The Union League formed when the reconstruction of the United States began, shortly after the Civil War, but ended quickly too. The Union League’s goal was to protect and maintain the rights promised to freedmen in southern states where political battles were formed …show more content…
One of the main goals for the Union League was to get African Americans to vote for Republicans which favored the rights of African Americans, and would work to protect their rights. The Union League would organize groups to go into major towns together to cast their ballots for safety from terrorist groups like the KKK, which worked to discourage and stop African Americans from voting. Most encounters the Union League met either from the city’s police force, militia or KKK was peaceful, however violent events did occur where gun fire broke out with lives lost. As the Reconstruction of America progressed into the late 1870’s, Radical Republicans began to lose power, and with that loss, the Union League began to weaken. A quote from the article Continuing the War: White and Black Violence During Reconstruction by Steven Hahn shows the changing tides of control over the states. “The withdrawal of federal troops from the statehouses of South Carolina and …show more content…
The Union League was able to bring the former slave community together to support themselves, giving them the right to vote and gain political sway for their rights. After the Union League began to fall, many things they worked to create were undone like equal rights or preventing segregation. The one act that stood the test of time and couldn’t be undone however by the Union League, was the creation of education for African Americans and resources to allowing freed slaves to be independent from the oppression which has previously kept them completely dependent on their former slave