African American Struggle During The Reconstruction Era

Superior Essays
Throughout American history African American had played a big role in the economy. By having slaves performing free labor in the South, farmers and plantation owners were able to profit from their crops in exceeding ways. With this free labor, a social system was put into place in America in which had slaves on the bottom. Due to this African Americans had to face years of racism. Despite the end of slavey in 1865, African Americans continued to face discrimination, lack of opportunities and equality, which lead them to seek solutions in the civil rights movement which began in the 1960s. The American economy depended on slavery to provide income, even though it was inhumane, and raciest. Slavery in America began when in 1619 when the first …show more content…
Even though slavery in America had ended, for many years after the war African Americans still had many struggles. The Reconstruction era was a, “Tumultuous period in which the 11 Southern states that seceded before or at the start of the Civil War were brought back into the Union.” The reconstruction time was made to bring the nation back together under one government. Radical Reconstruction began in 1867, and gave African Americans a voice in government for the first time in American history. This did upset many Southern states but it was not until “The Freedmen 's Bureau was authorized to administer the new laws and help blacks attain their economic, civil, educational, and political rights” that citizens became very angry. The Reconstruction Acts of 1867 also made citizens enraged . This act “Divided the Confederate states, except for Tennessee, which had been re-admitted to the Union, into five military districts.” Each State in the South was required obey the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution, which gave all men equal rights. While this did upset many people the US Congress failed to secure land for African Americans, and without having any land to make a profit off of they were still at the mercy of the people who once owned them. It was not until Ulysses S. Grant came into office that African Americans had a strong ally. Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States. Before his presidency he commanded the Union army during the Civil War. He is an Ohio native, and graduated from West Point. When Grant entered the White House, it was in the middle of the Reconstruction era. His main focus during his time was to reconnect the North and South, while protecting the African Americans. Grant was also a supporter of the 15th Amendment which he signed in 1870. He also was trying to limit KKK activity and, “At various times,

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    Slavery is a person owned by someone else who has no freedom at all. They are told what to do and what not to do and basically being controlled at all times. They are forced to work just because and have no rewards to it. They are owned by white people and after the Civil War many states outlawed slavery because they believed it was unfair, but it was the state’s choice so some states choice to keep segregation laws. The two main points that I will discuss in my essay are the root causes of the problems and issues African Americans faced during the Reconstruction Era into the 20th century and the solutions DuBois proposed to solve these problems.…

    • 1186 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When Lincoln was inaugurated for a second term he put the 10% plan into use. This plan allowed the south to come back into the union if 10% of its voters pledged an oath of allegiance back into the union. Soon after this plan was put into use, Lincoln is assassinated and President Johnson is sworn into office. He ultimately favored Lincoln’s 10% plan and freely let the south back into the economy. All the African Americans wanted was to have freedom and get paid for the work they did.…

    • 759 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Amendment 13 made slavery illegal throughout the entire United States. Amendment 14 granted citizenship to all African Americans. Amendment 15 allowed African Americans to vote. All three of these Amendments pushed for the equality of African Americans, revolutionizing the way they were constitutionally viewed compared to before the Civil War when, in the South, they were barely considered people. A petition from African Americans addressed to the Union convention of Tennessee claims that since African Americans fight in the army and remain loyal to the federal government, that they should have voting rights, too (Doc. C).…

    • 1807 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Imagine fighting for a great cause, not only for your country but for your own race! African Americans fought for both the Confederates and the Union. Some of these African Americans were former slaves, others were African Americans who wanted to abolish (or get rid of) slavery. Over 180,000 African Americans served in the Civil War. Many however, were not recognized after the war ended.…

    • 1654 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Reconstruction unsuccessful due to the Hayes-Tilden Compromise of the Compromise of 1877. The Compromise of 1877 refers to a acknowledged informal, unwritten deal that settled the controversial 1876 U.S. Presidential election, considered the second "corrupt bargain", and over general assembly ("Radical") Reconstruction. Through it, Republican Rutherford B. Hayes was awarded the White House over Democrat samuel J. Tilden on the understanding that Hayes would take away the federal troops whose support was essential for the survival of Republican state governments in South Carolina, Everglade State and American state. African Americans lost their rights and have become sharecroppers due to this. Jim Crow Laws were passed to suppress the African…

    • 890 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    During the Reconstruction of The United States after the Civil War, there is still controversy on whether or not the African-Americans were free in The United States. Although it appears that the former slaves and immigrants were free, and lived the same typical lives as anyone else after the 13th amendment was passed, the start of the Black Codes, whites behavior, and the 13th amendment itself contradicted any thoughts that blacks could be free in America at this time. After the 13th amendment was passed, in certain regions, Black Codes were enforced. Black Codes were laws that held a strong reign on black people.…

    • 547 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Between the end of the Civil War and the beginning of World War I, freedman, farmers, workers, and slaves created a lot of political organizations to support their shared goals. Most of the populations doing the labor work were often African-Americans (Blacks). Experiencing The Gilded Age, the Reconstruction and Progressive Era, was not an easy way to live. African Americans had no rights and were treated harshly. The jobs and roles they played were as freedmen, farmers, workers and slaves.…

    • 753 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Reconstruction was the beginning of a struggle to reunite a broken nation and redefine the meaning of freedom. The Civil War left the South destroyed, desolate, and economically devastated. After the war was over, newly emancipated African Americans left their plantations in search for freedom and a new life. Life after the Civil War in the South for African Americans was challenging, as any new found freedoms were stringently regulated by the Southern Democratic Party. Although the Civil War was over, and measures were taken through the ratification of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendment to expand the rights of newly emancipated African Americans, Southerners sought to maintain former hierarchy and pre-civil war race relations.…

    • 1252 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    African American had the biggest change in social status. From being slaves (property) to free men and women. Free was the title given, but there were still many barriers holding back the African American race from their full potential. Things like black codes limited the civil and political rights of…

    • 694 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Johnson’s plan for Reconstruction was similar to Wade-Davis Bill. In order for States that had seceded to rejoin the United States, they had to put an order out to end secession, abolish slavery, ratify the Thirteenth Amendment, and cannot be…

    • 1181 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The lives’ of African Americans were altered considerably after the Civil War ended in 1865. Before the Civil War began in 1861, slavery and the limitations placed on both free and enslaved black people was part of life, but when slavery was abolished in 1865 by the passing of the 13th amendment; a new era was arriving. The Era of Reconstruction after the Civil War presented impacted the lives of African Americans positively in many ways, but it must be recognized that there were negative consequences as well. In this essay, both the positive and negative impacts of the changes brought about after the Civil War will be examined. When the Civil War concluded, and Slavery abolished in 1865, the African American people, who lived in the South, were ushered into an era where they had the opportunity to choose their destiny.…

    • 1031 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    America's current battle with racism is an unfortunate example of when history "repeats itself." The issues regarding racial inequality were confronted in the Civil War, then again during the Reconstruction era. Despite the efforts of both these events, racial conflicts still exist today. The Civil war is taught in schools to be the conflict that ended with the abolishment of slavery. While this marked a turning point in American history, racist belief systems did not disappear.…

    • 521 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    During 1867-1877 The Reconstruction period in America was referring to the civil war of rebuilding the south. The problem was African American didn’t have rights such as controlling their labor, having possession of land and family. While the south was under reconstruction, Andrew Johnson became president and emancipation freed Jefferson long. Jefferson and Andrew had different view point on race, Jefferson view was self-determination and Andrew Johnson believed in freedom for African Americans. In my essay I will be discussing the problem were Africans American didn’t the rights, The plan how the south would be reconstructed and the aftermath of the reconstruction of the south.…

    • 1060 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Known as the Reconstruction Era, the United States endured a financial revolution noticeable by; the growth of the industrial wealth, development of big business, large scale agronomy, and the upsurge of national labor unions and industrial struggle. With all this industrial change taking place around the country, the South was still in turmoil. The confusion in the South, arose from the abolition of slavery in 1865. Many former slaves faced an uncertainty in regards to their future in this country. Going from being completely dependent on their owners to being in total control of their own decisions.…

    • 816 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    After a war that divided the nation into two and claimed the lives of thousands of men, the country was devastated. The relations between the North and South had crumbled, causing the country to desperately need reunification. Many changes were made in American society after the Civil War in an attempt to reunify the United States and improve the country as a whole; however, these changes were primarily detrimental to society. These changes developed across eras in American history, including reconstruction, westward expansion, and industrialization. The following periods American history incited an incorrigible level of exploitation that ultimately governed the rest of the country during the respective period and afterwards: reconstruction…

    • 1531 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays