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Reconstruction Dbq

491 Words2 Pages

Although slavery was declared over after the passing of the thirteenth amendment, African Americans were not being treated with the respect or equality they deserved. Socially, politically and economically, African American people were not being given equal opportunities as white people. They had certain laws directed at them, which held them back from being equal to their white peers. They also had certain requirements, making it difficult for many African Americans to participate in the opportunity to vote for government leaders. Although they were freed from slavery, there was still a long way to go for equality through America’s reconstruction plan. In social settings, African Americans faced many challenges due to what the US had planned …show more content…

To make voting more difficult for black people, many were required to take a test called a “literacy test.” The literacy tests were given to people who couldn’t prove they had a fifth grade education or higher. If they got one question wrong, they would fail the entire test, and would not be allowed to vote. (Document 6: Louisiana Literacy Test from the 1960s) The questions on the test had complicated instructions written with the intent of making people fail. An example of a question would be, “Above the letter ‘x’ make a small cross.” (Document 6: Louisiana Literacy Test from the 1960s) Sharecropping was a system of farming used after the slaves were set free. Landowners would rent out a portion of their land to former slaves. In return, the farmers would sell the landowners their crops. The landowners took advantage of their tenants by overcharging for land and underpaying for the crops. The tenants began falling deeper into debt. They could not leave until they paid off their debt, which was nearly impossible. Although former slaves had been freed, they were still facing many struggles in free life. America’s plan for reconstruction had good intent, but did not give African Americans the equality they deserved. From segregation and voting laws to sharecropping, reconstruction did not turn out to be the success it had the potential to be. Many years later, we are

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1281 Words | 6 Pages

Just after Reconstruction, life for African Americans began to go downhill as all of their newly gained rights became suppressed because of the new laws and systems that were put in place. Many African Americans that stayed in the South did so because they wanted to continue working in agriculture, and, therefore, had the end goal of getting their own land, which let them fall into the trap that was sharecropping. Africans Americans would rent small plots of land from a landowner, and pay their debts in the form of a portion of their crops. There was also the vagrancy law, which caused any African American that was not working and had no proof that they had a job to be arrested. This leads to the convict lease system, in which wealthy, usually Caucasian American, people rented out prisoners for labor.

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1287 Words | 6 Pages

More specifically, he argues that the common goals freed slaves faced between 1830 and 1860—racial animus and Southern planters’ resistance— resurfaced again in the early 1900s. The planter class used their financial and political wherewithal to subjugate black laborers in a state of perpetual servitude—ex. sharecropping. “Keep the Negroes in the South and make them satisfied with their lot.” In response, the Negro Rural School Fund employed industrial supervisors to teach black educators. James Anderson also recounts the urbanization of the South and its impact upon the public education landscape. He sheds light upon the absence of black high schools in rural areas in the years following Reconstruction.

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663 Words | 3 Pages

A freedmen is taking part in sharecropping as he gives most of the crops he produced to the land’s owner. He hopes for a better life, but he knows he will be forever indebted to the landowner. While some things changed for the better, the acceptance of African Americans was still scarce. During Reconstruction, the life of freedmen did change politically, but not socially or economically.

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639 Words | 3 Pages

Each of these four articles explain why the United States government failed in reconstruction based on generations that pass by. Thomas W. Wilson’s talks and displays about how the government attempted taking over the South. Carter Woodson pressures that most of the slaves were indignant while reconstruction was going on, where Thomas Bailey states that it’s the Radicals who are to be blamed for pushing it on the freed men. Lastly, Mary Beth Norton continues with the concern with the struggle of reconstruction that the South held from the beginning. Each author explains their understanding of why reconstruction had failed due to their generation and experience.

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364 Words | 2 Pages

During the nineteenth century, the abolition of slavery did not lead to many positive changes for former slaves. This was due the fact that a majority of newly freed slaves did not achieve anything close to political equality. An example can be seen in the period of “radical reconstruction” in the southern of United States, where freed blacks were able to gain full political rights and power but it came with the harsh price of segregation laws, virulent racism, denial of voting rights along with a wave of lynching that continued into the twentieth century. The economic lives of slaves also did not improve dramatically either. With the rise of the highly dependent labor like sharecropping, it had soon replace slavery and the reluctance

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450 Words | 2 Pages

During the Reconstruction period, between 1865 and 1877, the nation had a lot of work to do. After the Civil War, their was a huge impact left on the south. All slaves in the south were set free to help the union win the war. This did not make everyone happy. They had to learn to live and support themselves on their own.

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1217 Words | 5 Pages

Although the thirteenth amendment abolished slavery, white supremacy was maintained through black codes, convict leasing, and sharecropping. These policies kept African Americans at a disadvantage, particularly the exploitative practice of sharecropping. Although formerly enslaved people were granted access to small plots of land, they were required to share their profits with the landowners, leaving them with a meager income. Most formerly enslaved people lacked a family following emancipation due to the separation of enslaved families, making them defenseless against the discriminatory practices of white landowners. The Christian Recorder shows how displaced African American families were and how the necessity for money forced individuals into sharecropping positions.

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784 Words | 4 Pages

In the history of America, African Americans are oppressed and have had their civil liberties violated. The first African Americans are brought to the “New World” as slaves, against their own will and civil liberties. After the civil war, slavery ends and African Americans had more rights, making the first steps toward equality occur. However, still African Americans had to obey the Jim Crow Laws and led segregated lives, with the belief they are inferior. Still having their civil liberties violated, African Americans became disenfranchised and created a movement in the 20th century.

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192 Words | 1 Pages

African Americans faced discrimination in the mid-1800s in several ways. One example is that African Americans who were used as slaves in the South had no freedom. They weren’t considered to be citizens, which prevented them from voting, running for office, or suing in court. They weren’t allowed to leave the plantation without a pass, and they could be harshly and unfairly punished for their actions.

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591 Words | 3 Pages

Even though slaves were now freed, “African Americans in the West still faced racism” (Settling the Great Plains). Despite being declared free, their equality was still taken from them. By being discriminated against, the African Americans lost opportunities for jobs and to earn money. However, not only the African Americans, but white people suffered also. Those who moved to urban areas from their agricultural jobs left to find job opportunities with high wages.

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515 Words | 3 Pages

The reconstruction period was a failure because African Americans, mainly males, were not treated with equality although the constitution said that the they were free and had the right to vote, be educated and had the right to liberty, life and the pursuit to happiness. Organizations, like the KKK, were created to harm freed slaves and their families. Laws were created such as the Black Codes restricting former slaves from their rights. African Americans endured a lot of violence over the years. “In Grayson, Texas, a white man and two friends murdered three former slaves because the wanted to ‘ thin the niggers out and drive them to their hole’”.

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1533 Words | 7 Pages

Racism’s Impact on Reconstruction While the issue of slavery evidently contributed to the divide that resulted in the American Civil War, it is debated whether prevailing ideals of racism caused the failure of the era following the war known as Reconstruction. With the abolishment of slavery, many of the southern states had to reassemble the social, economic, and political systems instilled in their societies. The Reconstruction Era was originally led by a radical republican government that pushed to raise taxes, establish coalition governments, and deprive former confederates of superiority they might have once held. However, during this time common views were obtained that the South could recover independently and that African Americans

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473 Words | 2 Pages

Post Civil War, African Americans started to gain rights to gain rights, and soon gain rights equal to whites. While there were some people/things standing in their way (KKK, Black Codes), in the end they got what they needed; Equality. Many acts and laws were passed to aid the new rights now held by African Americans, as well as the numerous people willing to help. New Amendments were added to give African Americans rights after the war, all giving them some equal rights to whites. The first of the three added was the Thirteenth Amendment, it gave African Americans freedom from slave owners, and stated that no one could be kept as a slave in the U.S..

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835 Words | 4 Pages

Reconstruction caused prejudice and inequality. To elaborate, the creation of the Ku Klux Klan and the Black Codes were both in the time period of reconstruction, which caused chaos and violence throughout the Union. One of the goals of reconstruction was to repair the economy in the South, because it depended on slavery, which was now illegal, due to the thirteenth amendment. The South’s economic system now depended on Sharecropping, which caused former slaves to be in constant debt and was unjust to the black society. The reconstruction time period, was a time of dispute between the Union.

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985 Words | 4 Pages

Discrimination and inequality around the world is not something that can be denied. African American citizens first started out as slaves and later earned their freedom after the Civil War. However, throughout American history, black women and men faced countless amounts of discrimination from white Americans and have had their civil liberties taken away from them even thought they were free men and women. There have many civil rights movements lead by black activists to fight for black equality. However, even with so many civil rights movements, black men and women are still fighting against discrimination and equality.

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