Reconstruction Had Long Effects On African Americans In the mid-19th century, most black people in the South were slaves, and they were treated like goods. They were discriminated, were punished because of disobedience, and were not protected by the laws.(Treatment of Slaves, 2016) Since the American Civil War broke out-- a war fought between the northern Unions and the southern Confederates--the United States had unprecedented costs in the history. When the Civil War ended, parts of the South lay in ruins--homes were burned, businesses were closed, many properties were abandoned. For reuniting the union, the federal government implemented a program called Reconstruction. The Reconstruction had not only helped the South of rebuilding the ruined …show more content…
Even though some people thought the Reconstruction was not very efficient and helpful on recovery of black people, the positive impacts of Reconstruction for the African Americans overwhelmed negative impacts. Because of the hard work of abolitionists such as President Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, and Sudan B. Anthony who were active on the movement of promoting the welfare for African Americans, their rallying point, and the help from the Congress: African American slaves were freed and they would never be a slave again. They also gained human rights in the United States. One of the greatest help was the reconstruction(1865-1877) after the Civil War. The reconstruction despite of being a time when the government struggled to reunite the country, rebuild South's the economy, and promote the rights of former slaves (United States History 2016). The reconstruction still benefitted the black people: the Freedmen's Bureau, the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were passed which paved