The Civil War and Reconstruction had far-reaching results in terms of race relations in the United States. After the Civil war in 1862 several legislations were passed to help the freed slaves. The Civil Rights act of 1875 prohibited segregation in public areas and many amendments gave African Americans more rights (Brinkley, 2014). Even with new legislations the status of the newly freed African Americans didn’t change mush until the twentieth century.
The reconstruction was to provide a new and better life to African Americans. Many continued to stay with their old masters while others left to find new opportunities, education, and land of their own (Brinkley, 2014). There were several obstacles standing in their way, chiefly white supremacists …show more content…
The separations that were common under the institution of slavery were now also common under American law. The courts believed that government could not control private individuals over matters of race, so the federal government could not force private companies or organization to desegregate. Several Supreme Court ruling all but removed the significance of the fourteenth and fifteenth amendment. The rulings in cases such as “Plessy v. Ferguson” which ruled that accommodation did not deprive blacks of equal right if the accommodation were not equal and in the case of “Cummings v. County Board of Education” where the courts rule that communities can establish schools for whites only (Brinkley, 2014). These only created a larger divide and helped establish the principle of “Separate but equal”. By 1890, the black vote had lowered by sixty-two percent and laws that segregated blacks from whites and allowed for white supremacy, were quite common in every part of Southern society. In the 1890s, eighty percent of the total national lynching occurred in the south, this appeared to be done in …show more content…
Many laws were passed to give African Americans more rights. Unfortunately, many laws were also passed by state legislation like the Black codes of the late 18th century that were counterproductive to the reconstruction plan. Still today many of the racist view can been seen throughout the country. Incidences like the church shooting in South Carolina or the racist chants by a fraternity at the University of Oklahoma is a clear indication that racism, though not as wide spread as it was in the past, is still prevalent in the United States. The United States of America, in its Constitution and Declaration of Independence, guaranteed a safe place for all people to live out there life in pursuit of happiness. Hopefully one day people will be able to look pass the skin color of a man and fulfil a dream that was once had by a great man Dr. Martin Luther
The reconstruction was to provide a new and better life to African Americans. Many continued to stay with their old masters while others left to find new opportunities, education, and land of their own (Brinkley, 2014). There were several obstacles standing in their way, chiefly white supremacists …show more content…
The separations that were common under the institution of slavery were now also common under American law. The courts believed that government could not control private individuals over matters of race, so the federal government could not force private companies or organization to desegregate. Several Supreme Court ruling all but removed the significance of the fourteenth and fifteenth amendment. The rulings in cases such as “Plessy v. Ferguson” which ruled that accommodation did not deprive blacks of equal right if the accommodation were not equal and in the case of “Cummings v. County Board of Education” where the courts rule that communities can establish schools for whites only (Brinkley, 2014). These only created a larger divide and helped establish the principle of “Separate but equal”. By 1890, the black vote had lowered by sixty-two percent and laws that segregated blacks from whites and allowed for white supremacy, were quite common in every part of Southern society. In the 1890s, eighty percent of the total national lynching occurred in the south, this appeared to be done in …show more content…
Many laws were passed to give African Americans more rights. Unfortunately, many laws were also passed by state legislation like the Black codes of the late 18th century that were counterproductive to the reconstruction plan. Still today many of the racist view can been seen throughout the country. Incidences like the church shooting in South Carolina or the racist chants by a fraternity at the University of Oklahoma is a clear indication that racism, though not as wide spread as it was in the past, is still prevalent in the United States. The United States of America, in its Constitution and Declaration of Independence, guaranteed a safe place for all people to live out there life in pursuit of happiness. Hopefully one day people will be able to look pass the skin color of a man and fulfil a dream that was once had by a great man Dr. Martin Luther