Reconstruction Dbq

Following the Civil War, the United States went into a period of -repair-, in attempts to unite the Northern and Southern states economically, politically, and most importantly socially. The reconstruction period was an emotional and intense time for the African-Americans ending with the assassination of president Abraham Lincoln. Andrew Johnson was inaugurated in March, 1865 which changed life drastically for the rights of African Americans. One of the freedmen testified, “the Yankees ‘tol’ us we were free, but once the army left, planters would get cruel to the slaves if they acted like they were free”. The reconstruction era was unsuccessful and was a strenuous long process which was very disappointing for the northern U.S population, especially

the slaves who fought in the civil war for their freedom and basic rights.
Throughout the reconstruction period blacks defined freedom in the sense of being able to purchase and own land in the U.S, having family reunions, education in order to read the laws and the contracts that were put upon them, being able to go to church, run for elected positions, enter public places, and especially vote.

African Americans wanted to be equal, they wanted to be able to do everything whites were able to do. Moreover, Clyde Ross, born in Mississippi from African American parents defined freedom which included owning land. “His journey from peonage to full citizenship seemed near-complete. Only one item was missing—a home, that final badge of entry into the sacred order of the American middle class of the Eisenhower years.” After President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation the blacks were freed, however, that was a frustrating setback the “southern whites, however, the end of the war brought fear, humiliation, and uncertainty. From their perspective, the jubilation of former slaves poured salt in their wounds.” Many of the southern whites felt threatened by the emancipation and displaced their anger towards violence and intimidating the African Americans in order to keep them confined to slavery. It wasn’t until March 3, 1865 that congress created the Freedman's Bureau which was signed into law by President Lincoln: it was an agency that helped former slaves economically and provided legal

resources.
In December 1865, the thirteenth amendment was ratified which ensured that slavery must not exist in the United States.

This ratification may sound magnificent, however this agency along with the thirteenth amendment was relatively ineffective in my opinion because southern legislatures were angered by this which resulted in: creating and enacting the black codes to restrict the freedom and economic opportunities of the free blacks. “Black codes are only in place for a couple of years” however, the first state to enact these was Mississippi, which restricted their basic rights: not allowing them to gather in public, 10pm curfews, can’t rent property in town, no traveling without employers permission, no selling or bartering of goods, no public drunkenness, no firearms, three pm curfew on Sundays, and no preaching (political organizations). Many southerners along with president Johnson agreed with these black codes in fear that the African Americans might attack and the fear of losing free labor. This deficiency allowed for congress to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and extend the Freedmen’s Bureau but was soon vetoed by President Johnson. “Johnson’s vetoes exposed his racism and his lifelong belief that the evil of slavery lay in the harm it did to poor whites, not to enslaved blacks”. Like president Johnson, Thomas Nast endorsed in the white southern point of view that “black Reconstruction” was a recipe for corruption and immorality. This process was laborious due to

the indifferent positions both the northern and southern legislatures had as well as the credited people influencing uneducated poor whites.
In June the fourteenth amendment was in place which defined citizenship, and gave black men citizenship. President Johnson made it hopeless for the Republican lawmakers as he would encourage the southern states to reject this amendment by shouting and addressing his supporters (southern states).The Radical and moderate republicans in Congress focused on assisting and protecting the rights of the ex-slaves, but also wanted to overhaul the southern society and supremacy over the president. Following the fourteenth amendment congress, now controlled by two-thirds republican, passed the Command of Army Act in 1867, which was placed to help control the power of the president by advising him to issue any orders to the General of the Army. The Tenure of Office Act prevented cabinet officers of being fired without the approval of the senate, these acts were used in an attempt to impeach president Johnson for opposing their platforms in effort to protect the rights of freedpeople.
These radicals, along with the president failed to bring persistent development to the economic status of former slaves. African Americans were given “equal rights” in February 1869, Congress passed the fifteenth amendment to protect the right of the citizens which prohibits voting discrimination based on race however, it did not protect those based on their economic, or literal stance. The upper class whites did everything in their will so that black males could not vote, they created poll taxes that were unreasonably priced, and even so those who could pay for it would sometimes not meet deadlines because they were never reminded on doing so. Literacy tests were also used as a means of preventing blacks from voting, since most former slaves were uneducated, and some could barely even read. After the amendment was enacted violence broke out especially in the south to intimidate African Americans from voting. A prominent example of this was Nathan Bedford Forrest who organized Confederate veterans into a social club called the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), this was to intimidate the African Americans from voting, by the use of extreme violence, intimidation, and fraud gave the Democrats their victory. Spreading throughout the south correspondingly, a former slave from Mississippi expresses her utmost agitation and fear she has toward the Klan violence occurring in order to intimidate the opposing groups. “ ….Wednesday night was the last night they came to my house; by “they” I mean bodies or companies of men; they came on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.” This women was a former slave and her husband was involved in the Union League, a southern affiliate of the Republican Party. Many of those who were connected or associated with the Republican Party experienced similar violent threats and in March 1871 about two years after the fifteenth amendment was enacted white mobs killed about thirty African Americans because of their race.
Towards the end of the Reconstruction era African Americans had a limited amount of rights. Although, it was portrayed as they had equal rights, in reality they were subject to racial oppression, few if any economic opportunities. The Civil War and Reconstruction era limited the opportunities by making it unattainable to enhance their economic social position in society, obtain mortgages to simply live or own family farms. In the article The Case for Reparations Clyde Ross explains the hardships he endured being an African American attempting to own his own home.“Locked out of the greatest mass-based opportunity for wealth accumulation in American history, African Americans who desired and were able to afford home ownership found themselves consigned to central-city communities where their investments were affected by the “self-fulfilling prophecies”. The Reconstruction era in my opinion was unsuccessful and was a strenuous long process which was very disappointing for the northern U.S population, especially the slaves who fought in the civil war for their freedom and basic rights.