Reconstruction Dbq

Civil rights movements remained prevalent long after Reconstruction and continue to this day. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the United States Constitution were introduced during this era. The 13th Amendment, ratified in 1865, abolished slavery. African American slaves, who were mostly from the South, were recognized as free men and no longer property of their slave owners. Despite being free, the former slaves did not enjoy many of the benefits of being an American. They were prohibited from owning land and from voting because they were not citizens. Additionally, freedmen had unfair wages and the unemployed were at risk of being arrested and fined. Meanwhile, former slave owners retained their huge plantations but no longer had a labor force to farm the land. This desperate situation resulted in a system called sharecropping, where the plantation owner divided their land and shared it with freedmen. The plantation owner was the landlord and the sharecroppers were the tenants. Quite often the freedmen returned to their former masters and worked as their sharecroppers, some poor whites also became sharecroppers. The

Opelousas, Louisianas’ Black Codes passed in 1865 stated that, no negro could come into town, live, rent, or use land in town, go to any public meeting in town without a pass from a government official or white boss, they also couldn’t carry a gun unless in the military (Doc. B) a white person could do these things by their own choice. Former slave Henry Adams said to the U.S. Senate in 1880 that, he once asked the madam “‘ where was the boss?”’ She said, “‘You should say ‘master’ You are not free... and you shall call every white lady ‘missus’ and every white man ‘master’.’” (Doc. C.), many would say African Americans weren’t free because whites didn’t think they

     Certain black codes pertained to whites as well. It was unlawful for a black to marry a white, or vice versa. Anyone found convicted of the crime could be sent to prison for life. Many contracts were drawn up as ‘permissions’ for certain blacks. If a freedman ever broke a work contract, he would be forced to forfeit his wages for one full year. Any civilian was permitted to capture and return freedmen who broke their contract. They were rewarded five dollars plus ten cents for every mile he was captured from his owner. However, if anyone was found attempting to persuade a black to break his contract, or give a deserting black any aid, he/she could be convicted of a misdemeanor and forced to pay a fine.

The victory in the Civil War in 1865 gave 4 million slaves freedom, but the Reconstruction in the south introduced a problem. For a while it was a dream that reconstruction might come true. Reconstruction was the action of rebuilding in the south. Many were hopeful that the Reconstruction may happen. There was terrorist attacks and acts of prejudice going on but who or what killed reconstruction? Although the South was an important contributor The north caused reconstruction to end.

The Civil War was one of the most difficult and trying times during American history. The war ended with the the Union and Confederate states torn apart over one major issue: slavery. With the end of the Civil War came the end of slavery in the United States. Although the former black slaves were now free, they had no land and very few rights, and most did not even have family. Though out reconstruction, blacks were able to gain rights, but were continuously repressed by the white Southerners. The only way to truly enfranchise the former slaves was by effectively disenfranchising their former masters. The reign the masters had over their former slaves disabled the slaves from trying to fulfill their lives as equal American citizens. In

During the span of thirty years from 1865 to 1895 blacks that lived within this time frame went through arguably the most profound series of events to occur in African American history. Southern blacks were faced with prejudice, bondage, slavery, and ultimately survival. Shortly after the thirteenth amendment was ratified, stating that: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”

In 1863 the Emancipation Proclamation declares “that all persons held as slaves with the confederate states are, and henceforward shall be free”. It was not until 1865 when the Civil War ended and the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery. As a replacement of slavery, whites created Whites in the southern states enacted the Black Codes. Black Codes were thought to uphold a social caste system, reflecting the racial hierarchy of slavery. Slavery was abolished, however it still serves as a form of punishment for those found guilty of a crime. In the Thirteenth Amendment (1865) lies a description of the policy: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to the jurisdiction.” A major contributor to blacks becoming criminalized and, in turn, enslaved again were laws that penalized the homeless and unemployed. When black people traveled without proper documents that verified their employment or a home address, they would often be charged with trespassing (Browne-Marshall 2007). As newly freed people, most had no income to pay the consequential fines, thus, they would become prisoners and their enslavement would be legally justified.

On the KKK Document, Reconstruction was a failure because it lead to white supremacy. Abram Colby, who was a former slave and a member of the Georgia legislature, was beaten in an effort to put an end to him being a Radical Republican. In the KKK document, it states, “they sent in and whipped me a thousand licks more, with sticks and straps that had buckles on the ends of them.” Members of the Ku Klux Klan had beaten Colby savagely in 1869 in an attempt to end his political activities as a Radical Republican, after prior efforts to bribe the black legislator had failed. Colby was kidnapped and beaten by the famous white supremacy group known as the Ku Klux Klan because he was a radical. Radicals wanted African Americans to be given full citizenship

During the reconstruction era, the women’s right was shaped. As explained in chapter 6 reconstruction period was a term that was use to describe the history after the civil war. America was in the process of building its nation back up from the war, which included the writing of the amendment, constitution and the rights for African American and women. In addition, the word reconstruction can also covers the period in U.S history, when the U.S economy was completely constituted on industrial capitalism. Even though the slave trade may have ended, there came to be a matter of workers being paid little for their hard labor. Yes, the U.S economy was building but it was not being shared equally. In fact, the gap between the rich and poor was so huge that it created tension between workers and owners. After slavery was eliminated, society could no longer ignore the division in class. It was during this time women started to reconstruct their lives as well. In 1865 up until 1866, women’s right activist called for the suffrage to be joined with African American and women.

The seventh section of these black codes allowed for the return of freed blacks to their employers if they were to quit “the service of his or her employer before the expiration of his or her term of service without good cause.” What a blacks’ term of service and what defined just cause for ending that term of service, would likely be left up to the employer, creating a system which virtually defined slavery itself. Since blacks were required to be employed, this meant that they could be held in slave-like conditions to white employers.

More than that , black persons were also prohibited from preaching unless they obtain the necessary licenses Even though these free black persons were in theory equal with other members of the society , their freedoms in the society were also limited .As the abolitionists continued to press for the removal of the institution of slavery in the American society , the people who were holding slaves become more desperate and their hold on their slaves became even stronger . As such , they drew upon the slave codes and implemented them more freely . Not only were blacks involved but also anyone who was suspected of being an abolitionist . Because of the situation , several slaves also revolted against their masters (Wood 2006 . As a result of this , however , the slaver owners became even more zealous in protecting what they viewed as their human property . As the American society prepared themselves to go to war , the issue of slavery dragged on . Because the southern plantation owners stubborness to change old and inneffective ways, and as a result of their actions the country that was tetering on the brink of war fell in to the bloodiest battle so far in U.S.

Throughout history, African Americans both free and enslaved were not treated equally nor permitted with the same rights as white men. African Americans were enslaved and not allowed to vote or hold public office. Since the 15th century, African Americans have been treated less than human, some even experienced brutal punished for justifiable mistakes. The use of African American slave labor was an enormous contribution to agriculture and labor. It became a part of southern state’s economy within America. Additionally, African Americans were forced or born into slavery where they endured harsh working conditions with zero pay and often times were punished by their masters. Even slaves that became emancipated or paid for their freedom were also treated differently than whites. Notably, blacks did not have the same privileges as whites and were forced to carry a “freedom card” wherever they went. Failing to do so would lead to severe consequences, such as being forced back into slavery. Once African Americans were considered free, they faced additional discriminations such as not being able to vote or serve as a figure in public office. Due to this and additional factors, African Americans were almost entirely incapable of defending themselves against whites. Since the start of the 17th century, African Americans, free and enslaved were punished for their skin color and were considered the lowest scale by not being allowed to the same opportunities and rights and white men.

The definition of freedom often differed in many ways between the black and white people. “For whites, freedom, no matter how defined, was a given, a birthright to be defended. For African-Americans, it was an open-ended process, a transformation of every aspect of their lives and of the society and culture that had sustained slavery in the first place. Although the freedpeople failed to achieve full freedom as they understood it, their definition did much to shape national debate during the turbulent era of Reconstruction” (Foner, 445). Chapter LXXX, an act regulating contracts for labor in the Texas Black Codes designed a contract between employer (white male) and employee (former African American slave). This chapter of the codes completely contradicts the ideology of civil rights. The

Slaves were not respected, nor considered citizens; therefore, absolute rights, i.e. the guarantee of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness were denied to them (Holt & Brown, 2000). African Americans were deemed inferior. Laws were enacted to restrict their behaviors, control, and demean them, simply because of the color of their skin (PBS, n.d.). Slave codes were different for each colony, but all restricted slaves as property and of the black race (Olson-Raymer, 2014).

Belittled to a point where they were considered property, slaves possessed essentially no rights in the cruel world of the antebellum South. Prohibited from exercising numerous basic freedoms, slaves lacked the simple liberty of citizenship of the country in which they lived. The enforcement of harsh laws, such as the master's ability to kill their slaves, required colored people to endure substantial oppression. Mulatto children born to parents of two different statuses would assume the ranking of their mother, which justified masters’ practice of raping the enslaved women.Not being allowed to make a will especially enforced the fact that they were property in which everything they owned actually belonged to their owners (“Laws Pertaining to Slavery”). Even their basic right of marriage was stripped by their enslavement in which “marriages … were not considered legally binding” (“Slave Life and Slave Codes”). Any slave that deliberately set fire to a building, raped a white woman, or schemed a rebellion found themselves facing the punishment of death. As if slaves were not forbidden from enough, they were also prohibited from fundamental privileges, including an education, the right to assemble in the absence of a white person, and the possession of a gun. (“Slave Life and Slave Codes”). Colored people were viewed as such incapable human beings by Americans that the rights they so clearly deserved were invisible to their owners. Basic rights that white people took for