The Ultimate Battle
1860 -1877 were years that encompassed major events beginning as early as the Civil War leading up until the end of Reconstruction. After numerous efforts to improve the country and the status of African Americans after the Civil War, extreme developments were made. Although there were many factors that assisted the reform movement, the key developments were mainly constitutional and social.
Events occurring throughout the North and South contributing to the revolution include: The southern secession, the Emancipation Proclamation, the ratification of amendments 13 through 15, the Ku Klux Klan, the Freedman’s Bureau and Black Codes. Throughout the era of 1860-1877, the constitutional and social developments both contributed …show more content…
Lincoln created the Freedman’s Bureau to aid the newly freed black men. The Freedmen’s Bureau was proposed to provide homesteads to the free blacks asserting that they would receive “40 acres and a mule” as a consolation for their previous servitude, yet none of the promises made by government lasted. Document E clearly articulates the necessity of the land for the freedmen testifying that “ if it [the Freedmen’s Bureau] does not carry out the promises its agents made to us…we are left in a more unpleasant condition thank our former”. Through this statement, the Freedmen of Edisto Island reiterated the point that their promised land by the government has not been relinquished to them as yet. The blacks further questioned the motives of the government as to why it would be so sympathetic to the rebellious south, yet not to those who have always been loyal, especially during wartime. Due to the lack of land owned by freedmen, they instead worked for wages or became tenant sharecroppers on white men’s land, paying rent to stay on land or giving up a share of their crops each year. Sharecropping gave blacks freedom to work on their own land, while also reliving landlords of responsibility for their workers. In majorly black or equal race population states, white men used violence and taunting to challenge reconstruction …show more content…
In order for a successful revolution, economic and social equality had to be achieved, making it necessary for blacks to gain land in order to prosper and achieve independence from white control. The white men were aware of the power that came with owning land and therefore resisted giving it up as a way to preserve the unbalanced society. Whites were aware that if black men were able to be self sufficient, they would have money to educate their children, which would result in social equality. Once educated, their children would become involved in politics and become equals with political equality as well, creating a cycle that the Southern whites were fighting to prevent. Through Federal support the former slaves were able to acquire legal and political rights after emancipation, however, the support disappeared after 1877 when the Federal Troops withdrew, Congress lost interest, and the Supreme Court stripped away much of the significance of the 14th and 15th amendments. Ultimately, the Northerners gave up on black rights and focused their attention on themselves, which showed promise of growth of the
1860 -1877 were years that encompassed major events beginning as early as the Civil War leading up until the end of Reconstruction. After numerous efforts to improve the country and the status of African Americans after the Civil War, extreme developments were made. Although there were many factors that assisted the reform movement, the key developments were mainly constitutional and social.
Events occurring throughout the North and South contributing to the revolution include: The southern secession, the Emancipation Proclamation, the ratification of amendments 13 through 15, the Ku Klux Klan, the Freedman’s Bureau and Black Codes. Throughout the era of 1860-1877, the constitutional and social developments both contributed …show more content…
Lincoln created the Freedman’s Bureau to aid the newly freed black men. The Freedmen’s Bureau was proposed to provide homesteads to the free blacks asserting that they would receive “40 acres and a mule” as a consolation for their previous servitude, yet none of the promises made by government lasted. Document E clearly articulates the necessity of the land for the freedmen testifying that “ if it [the Freedmen’s Bureau] does not carry out the promises its agents made to us…we are left in a more unpleasant condition thank our former”. Through this statement, the Freedmen of Edisto Island reiterated the point that their promised land by the government has not been relinquished to them as yet. The blacks further questioned the motives of the government as to why it would be so sympathetic to the rebellious south, yet not to those who have always been loyal, especially during wartime. Due to the lack of land owned by freedmen, they instead worked for wages or became tenant sharecroppers on white men’s land, paying rent to stay on land or giving up a share of their crops each year. Sharecropping gave blacks freedom to work on their own land, while also reliving landlords of responsibility for their workers. In majorly black or equal race population states, white men used violence and taunting to challenge reconstruction …show more content…
In order for a successful revolution, economic and social equality had to be achieved, making it necessary for blacks to gain land in order to prosper and achieve independence from white control. The white men were aware of the power that came with owning land and therefore resisted giving it up as a way to preserve the unbalanced society. Whites were aware that if black men were able to be self sufficient, they would have money to educate their children, which would result in social equality. Once educated, their children would become involved in politics and become equals with political equality as well, creating a cycle that the Southern whites were fighting to prevent. Through Federal support the former slaves were able to acquire legal and political rights after emancipation, however, the support disappeared after 1877 when the Federal Troops withdrew, Congress lost interest, and the Supreme Court stripped away much of the significance of the 14th and 15th amendments. Ultimately, the Northerners gave up on black rights and focused their attention on themselves, which showed promise of growth of the