstruction? After the Civil War in 1865 and for the next 17 years America was in Reconstruction, during this time period African Americans were referred to as freedmen and women or negroes. Many important things happened during these 15 years, one of them being the 13th Amendment being passed stating that all men were free (Doc. A). The definition of freedom is, the ability to do whatever you want and control your own actions, without external pressure. So were African Americans really free?

Since a majority of cases revolve around the African American community, analysis will be considered through those cases. African Americans are a community of historically oppressed people. Briefly, slavery was an American institution that enslaved the black race for over 300 hundred years. White superiority dominated American culture and any person of color was viewed as inferior. Slaves did not possess the mental psyche to be law abiding citizens so they had to be under their master’s protection. Although the proslavery ideals are almost two centuries old, the idea of white supremacy still

restricted townships and 'whites-only' service points at post offices and railway stations . . .

2. “No negro or freedman shall be permitted to rent or keep a house in town under any circumstances. No negro or freedman shall live within the town who does not work for some white person or former owner.”

The free blacks in the North weren’t considered on the same social class as the other free people. “... he shall not be free to dine and drink at our board…” (Doc B) A African American wasn’t allowed to eat and talk with white people because they were looked down upon. They wouldn’t let them eat, drink or talk with them. “... to mingle with us in the concert-room, the lecture-room, the theatre, or the church, or to marry with our daughters...” (Doc B) The African Americans weren’t free to do any of these things purely because they were African American even though they are “free”. They were definitely not free socially but were they free religiously?

African Americans were not free after the Civil War ended.They were still treated like they were slaves. There are many specific details throughout the reconstruction phase proving this.

African Americans living in the North, as well as those in the South, faced multiple challenges. In 1860, tension grew between the North and South. Most southern states still held onto slavery, because their slaves were worth money, while the North was trying to abolish it. The North had many free African Americans, but the question is, were they actually free? Free Africans Americans in the North before the civil war were not actually free because, they had little to none political right, they were not allowed to associate with whites, and making a living, no matter what, was hard.

“Freedom means you are unobstructed in living your life as you choose. Anything less is a form of slavery,”(W. Dryer). The abolition of slavery in the U.S. began around 1777, after they have signed away their independence from Britain. As America started to take charge of their own country, by the 1800’s, most blacks in the North were considered free. Since the North was first to abolish slavery, about 221,000 or 5% of all African Americans in the United States lived in the North. Although a larger population of ex-slaves lived in the South, they did not obtain the rights that every man should possess. That’s where the question stands, just how free were free blacks in the North? Freedom can be described as exemption from absolute restrictions

Life for African Americans in the United States has never been easy. First they were enslaved and later became free. Lastly they just needed the same rights as everyone else. The Klu Klux Klan wasn’t going to let that happen. The Klan wanted to stop all political and economical equality for African Americans. They were violent and terrorized all African Americans and anyone who tried to help them acquire equality. The Klu Klux Klan is a harsh and is extremely racist. They had a part in economic and social problems in the United States in the late 1860s (History.com Staff).

The South Killed Reconstruction After the Civil War, there was still question about who had overall killed Reconstruction. They both had a lot to do with it, but the south had more to do with it. The KKK was killing important people just to prove a point. Life was hard for African Americans in this time because Southern people wanted slavery to continue even after it was abolished. African americans were bribed to vote for who the kkk wanted.

The reconstruction era brought uncertainty to many non-whites in the south, with the formation of groups such as the Klu Klux Klan.

Free blacks, they insisted were a degraded group whose presence posed a danger to white society. Slavery and racism were so deeply embedded in America life that black could never achieve equality if free and allowed to remain in the country. African American adamantly opposed the idea of colonization, galvanized free black to claim their rights as American resolutions insisted that blacks were American same freedom and right enjoyed by whites, by removed the word “African” from their name to eliminate a possible reason for not being deported from the land of their birth. ( chapter 12, page,

African- American settlement in New Rochelle before World War 2 was one of USA’s first community where emancipated blacks were allowed. The population of African American in New Rochelle, slavery and segregation and jobs for African American are topics that will be touched throughout this research paper.

In addition, they were not allowed to have industries, modern facilities, transportation, or access to a portion of land that would be suitable for their population. Similarly, African Americans were oppressed and inferior to white Americans. They were not given access to the same education, transportation, or jobs. African Americans were entirely treated as inferior and were not granted constitutional rights that other Americans had access to.

For much of American history, ethnic groups other than caucasian have struggled greatly. One of the groups that has struggled a lot is African Americans. This group has had to suffer through slavery and segregation for the purpose of much of American history. Their struggle became more difficult in the occasion of the Ku Klux Klan (Ku Klux Klan) was founded. The formation of the Ku Klux Klan was one of the main factors of the bloody struggle that was, and still is to a degree, racism and segregation in America.