Disastrous Effects Of Reconstruction

When the Civil War had finally met its end in the year 1865, an “era of reconstruction” came about——all with one singular purpose: give African Americans the rights we have and see them as citizens, not as property. However, although the plans for reconstruction had good intentions, not everything went as smoothly during the “reconstruction era,” not only for America but for the very people “reconstruction” was intended for, the recently freed, freedmen and freedwomen of America. And though many parts of reconstruction were to blame for the “disastrous effects” that reconstruction had on African Americans, some of the most notable topics include Radical Reconstruction, poverty, segregation, and racially based voting laws. Firstly, during the

Thirdly, although said time and time again that reconstruction was intended solely so that African Americans were given the same rights and opportunities as Americans, segregation was still all too common in places African Americans should’ve felt safe and respected as people. The first steps toward official segregation came in the form of black codes which, as mentioned before, were laws passed not only to prevent African Americans from getting certain jobs but also as a means of “dictating every part of their lives.” This included where they could work as well as live—-and codes such as these ensured African Americans availability for cheap labor after slavery was abolished as

After the war, though the Fourteenth Amendment granted African Americans the rights of citizenship, it didn’t automatically translate into the ability to vote, and normally, after the war, African Americans found themselves systematically turned away from state polling places. And though, to combat said problem, the Fifteenth Amendment was passed, allowing African Americans to vote no matter their race, color, or previous servitude, some states still found a way to circumvent the Constitution and prevent those of color from voting. That way being the “implication” of poll taxes, which required African Americans to pay to vote, literacy tests, which required the African Americans to be ‘literate” as well as serving as a way to “prove intelligence,” the grandfather clause, which kept descendants of slaves out of elections, unless it could be proved that one's grandfather had voted, and intimidation—-all used to prevent African Americans from