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Economic Conditions In The Reconstruction Era

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The American dream is described as the “dream of land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity each according to ability or achievement”. In the South, the Reconstruction Era took place officially from 1865-1877. However, events still continued after 1877. As slaves were now free after the civil war, White Northerners, educated Northern Blacks, Newly Freed Slaves, and Yeoman farmers all wanted the same thing–for everyone to be equal. In the Reconstruction Era, African Americans were given many opportunities such as jobs, education, freedom, citizenship and protection of their rights. Economic conditions in the Reconstruction Era helped African Americans move towards the American dream. After the Civil War, new jobs were created to help …show more content…

However, Jim Crow Laws was also, another step back. The Jim Crow Laws were a system of segregation that covered all aspects of life. Although the Crow Laws separated the races, African Americans were still able to live their life more freely than before the Civil War. Besides the Jim Crow Laws, the Enforcement Act of 1872 was a step closer to the American dream. This Act protected African Americans rights by allowing the Federal Government to intervene when the States Government did not. Not only did it protect African Americans rights but it also helped the Ku Klux Klan disappear. With the Ku Klux Klan gone, people were allowed to vote and live more freely as they were no longer threatened and unjustly murdered. Lastly, Freedman’s Bureau also really helped African Americans by helping them transition to freedom to help them start their new lives, after the Civil War. The Bureau, helped locate family members, started schools, acted as an employment agency, and filed legal charges against employers. The Enforcement Act and Freedman’s Bureau made life for African Americans better and

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