After Reconstruction Dbq

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The Reconstruction Era refers to the period after the civil war ends from – 1863 to 1877. After the civil war was over slavery was abolished and the American government began trying to repair the country and assist in bettering the lives of those who up to the end of the war were considered property. The stigma and hearted for and towards African Americans did not simply end when the war was over. African Americans were discriminated against in every way imaginable during reconstruction and after reconstruction was over an egalitarian society was far from created. This essay will take a look at the way state governments, local governments and the federal government played a role in keeping African Americans down and limiting them from fulfilling …show more content…

Intellectuals such as W.E. B. Du Bois believed that African Americans both those who were born free and those who were made free by the war had the right to three fundamental rights: the right to vote, the right to be treated as equals in a society and the right to a proper education . Du Bois went on to state that African American need to fight for their rights as they were promised. “By every civilized and peaceful method we must strive for the rights which the world accords to men, clinging unwaveringly to those great words which the sons of the Fathers would fain forget: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of …show more content…

Homer Plessy described himself as being seven eighths white and one eighth black. Plessy who looked white let the conductor know that he was of mixed race then proceeded to take a seat on a spot that was reserved for white people. He was asked to move but refused to do so and was later forcibly removed from the train. During the trial Plessy argued that the Louisiana Law was unconstitutional and that it violated his 13th and 14th Amendment rights. The lower Courts dismissed his argument and the Louisiana Law (The Separated Car Act) was found Constitutional. Plessy later appealed to the Supreme

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