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Freedmen During Reconstruction Dbq

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A freedmen is taking part in sharecropping as he gives most of the crops he produced to the land’s owner. He hopes for a better life, but he knows he will be forever indebted to the landowner. While some things changed for the better, the acceptance of African Americans was still scarce. During Reconstruction, the life of freedmen did change politically, but not socially or economically.
The freedmen’s lives changed politically because they could become citizens and had the right to vote. Also, the Freedmen’s Bureau was created to help and support the newly freed slaves which helped a lot of freedmen get back on their feet. According to Document E, the 15th amendment allowed African Americans the right to vote. Although it was difficult because …show more content…

The system of sharecropping was only a modified alternative for slavery considering the workers would always have debt owed to the landowner and they were not treated much better. They would rent a small portion of land and then they would give the landowner the majority of the crops. Document D shows how sharecropping was spread widely throughout the South, replacing slavery. This prevented freedmen from being completely free, even after slavery had been abolished. In addition, many African Americans in the North were limited when it came to getting jobs. This didn’t change because most freedmen still had no way of making money for themselves, so they were not apart of the American economy. It also showed that even though slavery had been abolished, African Americans would still have a long and rough journey before being treated as equals. …show more content…

Discrimination against blacks was happening in both the North and the South equally. While the Plessy vs. Ferguson case declared facilities were to be “separate but equal”, they were separate and unequal for 60 years. In Document C, there is a water fountain where one side is for whites, while the other side is for colored. This only created more tension between whites and blacks, and made the fight even harder for everyone to be treated equally. African Americans will always get the run down part of the bus and the dirtier water fountain. On the other hand, whites will get a neat side of the bus and the clean water fountain. Also, groups like the Klu Klux Klan were formed and terrorized and sometimes would kill blacks. This is still the same as before the Civil War because African Americans are still not accepted even after they got freedom. Discrimination against blacks continues to be a problem for decades to come, and even today. (American Anti-Slavery and Civil Rights

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Not stating that they were completely free from harsh conditions, but they were free from slavery, allowing Southern African Americans to join tenant and sharecropping. “The sharecropping system arose in the years immediately following the civil war, apparently as a compromise between freedmen who wanted land and cash-starved planters who found it difficult to pay wages” (Whayne 50). African Americans did not like this idea because these actions would remind them of their past of being slaves, they had just gained their freedom and wanted complete power and control to own their own land. Even though many African Americans did not agree with the sharecropping system, this tend to be the only choice that allowed the men in the south that had to support their families to continue working. By surprise Lee Wilson joined in the tenant and sharecropping union, but he treated his men a lot better than majority of the tenants did.

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Sharecropping and tenant farming emerged as makeshift solutions to sustain the agrarian economy in the absence of coerced labor. Laura Wilson's seminal work, "Beyond Tobacco Road: Enriching the Field of Sharecropping Studies," delves into the complexities of sharecropping, shedding light on its multifaceted implications for individuals and communities. Wilson highlights how sharecropping provided a means of survival for newly emancipated African Americans and poor whites in the post-Civil War South, offering them a semblance of autonomy and economic opportunity in a rapidly changing society. However, beneath its veneer of opportunity lay a system rife with exploitation and systemic inequality. Wesley Riddle's research in "The Origins of Black Sharecropping" underscores the economic vulnerabilities faced by African American sharecroppers, who found themselves trapped in cycles of debt and dependency.

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Pertaining to the rights of African Americans a new south did not appear after the reconstruction. While they were “free” they were often treated harshly and kept in a version of economic slavery by either their former masters or other white people in power. Sharecropping and the crop-lien system often had a negative impact on both the black and white tenants keeping them in debt with the owner. Jim Crow laws, vigilantes and various means of disfranchisement became the normal way of life in the South. It was believed that white people were superior to black people and when they moved up in politics or socially they were harassed and threatened.

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