Even though the government adopted the Voting Rights Act in 1965, African Americans’ suffrages were still restricted because of southern states’ obstructions. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was important for blacks to participate in political elections, but before this act was passed, there were several events led to its proposal. The government gave African Americans’ the right to vote by passing the 15th Amendment, but in the Southern States, blacks’ suffrages were limited by grandfather clauses, “poll taxes, literacy tests, and other bureaucratic restrictions” (ourdocuments.gov). As times went on, most African Americans couldn’t register their votes.
Southerners eventually let african americans work for them. However, they were sharecroppers meaning they have to borrow money to get everything going, and by the time they make their money back they are so much in debt they aren’t making any profit off of it. The landowner is getting all the money. In reality, it’s like they are still slaves, because they are doing work and not getting paid for it. Whatever money that they get goes right to the landowner for the money they had to borrow to grow the crops.
Reflection on the Reconstruction Period The reconstruction period was a time of cause and effect. It was a time when in order to rebuild the strength of society economically, socially, and politically after a the loss of life and stability in the civil war. In the socratic seminar we discussed how the during the reconstruction period the goal was to ‘fix’ the south as in the eyes of the government, they were the cause of the problem.
The Civil War allowed the United States to make the changes necessary to unify the country. In addition, it began one of the most transitional periods in the United States’ history. This period, the Reconstruction, brought about many political, social, and economic changes, which were both beneficial and disagreeable. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, the Panic of 1873, and the formation of the Ku Klux Klan are just a few examples of heavily impacting events for the United States. During the Reconstruction period there were numerous political transformations in the country.
DBQ Essay Did you know the 13th amendment gave African Americans their freedom from slavery. Then the 14th amendment gave them their citizenship. Finally, the 15th amendment was passed so that they had the right to vote. These amendments were passed during reconstruction. Even with these amendments, freedmen’s lives didn’t change much socially, economically, and politically throughout reconstruction.
The freedom in the new society led to more improvements and beliefs on how to make the changed society better. During the period of Reconstruction, three new amendments passed that had to do with the freedom and rights of freed African Americans. The 13th Amendment, passed in 1865, abolished slavery once and for all. Passed in 1866, the 14th Amendment gave everyone who was born in America full citizenship. Lastly, the 15th Amendment said that no citizen can be denied the right to vote because of your race, the color of your skin, or of previous conditions of enslavement.
This was a huge relief for America considering how long the North and South had conflicts with each other. After the war the South was destroyed and needed the years during the reconstruction to rebuild itself. Meanwhile, during the following years, the South was so focused on regaining what they had lost during the war they were not concerned about battling with the North. The South had over three million newly freed slaves to focus on rather than trying to gain their power back. Therefore, the North and South were finally at peace during the reconstruction because the South was focused on rebuilding their society rather than gaining control over the
The right of citizens of the body United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. This amendment was proposed on February 26, 1869, and ratified on February 3, 1870. African Americans who had been slaves became citizens under the terms of the 14th Amendment. The 15th Amendment does not specifically say that they must be allowed to vote. The states are free to set qualifications for voters.
The American civil war led to the reunion of the South and the North. But, its consequences led the Republicans to take the lead of reconstructing what the war had destroyed especially in the South because it contained larger numbers of newly freed slaves. Just after the civil war, America entered into what was called as the reconstruction era. Reconstruction refers to when “the federal government established the terms on which rebellious Southern states would be integrated back into the Union” (Watts 246). As a further matter, it also meant “the process of helping the 4 million freed slaves after the civil war [to] make the transition to freedom” (DeFord and Schwarz 96).
Nevertheless, after the civil war this amendment was to provide blacks citizenship into the United States. To make them feel a part of their country, to provide life and liberty. This was to provide social justice for African Americans. Economically, former slaves no longer had to work
Schurz said the “blacks would need federal protection, land of their own, and voting rights until whites can lose their past”. The 14th amendment was put into place because it granted all persons born in the U.S naturalization. Which also dealt with voting rights. This brought about the 15th Amendment which prohibiting states from depriving any citizen of the right to vote because of their race, color or previous conduction of servitude.
The American Civil War that was started due to the controversy over slavery in 1861, was won by The Union supported by President Lincoln against the Confederate states. President Lincoln’s original goal during the civil war was to reunify the nation as quickly as possible and help both sides come to an understanding. After the Civil War ended in 1865, the newly formed United States’ reconstruction era began. The Reconstruction era was put into effect by the Congress in 1866 and lasted until 1877. The Union’s victory in the Civil War had given African Americans a new sense of hope, devastated the southern economy, and eased the history of disunity in American political life.
Civil War became the reason for extinction of slavery and surrendering of all the Confederate armies along with dissolution of the Confederate Government in United States and gave a stronger federal government to the nation. The Civil War from 1861 to 1865 is considered
African Americans and slaves who were emancipated after the civil war were given citizenship and equal rights by the fourteenth amendment in 1868. In 1870 the African American men were given the right to vote by the fifteenth amendment. Although, African Americas were given privileges of individual freedoms ensured by the United States under the thirteen fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments, recognized as
The 14th Amendment was adopted in 1868 and gave blacks citizenship. The 15th Amendment stated that blacks can vote in 1870. After the Civil War was resolved, all states were forced to abide by these amendments, whether they liked it or not. Many pro-slavery states passed Jim Crow Laws as a way to create a legal loophole to keep black people in their place. They were a series a legislative acts and social attitudes that called for