Southern White Supremacy and Black Civil Rights 1863-1877

Having endured the brutality of slavery and the uncertainty of war,

America’s blacks enjoyed a period of relative respite during the years

1863-1877. With slavery abolished, the South underwent reconstruction

within every component of its unsteady structure. However, one must

measure the success of this reconstruction with the criteria of

political, social and economic changes in mind. The amendments of the

1860s gave blacks greater political freedom, but were only upheld by

the military force of the Northern army; blacks developed their first

education and religious institutions, but only within a segregated

framework; and economically, the black population worked long, hard

hours- though in better conditions than slavery. Despite the

progressions, the promise of Reconstruction and the 13th-15th

amendments was far from fulfilled. It remained a tough life for the

ex-slaves.

The political influence of blacks was significantly enhanced by the

revolutionary amendments passed in the 1860s. The thirteenth,

fourteenth and fifteenth amendments expanded black rights to an

unprecedented extent, affording them rights equal to those of an

average white man. The 1868 fourteenth amendment, giving “all persons

born or naturalized” in the Union national citizenship, meant blacks

should be protected equally by law and stand on a jury; the 15th

amendment, giving them the vote, naturally followed in 1870. However,

such measures were only held up by the Reconstruction Governments of

the time, and it was clear that the states’ white citizens mostly

disagreed with the schemes, responding to them with a barrage of

cruelty and violence. However, fo...

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...ng of previously

well-taught slaves. Even with this taken into account, though, black

Civil Rights were extended most profoundly in the area of economics;

for the first time, black money was untainted by white supremacy.

Despite the expansion of black Civil Rights during the period 1863-77,

the benefits were limited by Southern white supremacy, and ‘white

trash’ intolerance. Ultimately, Reconstruction failed because

planters’ land was not redistributed, thus ensuring that blacks

remained dependent on their previous owners. By 1877, the blacks still

had very little. However, a small black economy, and several

institutions, had been developed independent of the whites’, thus

enhancing blacks’ standing in society. Nonetheless, the slaves who

dreamt of a post-War ‘promised land’ were severely and tragically let

down.