Goals Of Reconstruction Essay

During Reconstruction, there were many goals for the federal government to rebuild the economy of the south. First, they wanted to bring the south back into the United States. Secondly, they wanted to restructure the economy and rebuild the framework of southern culture. As a third goal, they wanted to place a federal ban on slavery. After the war ended, there were laws passed that made slavery illegal. The 13th Amendment made slavery illegal and unjust. The 14th Amendment granted citizenship to all people born in the United States except Indians. The 15th Amendment granted African American men the right to vote. Despite these laws being passed to prevent African Americans from being treated unfairly, racism and slavery continued to exist. Southern States came up with “Black Codes”, which were laws to limit the freedoms of newly freed African Americans and segregation became more prominent. Jim Crow Laws then came making it seem as if African Americans were separate but equal. The Freedman’s Bureau was established to rebuild and help poor whites and blacks in the south. They helped to establish schools, jobs, and housing. Reconstruction worked to integrate African Americans into the social and political aspects of the country by allowing them to engage as citizens. Some African Americans could vote, become city leaders, and become an active part of the political community. African

One example of African American freedoms being limited includes the Civil Rights Act being declared unconstitutional by the Supreme court in 1883. Another example is Plessy v. Ferguson in which Homer Plessy was put in jail for sitting in the white only section of the East Louisiana Railroad because he was considered black despite his light complexion. In the case of Williams v. Mississippi in 1898, blacks were constitutionally disenfranchised because of the violence that occurred when whites would try to stop them from