Reconstruction And Slavery

Labor was a central theme in American History, beginning with the colonial era all the way through Reconstruction. It was during colonial times that slavery was introduced, and this form of labor continued all the way through Reconstruction. This was not “free” labor, meaning the people performing the work did not have an option. This was more than the role that a servant would perform; it was forced labor. There were numerous political, economic and social ramifications from the use of slaves to supplement the work force during these tumultuous time in the United States.
While the colonists certainly had opportunities in this new land, with those opportunities also came challenges, and one of those challenges was around labor. In this land of plenty, finding enough people to work to meet demand was a problem. The tobacco growers first ran into this issue in the 1600’s and initially brought over indentured servants, but that did not work out for a number of reasons. The first slaves from Africa were brought …show more content…
Many of the slaves remained poor during the Reconstruction phase, and had a hard time adjusting to this new life. They were not landowners, and most had no homes, so they were forced to work on the plantations they had just left in order to survive, only this time as an employee and not a slave. This was a country starting fresh, and while there were bumps along the way for the landowners as well as the former slaves, the south eventually adjusted to the change, as did the rests of the nation. Reconstruction after the Civil War would prove to be a daunting task. It was during this time that legislation was passed regarding equal rights of all citizens, notably the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments. The country was on its way to getting on its feet and establishing rights for all citizens, regardless of race, creed, gender, or