Even when the Amendment abolished slavery in 1865, and the black people embraced education, built their own churches, reunited with their broken families and worked very hard in the sharecropping system, nothing was enough for the Reconstruction to succeed. Whites never gave total freedom to African Americans. Blacks were forced to endure curfews, passes, and living on rented land, which put them in a similar situation as slaves. In
On January 1, 1863 the decree that President Lincoln made that stated all slaves in seceded states not under union control were free took in to effect. Although, it wasn’t until 1865 that the 13th amendment was passed which officially making African Americans free in the United States. Shortly after this amendment passed the civil war ended with a victory for the North and created the reconstruction period. Even though the 13th amendment freed slaves it was not until the passing of 14th and 15th amendments that gave African Americans more rights and freedoms. After the 14th and 15th amendments were added to the constitution African Americans were legal citizens and were able to vote. However, in the South these improvements for African Americans were impeded due to white resistance, segregation laws, and discrimination.
The period of Reconstruction after the Civil War was successful because it brought the Confederate states back into the Union, which is what one definition of the term Reconstruction refers to, and it helped African Americans to experience aspects of life that they had never before been allowed to. Due to the ratification of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments, former slaves were able to start new lives for themselves with legal rights to defend their actions.
Reconstruction would start after the Civil war. President Lincoln had started the crusade in helping Black Americans for civil rights with the Emancipation proclamation, freeing all the slaves in the current rebeling states in 1863. This would then lead to the 13th Amendment (1865), the 14th Amendment (1868) and the 15th Amendment that would attempt to give the vote and citizenship to freed slaves. The Federal Government during the beginning would work to protect Black Americans showing that it wasn’t just down to Black leaders for Civil rights. Despite Congresses best efforts, President Andrew Johnson would be unlike his Predecessor. This made it increasingly difficult without the cooperation of the President to help ensure that the Southern States followed along with the Reconstruction Amendments, instead of the rising Jim crow laws that would spread throughout the south. The need to help African-Americans through law would die a death due to the Compromise of 1877, making Ruther B Hayes President. With the North now turning its back on African-Americans and the South hav...
Reconstruction gave African American men political rights(Reconstruction, 1866-1877). It gave them the right to vote and hold office
During this time period, most of the south lived in poverty and about a 3rd were illiterate. When blacks became free, whites felt threatened of the once black slaves. Black people who worked in the mud and had nothing to their names, now trying to gain what the white man has. Due to this white southerners formed groups to attack and intimidated blacks, but the violence grow wide spread. This cased what we called the radical reconstruction.
One of the major parts of Reconstruction was creating equal rights for the freed black people. In a way this could be called the “first civil rights movement,” because Congress’s goals were similar to some of the goals during the Civil Rights Movement. Unfortunately, Reconstruction failed to achieve its goal of equal rights for African Americans. Instead, segregation and racial discrimination laws were put into effect. For years it went on like this, until the 1950s to 1960s, other wise known as the Civil Rights Movement. African Americans were getting tired of being treated in such a harsh and cruel manner, that they, along with many other people such as the President and Congress, decided to take action to end inequality, not just for race, but for religion, gender, and nationality .
The reconstruction era was an opportunity for significant revisions. It was the first time African Americans took a step forward liberty. Although, some rights were granted to the African Americans, it was not an overnight and simple process. Considering many events taking place during Reconstruction, the benefits do not outweigh the drawbacks.
The Americans of African and European Ancestry did not have a very good relationship during the Civil war. They were a major cause of the Civil War. But, did they fix or rebuild that relationship after the war from the years 1865 to 1900? My opinion would be no. I do not believe that the Americans of African and European ancestry successfully rebuilt their relationship right after the Civil war. Even though slavery was finally slowly getting abolished, there was still much discrimination against the African Americans. The Jim Crow laws and the black codes discriminated against black people. The Ku Klux Klan in particular discriminated against black people. Even though the United States government tried to put laws into the Constitution to protect black people, the African Americans were discriminated in every aspect of life from housing, working, educating, and even going to public restrooms!
Many individuals imagine greatness and a future of prosperity, but others lack imagination and inspiration causing them to shield many opportunities. An individual with an imagination is an individual with a dream. As Harriet Tubman once said, “I had reasoned this out in my mind, there was one of two things I had a right to, liberty or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other.” Whether it was liberty or death, she was determined to fight for what she believed in; even if one’s imagination was limited, that did not stop her because she imagined a life filled with liberty and freedom. This is how many African Americans felt in their quest to fight for equal rights throughout the late 1870s to the early 1970s. Throughout history African Americans conducted many efforts in order to integrate in the white society and acquire civil rights and equality.