The lives of African Americans changed drastically after the war, both in a good way and in a bad way. They were now protected by the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, freeing them from slavery and allowing them the right to all their freedoms. African Americans were now able to vote and participate in politics. The first African American to vote was Mr. Thomas Mundy Peterson from Perth Amboy, New Jersey.
August 6, 1965, The 15th Amendment and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, www.mcleancountyil.gov
African Americans also had the right to gain land from their previous owners and find employment for themselves. They had rights to public accommodations such as hotels, railroads, restaurants, and theaters. African Americans …show more content…
Even though they were no longer slaves, owned by slaveowners and beaten, they still faced violent acts (they were terrorized by the Klu Klux Klan). Southern states even attempted to find ways to take away their rights. In order to try and control the freedoms of the African Americans, states concocted state law codes called “Black Codes”. These codes were an attempt to keep African Americans from serving on juries, voting, choosing their own occupation, and traveling. Their marriages were also outside these laws. This did anger the North, adding more tension between the North and the South. In 1890, Mississippi tried to impose limitations (residency requirements, disqualification by conviction of minor crimes, and tax payment) on voting that were basically aimed at African Americans. Much of the South was refusing to recognize the freedoms that the African Americans had a right to and they were attempting to find loopholes in any way that they could. Another difficulty that African Americans were facing was that of poverty, being that they were denied an education. I would also imagine that some may have found it difficult to find work if the only experience that they had was working in the fields. I also believe that prejudice and discrimination would have played a role in this
August 6, 1965, The 15th Amendment and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, www.mcleancountyil.gov
African Americans also had the right to gain land from their previous owners and find employment for themselves. They had rights to public accommodations such as hotels, railroads, restaurants, and theaters. African Americans …show more content…
Even though they were no longer slaves, owned by slaveowners and beaten, they still faced violent acts (they were terrorized by the Klu Klux Klan). Southern states even attempted to find ways to take away their rights. In order to try and control the freedoms of the African Americans, states concocted state law codes called “Black Codes”. These codes were an attempt to keep African Americans from serving on juries, voting, choosing their own occupation, and traveling. Their marriages were also outside these laws. This did anger the North, adding more tension between the North and the South. In 1890, Mississippi tried to impose limitations (residency requirements, disqualification by conviction of minor crimes, and tax payment) on voting that were basically aimed at African Americans. Much of the South was refusing to recognize the freedoms that the African Americans had a right to and they were attempting to find loopholes in any way that they could. Another difficulty that African Americans were facing was that of poverty, being that they were denied an education. I would also imagine that some may have found it difficult to find work if the only experience that they had was working in the fields. I also believe that prejudice and discrimination would have played a role in this