Reconstruction Dbq Essay

During reconstruction, the meaning of freedom suited many different types of interpretation; the perception of freedom between former slaves and their slaves masters were very contradictory. To begin with, African-Americans had suffered severe abuse over those years of slavery, so to them, the meaning of freedom was basically a hope that in the future, they won’t experience all kind of punishment and exploration that they have been experienced so far. Besides that, formers slaves were demanding equal civil and political rights. In the same way, they valued their freedom by establishing their own schools and churches, reuniting families that were separated under

To be free means you have freedom and certain rights without anyone interfering with you. You can also do things at your own will. However, during Reconstruction African Americans were not free because whites abused the fact that they had rights and would overpower them. One example is the Ku Klux Klan.

Throughout history freedom has had many different meanings and definitions; based on race, gender, and ethnicity. According to the dictionary freedom means the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint (“freedom” def. 1). Freedom may seem like something given to everyone however it was something workers had to fight for. Not everyone believed that workers’ rights needed to be changed, which led to a long battle between workers, employers and the government. To the working class people freedom meant making higher wages, having regulated hours, workable conditions and the right to free speech.

According to google, the definition of freedom is the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. The Freedom from imprisonment or enslavement from those who holds a person against their power or will. However, when freedom is expressed by an ex-slaved, their views are completely different. Ex-slaves found it difficult to adjust to the liberal freedom because they have to deal with relocating families, no political rights to vote, and the ability to establish land.

The Reconstruction era was a time in history after the civil war, where states that were part of the defeated Confederacy were now coming back to be a part of the United States again. However, this was not as easy as it sounds because there were conflicts over Reconstruction between the Radical Republicans, Andrew Johnson, and Southern Democrats. Everyone had different ideas or plans on how to integrate the states back into the United States, therefore: conflicts. First of all, the south rejected the Fourteenth amendment. The fourteenth amendment granted citizenship to all people born in the United States, granted equal protection under the law, and as stated on Cornell Law School: Legal Information Institute, “due process of the law” (Section 1).

According to the documents of “Henry Adams”, “Sharecroppers”, and “Black Codes” African Americans were not free during the Reconstruction Era.In the era of 1865,”Henry Adams” A former slave’s point of view said slavery was still use even after the civil war.From the point of view of Henry Adams A former slave after the civil war in 1865 he States,”After the whipping a large number of young colored people decided to leave that place for Shreveport.[On our Way], out came about forty armed white men and shot at us took my horse.They said they were going to kill every colored person they found leaving their masters”.This evidence matters because it states that even though they were all free according to amendment 13,14,15 they were still shot and told that if you’re

The meaning of freedom for black Americans have changed over time, during the Gilded Age Blacks’ definition of freedom was defined as a new “social order” still driven at the hope of an American society breaking free from the anti-democratic restraints imposed by a corrupt government. This concept of freedom changed when WWII and the 1960’s Conservative Revolution started ,allowing blacks to reap the benefits of social, political and economic prosperities by having the “right to choose” and participate in part of the American society .

Where the blacks really free after the civil war? NO, not quite there were Jim Crow laws- separation of colored and whites segregation, that was a huge problem it made conflict between black and whites and the whites disrespected the colored in many different ways. Black codes were a big problem as I explained in the last paragraph they basically make different raced people not able to vote. The government was trying to create obstacles for them at the time and treated them unfairly if the 14th Amendment States that all people of any race in the U.S are citizens.Later the slaves fought back, the U.S Supreme court case established the “Separate-But-Equal” doctrine. It made black and whites go to separate schools and still have the same education.Blacks also had to sit in the back of city buses and whites had reserved “white only seats’’ and if there were no seats left up front someone from the back of the bus would have to leave.But one day, a black women named Rosa Parks wouldn’t leave her seat when there wasn’t enough seats for the white man and got sent to

Freedom is not being controlled by others and having the rights that others have. African American slaves were pushed and motivated toward this goal, this was the ultimate dream during the Reconstruction period. Reconstruction period was a time in U.S history that spanned from 1865 to 1877, this period was triggered when the civil war ended and the period ended due to the Compromise of 1877. This essay will provide evidence that African Americans were free during the Reconstruction period of the United States.

Some freedoms that are referenced in Document A are the 13th 14th and 15th Amendment which were formed to try to support African Americans in gaining equal rights. These Amendments gave Blacks the chance to vote, due process, and slavery was brought to an end, making it illegal to own slaves. Each Amendments was helpful in supporting equal treatment of African Americans. Without slavery Black people had the opportunity to be treated like humans instead of machines and could earn their own money like White people. Black finally became entitled to equal treatment by gaining the same same protection as White people under the law.This was a large step because beforehand, Black people had no control over their lives and would be regulated by White people. By allowing Black people to vote signified that their opinion meant enough to be counted. They would never be considered less than human again if they finally possess the right to vote. Additionally, a support system, Freedmen’s Bureau, mentioned in Document E, helped provide medical supplies,health care,and established schools for African Americans. Former Slaves and their families gained access to an improved education like never before. With education African Americans would become more respected and treated like humans. A good foundation of support allowed Black people to begin to strive. Now Black people would be

The Reconstruction of America refers to the period following the Civil War of rebuilding the United States. It was a time of great pain and endless questions it was also the time African Americans were no longer enslaved but, there still were many problems after the war. One problem being debated is where African Americans free? Some people back then simply said no African Americans weren’t free during reconstruction because they were still being denied the basic rights of citizens. Others back then saying yes blacks are free they can get jobs have a house and are not forced to work on a plantation. I chose to discuss this issue because it is as profound as any other problems we face today, we are talking about the well being of an ethnicity

Freedom is the power to determine action without restraint, and it is the foundation of our lives today. Every race has the freedom to vote, go to whichever school they choose, take place in office, sit in any sector of the bus, etc. Around the 1860’s, Northern African Americans had freedom, but unlike today, their freedom was restricted. In 1850, before the beginning of the civil war, the population census concluded that fourteen percent of the population was African American. By 1860, 476,000 of them were free from slavery, but only 221,000 lived in the North. After winning the Revolutionary war the Northern states gradually began to end slavery and it was officially abolished in 1842. With all factors in mind, the question of just how free blacks were in the North still lingers in the air. Blacks in the North were only somewhat free in the years just before the civil war because they endured restrictions in social, political, and educational areas of society.

Garrison Frazier, a Baptist minister, defines freedom as “placing us where we could reap the fruit of our own labor, and take care of ourselves.” My definition of freedom is when an individual has free will. But to the blacks, freedom meant “escaping the numerous injustices of slavery-punishment by the lash, the separation of families, denial of access to education, the sexual exploitation of black women by their owners-and sharing in the rights and opportunities of American citizens.” During the reconstruction, freedom became a landscape of conflict, blacks could not do like the whites, black codes were passed in 1867 by the new southern state legislatures in order to control the labor and behavior of former slaves and other African Americans.

Freedom means living life as one wants, everything else is a form of slavery. If a person is not allowed to make his or hers decisions, if he or she is not free to live life as he/she wants than he/she doesn’t have power over his or her existence. If freedom was not essential for every human being than no one would have found so fiercely for it. If it was not important than today we would not be still fighting to keep and extend our freedom.

Freedom has a large range of meaning. The encyclopedia Britannica defines freedom as “the quality or state of being free, and the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action” (Britannica). In the American society there is a lot of emphasis on freedom, and the right to be free, but one must question to what extent we are truly “free”.