What Was The Main Cause Of Reconstruction Dbq

Reconstruction was the political, social, and economic progress for blacks. Blacks people made up majority of the Southern voters. There were 265 African Americans that were elected into public office. Out of all of them, 100 of them were born slaves, 16 of them served in the US Congress, and more than 600 of them served in state legislatures. Reconstruction also established a public school system to allow everyone to have some sort of education. They were able to introduce an interracial political democracy. Reason 1: 13th Amendment The 13th Amendment was passed in 1865 and the institution of slavery was demolished. It existed in America since 1607. This amendment made it to where African Americans could no longer be bought and sold.

Many states did not want to have Chinese or Irish immigrants to vote, and many Chinese did live there. The 15th Amendment was ratified in 1870. It gave a voice to the African Americans about their views on politics and gave them the right to vote. It overtime opened a way for women and other minorities to gain increasing levels of equality and freedom. The 15th Amendment also banned the use of literacy tests that people had to take for them to vote. Many people were angry that the Chinese Immigrants, Irish Immigrants, and African Americans were finally given this right. They wanted only the people that could read or write, and white people to be able to make the decisions. Not a lot of the people wanted a change, so they were trying to keep the old ways and laws because this is what they knew and wanted it to stay the same. The 14th Amendment tied into the 15th Amendment because it gave the African Americans rights so they were not treated as property but as people. It also gave helped them with political views and for them to be able to vote. African Americans were now able to have rights like the white folk. California and Oregon ratified the 15th Amendment almost 90 years later and with no support from these states, the protections really helped the African Americans while the federal troops were there to protect them.