During the Reconstruction of the splintered Southern states, many goals were set out with the purpose of supporting the newly freed African American people. These goals can be placed in three categories of political, economic, and social, of which before, African Americans had neither say nor any hope of advancement in during years of slavery. Politically and socially, these goals were focused on introducing blacks to the American society through legalized voting rights by means of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments and an introduction to civil rights. Economically, after the war and slavery, reconstructive goals were created to provide government assistance such as food and introduced African American people to the society of paid labor.
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However, through the reconstruction and learning institutions, African Americans were able to hold higher positions such as being delegates in the constitutional conventions and positions in almost every type of public offices (Brinkley 363). By holding such offices, it became possible for black voices to be heard easier through the word of black officials in a historically white government. Although, this step forward would not have been feasible had it not been for the publishing of the Fourteenth Amendment by the Joint Committee on Reconstruction in which American citizenship was redefined (Brinkley 358). It was this redefinition of whom could be an American citizen that finally allowed for black people to join political offices and to be allotted male …show more content…
However, the KKK and their use of violent intimidation turned the tides of change back to a previous social norm. Black men that had been occupying places in higher affairs were quickly shoved down and kept out as doctors, ministers, and any community leaders were brutally murdered by the organization (McEwan 14). By targeting such high ranking societal figures, the terrorist organization was able to garner more communal support through fear tactics. The usage of fear against communities also into an economic pitfall for black people in cities across the country as business owners, bankers, and landlords grew increasingly more afraid of the Ku Klux Klan (Brinkley 368). With economic opportunities such as loans and landownership were taken as quickly as they had been given, a new cycle of chronic poverty reared its head once more. In combination with economic pitfalls, black people were also thrust out of the social and public spheres as the Northern commitment to them faltered drastically and white communities shunned black
However, through the reconstruction and learning institutions, African Americans were able to hold higher positions such as being delegates in the constitutional conventions and positions in almost every type of public offices (Brinkley 363). By holding such offices, it became possible for black voices to be heard easier through the word of black officials in a historically white government. Although, this step forward would not have been feasible had it not been for the publishing of the Fourteenth Amendment by the Joint Committee on Reconstruction in which American citizenship was redefined (Brinkley 358). It was this redefinition of whom could be an American citizen that finally allowed for black people to join political offices and to be allotted male …show more content…
However, the KKK and their use of violent intimidation turned the tides of change back to a previous social norm. Black men that had been occupying places in higher affairs were quickly shoved down and kept out as doctors, ministers, and any community leaders were brutally murdered by the organization (McEwan 14). By targeting such high ranking societal figures, the terrorist organization was able to garner more communal support through fear tactics. The usage of fear against communities also into an economic pitfall for black people in cities across the country as business owners, bankers, and landlords grew increasingly more afraid of the Ku Klux Klan (Brinkley 368). With economic opportunities such as loans and landownership were taken as quickly as they had been given, a new cycle of chronic poverty reared its head once more. In combination with economic pitfalls, black people were also thrust out of the social and public spheres as the Northern commitment to them faltered drastically and white communities shunned black