African-Americans During Reconstruction

710 Words3 Pages

April, 1861, the Civil War ended and in the North's favor. The Northerners were extremely happy until Abraham Lincoln, the president that led them to the win, got assassinated. Andrew Johnson who was the vice president at that time, then became president during reconstruction from the Civil war. Andrew Johnson, however, had totally different beliefs than Lincoln. He wanted slavery and didn’t see blacks as equals to whites. I believe that African-Americans were not free during reconstruction. The first reason of why I believe this is because of black codes. “No negro shall reside within the limits of the town of Opelousas who is not in the regular service of some white person or former slave owner.” This is an example of a back code. How were …show more content…

The KKK was a racist group that strongly hated blacks and anyone who helped or supported them. The KKK thought that the U.S was better off without blacks and that blacks were not equal to whites. They formed a klan that all had this belief and hung blacks, burned down schools that blacks were getting a little education in, and many other stuff to show their hate. The KKK also burned a cross to intimidate blacks and others who supported blacks. It was very hard for a black to be elected for something. The KKK would make sure that a black man would not be elected for anything. For example, they would dehumanize a black man's face so people would know not to vote for him because he’ll make the country bad. Although, the black man could have been better than the people he was running against. However, because of the KKK, it was highly unlikely for a black man to be elected for …show more content…

The Freedmen’s Bureau was made to help blacks fit into society but really, it didn't help blacks at all. Andrew Johnson, who was the president at that time didn’t support it and this caused the Freedmen's Bureau to not get money and resources from Johnson, which made the Bureau go downhill. This also made it unfounded. The Freedmen’s Bureau also didn’t carry out all of its goals. The Freedmen's Bureau wanted to do a lot for blacks and help them fit in but actually it took away some of blacks land, and it “failed to provide long term protection for blacks to ensure any real measurement of equality,” (The Freedmen’s Bureau worksheet). Blacks were losing places to farm and build houses because of this, and they weren't even getting long term protection. So, when the Bureau let them go, where would they go? The Freedmen's Bureau was meant to help blacks but really, it didn’t help blacks at