The 13th, 13th And 15th Amendments

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The ratification of the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments raised the hopes of the newly-freed slaves of North America. Slaves, abolitionists and Radical Republicans believed this would be the beginning of justice and equality for all Americans. The Freedmen’s Bureau reunited ex-slaves with their families and provided education, raising their hopes further. Their hopes, however; were soon dashed by the reality of Reconstruction. They were subject to long-term discrimination and segregation by angry southerners, threatened by their freedom. Black Codes, later, Jim Crow Laws were introduced in Southern states to supress African-Americans and denied them the right to vote, serve on a jury and marry a white person. Southern stakeholders, left defeated …show more content…
Presidential Reconstruction began immediately after the Civil War. Johnson’s leniency towards Southerners had resulted in Black Codes and Northerners wanted to fight against this. In early 1866 Johnson attempted to Veto a Civil Rights Bill passed by Congress. In the 1866 congressional elections, Northern voters repudiated his policies and Republicans took hold of Reconstruction. This period became known as Radical Reconstruction. Northerners attempted to give blacks full rights as citizens of the United States, which angered many Southerners and fuelled violence in the South. Republicans passed legislation for blacks but most of these were ignored by the South. Schools were set up but segregated blacks from whites and literacy rates only increased marginally. Radical Reconstruction was a minor improvement on Presidential Reconstruction but still did not live up to the hopes of African-Americans. By the mid-1870s support for Reconstruction waned as Northerners became weary of battling the South and turned their attention to ending the conflict between North and South so the country’s economic development could proceed. The end of the Civil War raised the hopes of Northerners but economic priorities caused them to end the Reconstruction Era before they could deliver equality to …show more content…
The 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments gave slaves hope for the right of freedom, citizenship and the right to vote but Jim Crow Laws in the south soon prevented these rights. Southern stakeholders were initially threatened by the emancipation of the slaves as they were a major asset that if taken would destroy their way of life. However; once Johnson was elected President over time he became lenient toward the south allowing them back in to parliament and their hopes soon grew. As the hopes of the ex-slaves for equality faded, the southern stakeholders’ dissatisfaction with emancipation diminished as the new position of ex-slaves developed into a system much like slavery. Emancipation raised the hope of slaves, Radical Republicans and Northerners in the beginning and while limited freedom and education was delivered and some were reunited with family members, their hopes for justice and equality were generally short lived and not satisfied. The Southern stakeholder’s hopes were dwindling in the beginning but were soon elevated as Johnson was elected and began to pardon them. By 1877 Southern delegates were back in control, Northerners had grown tired of Reconstruction and the South was

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