The Importance Of Reconstruction During The Civil War

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The Reconstruction period and Civil War era was a time when African Americans were seeking their freedom believing that eventually they would be treated equal. This period in American history defined America because of the way in which African Americans were viewed and their place in society. The way the country evolved socio-economically and culturally would dramatic influence how the world views African Americans. African Americans knew that the Civil War defined their freedom. Many events happened during the civil war, for example, on December 20, 1860, South Carolina secedes from the Union (History Place 1). Two months later, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and four other southern states also seceded from the Union. …show more content…

According to W.E.B DuBois, reconstruction was an attempt to “create a multiracial democracy” (Reconstruction 1). This means that officials were trying to get equality for African Americans, along with abolishing slavery, laws, and amendments. Also, giving civil rights to every person no matter what one’s race was. Along with reconstruction came with violence and terrorism and blacks thought that reconstruction would give them their independence, but freedom never came and it only got worse. For example, during reconstruction time, there were many racist magazines and movies that depicted blacks as savages and injudicious. In the 1800s, a lot of whites did not care how many of the stereotypes against African Americans were false, due to how they grew up and how they were close minded. Racist views were also taught in schools by teachers, and parents also taught their children their negative views on African Americans. Many people, like historians and educators, divide reconstruction into two phases, presidential and congressional reconstruction (Reconstruction 2). Presidential reconstruction was giving African Americans civil rights, but they were denied to vote and President Andrew Johnson, the president after Lincoln, established black codes. Congressional reconstruction was when the Republican Party rejected President Johnson’s vetoes of the civil rights bill …show more content…

The first president that played a part was Abraham Lincoln, he was the sixteenth president of the United States. Lincoln first let African Americans into the Union Army to fight in the Civil War and after the war over, he freed the slaves with the Thirteenth amendment and his Emancipation Proclamation. After Lincoln came Andrew Johnson he did not really play a big part in helping African Americans for the good because of the black codes he established and his negative attitude towards the Freedmen’s Bureau. Ulysses S. Grant succeeded Johnson and helped African Americans by arresting Klansmen, but he did not last long because some people were tired of giving civil rights to African Americans, so Rutherford B. Hayes took office. Hayes imposed Jim Crow laws, which did not take America any closer to equality for African Americans. These presidents were in higher power during the Civil War and Reconstruction time and they still did not get any closer to equality for African

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