Reconstruction Dbq

The federal Reconstruction efforts from 1865 through 1878 were mostly resisted because most southerners treated the blacks the same as when they were slaves. Many blacks were killed when they were set free because people believed they should stay slaves. There were also groups that threatened the blacks and killed them for supporting Republican beliefs. Finally, the employers of freed blacks watched over them like they were slaves even though they were free.
Once the slaves were set free in the south in 1865, they were hated and treated similarly to how they were treated while they were slaves. In a 1880 testimony to the U.S. Senate by Henry Adams, he describes that even once he was set free,”They would not let [us] live as man and wife together”(Adams).

Along with that,”over two thousand colored people [were] killed trying to get away”(Adams). Therefore, even though they were officially set free, they weren’t really that free. For example, as said in the testimony, Henry Adams was not allowed to mary his wife even though he was supposedly free. They were also not safe and didn't know who to look to for protection as black people were getting killed as they left their plantations. Therefore, due to the limited protection provided for the blacks and the rights taken away from them, it is proven that the confederate states resisted the reconstruction. In an address to citizens and Congress of the USA at an African American Convention, members explain to the southerners that,”although [we] have been slaves, and denied all recognition as a constituent of your nationality for almost the entire period of the duration of your Government…[we], with scarce an exception, in our inner most souls espoused your cause, and watched, and prayed, and waited, and laboured for your success”(African American Convention). In this passage, it is explained that even though the blacks were slaves, and had always been treated poorly by southerners, they worked their hardest and prayed for the confederates to win. Even after this, as said later in the address, the confederate’s minds didn't change about how the blacks should be treated. They therefore resisted the reconstruction because they still chose to treat them like slaves even after they were set free and had done so much for them.
During the reconstruction, terrorist-like groups threatened blacks into doing things they didn't want to like voting against the republican party in the election.

In an article on the Ku Klux Klan and the reconstruction, it is shown that in the 8 months leading up to the election,”1000 people were killed in Louisiana…”It is also suspected that the KKK used,”Fraud and voter intimidation…” to make the African Americans mainly vote against republicans. The KKK was a group that used violence and threats to spread their ideas and force them upon people. The reconstruction was supposed to help bring everyone together and make everyone equal which the KKK went against by hating against anyone of color or anyone who was a republican supporter. Therefore, the KKK resisted the reconstruction by making groups of people lower than others. In a testimony of a former slave named Thomas M. Allen, Thomas describes his experience with the KKK. On the day of the election for the constitution, Thomas M. Allen received a letter from the KKK that told him that,”if [you] do not change your course before the election for the ratification of the infernal constitution, your days are numbered, and they will be but few…”(Grand Cyclops). The Grand Cyclops was the name given to a leader of the basic level of organization called a Den. This threat to Thomas M. Allen was an attempt to get him not to vote with the “radicals”(Republicans). They even threatened to kill him if he didn’t make a change. Just like when Thomas M. Allen was a slave, he was threatened and told what to do which means that the KKK was going against the reconstruction of the southern

states.
Finally, the now freed blacks were treated like slaves by their employers when they got jobs. In the “Black Codes”, a set of laws passed by the Saint Landry Parish of Louisiana, it is stated that the black people were allowed to have jobs but,”Every negro [is] required to be in the regular service of some white person, or former owner, who shall be held responsible for the conduct of said negro”(Louisiana Legislature). These black employees were guarded and watched over by their employers just like when they were slaves. The employer was also held responsible for the black person’s actions, not the black person himself. The reconstruction was supposed to give the bals more equal rights and get them out of slavery but in reality, it just put them into another spot of slavery as soon as they were hired in the south. In a personal journal of David Golightly Harris, a former slave owner, he explains in his entry from January 6, 1866 that trading and dealing with the blacks is,”cold but pleasant” because of how easy they are to take advantage of (Harris). He also says two days before that that the black people,”all seem disposed to rent land…”(Harris). Men Like David Harris are trying to take advantage of the newly freed blacks and rent them land for large portions of what they make. It was almost like they were being brought back into slavery as they hardly were able to make anything due to the land owner’s large share of the profits. The former slave owners therefore did resist by sneakily forcing the freed blacks into unfair deals.
In conclusion, the former confederate states resisted the reconstruction by treating the black people like they didn't deserve to be free and should have remained slaves. The reconstruction was an attempt to make everyone equal and give everyone equal rights which was therefore resisted by people killing them, threatening them, and treating them like slaves in the work environment.