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The reconstruction after the american civil war
The reconstruction after the american civil war
The reconstruction after the american civil war
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In Document B,¨Black Codes¨ it states,¨These laws laid out what freed blacks were and were not allowed to do.¨ This document came from a first hand account of what laws from the Black Codes were and shows the amount of things that newly freed African Americans were and were not able to do. Although the new laws and new Reconstruction Amendments help with an African Americans freedom, people discriminating used Black Codes as a way to stay in control of African Americans and their freedom and got away with taking away some of their civil rights with the use of Black Codes. Black codes were a common way that people discriminating used to go past and around new set laws. Whites and people discriminating also used the exploitation known as sharecropping
The North and South, from 1861 to 1865, lost over six hundred thousand men in an armed and gruesome conflict over the issue of slavery. Despite the North winning militarily, the death rates for both sides were relatively equal. Following the South’s surrender at Appomattox, a time of Reconstruction ensued. Southern beliefs and behaviors, along with the Grant Administration’s growing indifference about freedman issues, influenced Reconstruction politics across the country. White Southerners scored a resounding victory in the Reconstruction Period by passing restriction laws against Negroes and intensified the Southern atmosphere beyond its original Pre-Civil War environment.
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.
The “Black Codes” improved the lives of former slaves in the South in several ways; however, many of Mississippi’s Black Codes control the lives of African Americans extremely strictly. For example, in Section 1, African Americans are allowed to own land and may acquire personal property to the same extent of whites. Although the state gave former slaves civil rights, there were regulations to the laws. For instance, as the section continues, it states, “… the provisions of this section shall not allow any freedman, free negro, or mulatto to rent or lease any land except in cities or towns, in which places the local authorities shall control such matters.” This shows that the lives of African Americans were improving, however, at the same time, it was not improving were such laws in place.
- “While the planter’s children were educated by tutors at home or in Northern institutions, the poor white’s children ran wild in ignorance. And there was no hope for better conditions in this regard. The poor whites without political power, had no prospect of ever getting any public rights or privileges” ("Poor Whites in the South”). - In 1865, “Black Codes” reinforced a system similar to slavery after it was abolished (Maclean) - limited freed blacks from voting and education funds were not provided for them (Foner) - limited their political rights and
Despite the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, reconstruction failed to give African Americans economic rights. Black Codes were not only used to restrict African-American social rights but also their economic rights. In the state of Louisiana at that time, African Americans were not allowed to sell or trade any form of merchandise without the permission in writing from their employer (Document H). However, there is a law that states, “Every Freeman is to be in service of some white person or former owner”( Document H). These laws only show how African Americans are not
Unit 7: DBQ Essay Introduction In 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation applied to Southern states only, it politically would not apply to the Northern and Border States; so to have another try at abolishing slavery; in 1864, congress passed the Thirteenth Amendment, abolishing slavery everywhere, including in the South. Of course this still was not enough for the South, their whole economy is based off of Slavery. Finally, in 1868 the Fourteenth Amendment was passed, now all the slaves that are free, had to be treated like citizens (1). To avoid giving freedmen full citizenship, southern states began to pass a series of discriminatory state laws collectively known as black codes.
Throughout 1790 and 1860 America was inviting in a new era of ideas that brought about a sense of white superiority in America. Westward expansion is one of these ideas and was the belief that it was white america's destiny to conquer and civilize the entire continent. Americans moving westward became a triggering movement for Slavery Debates. At the same time, Reform movements, some of which were religious such as the Second Great Awakening and the foundings of many new Protestant denominations became popular among Americans. Pro-
Slavery grow rapidly in the southern colonies than the northern colonies for the reason that southern colonies slave work year round to grow crop like rice, they have the ideal season for work year round that the northern colonies didn’t have. For example on page 75 “ Unlike cultivating wheat or corn in the north, growing rice demanded backbreaking year- round labor, slave had to clear the swampy lowlands in winter, build dykes to keep seawater out of the fields, and plant rice in shallow trenches in the spring. In late summer, the harvested the crop. In the fall, they pounded the rice kernels with wooden mortals and pestles. Come wintertime they turned the soil to prepare it for a new round of planting.
Black Codes determined the freedom for African Americans that resembled respect for slavery, which revealed in the Mississippi Black Code. The Mississippi Black Code is an act to confer Civil Rights on freedmen, and for other purposes. The Black Codes were essentially an attempt to create a system that looked and felt a lot like slavery, but did not technically violate the 13th amendment. W.L Fleming wrote this document to inform those on General Robert E. Lee laws to regulate and control former slaves which is known as Black Codes.
The treatment of slaves between the North and the South was drastically different. Slaves in the North typically lived in the same house as their master and worked by themselves, or in small groups (pg. 94). Slaves in the South tended to live in large plantations in which they were housed in plantation outbuildings (pg. 104). The difference between the North and the South in housing and working environment had a direct effect on the integration of African Americans into their new American society. When they were housed in the North with their masters and had limited exposure to other slaves, they tended to adopt the ways of their masters.
However, during reconstruction the black codes were abolished by the Civil Rights Act. The Civil Rights Act abolished the black codes for the main purpose of giving blacks equal rights just like any other man, and to keep society from moving backwards towards slavery. This helped the freed men and women achieve equality in the U.S. despite the constant discrimination that followed
A major part of the Reconstruction Era was The roaring 20’s, a time period of economic success and prosperity for many. It’s a time period where numerous people wish they were alive to experience, but those people were not people of color. Sadly, the roaring 20’s was not all that roaring for African Americans who were just recently emancipated. After liberation, a vast wave of African Americans moved to the North to pursue a life more successful than they’d have in the South. Little did they know, segregation and race relations has spread throughout the country and some people still didn’t treat them as equals.
Federalism can be defined as a system in which the power to govern is divided between national and state governments. This belief to share power was constructed by our founding fathers when the Constitution was established. The division of powers was created in order to limit the power of the national government. However, the national government does overpower state laws when the national and state governments don’t agree. As a young democratic nation it was divided between two belief systems, free or enslaved backs.
It is remarkably easy for people to boil down America’s current situation to that of a second Civil War in-the-making. All you witness in the media today is the polarity and out-right divisiveness of the country. While there is no doubt that political tolerance and political efficacy is at the lowest it has been, simply reducing the circumstances surrounding our current administration and our fellow citizens to that of a country tearing itself apart is not a fair assessment. When you look back at our country’s history, our situation is nothing new. We are living in a time of change and I am confident that once again, our country and its citizens will come out stronger than ever before.
