During the Reconstruction period, the North and the South had very different ideas on how to handle all of the new problems in America regarding the freed slaves. Though the North and the South had contradictory ideas that ranged from the basic needs of the freed slaves to establishing new state governments, the Reconstruction period strived to unify the North and the South. In the Reconstruction period, freedom was a new idea for many African Americans and they aimed to establish all of their new rights, even if they were unsure of their lives after the Civil War. The North and South, both having different ideas, had two different ways to meet the basic needs for food, service, and industry. Most of the Northerners believed that the freedmen …show more content…
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. The Civil Rights Act of 1875 gave freedmen, and white men the same rights and legal protection, regardless of different laws. Though the bill said that blacks could serve on juries, the bill did not provide the means for enforcement. Although these acts were no longer enforced, they served as a model for the civil rights acts passed in the twentieth century. The South used different laws called black codes. These codes were like another type of slavery that would place whites higher than blacks, instead of everyone being equal. If a black man was not employed, he would be arrested and probably not be able to pay the fines. Even during this time, the whites struggled to see if the blacks should have the right to carry arms, but other codes told the African Americans that they could own property. During this time, a group was formed of former Confederate soldiers that met in secret. This group was called the Ku Klux Klan, and they were determined to place the whites above the blacks. The most targeted by the Ku Klux were the black businessmen and landowners who were unsuccessful. Having many prominent people in the Ku Klux Klan, this would give them even more power. More than 1,300 freedmen, in 1868, were hung without a fair trial. Finally, Congress passed the Force Act in 1870 and the Ku Klux Act 1871 which outlawed the use
Finally, with the ratification the fifteenth amendment in 1870s, it secured the vote for the African Americans, and it forbid states from denying any citizens from the right to vote based on race, color, or “previous condition of servitude.” These three amendments were significant changes during the Reconstruction period because all people, not just white, can fully enjoy being an American citizen without worrying over their race or
This upset Southern whites tremendously. In order to solve the problem, the Ku Klux Klan, which was formed in 1866 made a significant come back by jumping up their violence and intimidating acts. Their goal was “to intimidate blacks so that they would fear for their lives and stop supporting the Republican Party” (222). In order to accomplish this, the Klansmen set out wearing their full white cloaks to whip, shoot, and rape the freedmen who were able to vote. They made camp at the poll stations and gave warning to the African Americans who were planning to go to them in order to vote.
The Klan has inspired others to create their own groups to enforce white superiority; these groups would have parade floats, sponsored public events, free speakers and partake in cross burnings such as the KKK does. The Klan eventually expanded their violence towards small farmers, planters, lawyers, merchants, physicians, and many more. The KKK became so powerful in the regions where most of the Klan was, that members of the local police departments belonged to the KKK or they did not take any actions against the Ku Klux Klan. This problem only got worse; the people who were convicted to have been in the KKK could not find anyone to testify against them in court, so they never really got sentenced for any
Up until the Ku Klux Act, the Ku Klux Klan’s (KKK) influence spread throughout the Southern states and acted as a violent and driving continuation of the Confederate movement after the Civil War. It was created right after the Civil War by six Confederate Army veterans. Not only had the South just suffered their most humiliating military loss, but they also lost the institution of slavery, money, government power and beloved family members. As a result of their loss in the Civil War and the emancipation of their slaves, the Southern white man felt great embarrassment and humiliation. Though he could not preserve the institution of slavery, he now felt an obligation to preserve and reassert white supremacy.
In the South, there was a group called the Ku Klux Klan, or the KKK. They would run rampant killing whoever they pleased, and no one would stop them. The KKK would kill political figures who supported Reconstruction or freedman. In a testimony to the Senate, Abram Colby states, “On the 29th of October 1869, [the Klansmen] broke my door open , took me out of my bed, took me to the woods and whipped me three hours or more and left me for dead” (Colby 513). The KKK targeted African Americans and tortured them to death.
Although slavery had been outlawed by the Thirteenth Amendment, it continued in many southern states. In an effort to get around laws passed by Congress, southern states created black codes, which were discriminatory state laws which aimed to keep white supremacy in place. While the codes granted certain freedoms to African Americans, their primary purpose was to fulfill an important economic need in the postwar South. To maintain agricultural production, the South had relied on slaves to work the land. Black codes were restrictive laws designed to limit the freedom of African Americans and ensure their ties to the land.
The KKK was a white supremacist group that utilized intimidation and violence to keep white control over the political and economic structures of the state. Despite being outlawed in the early 1870s, the Klan continued to operate in North Carolina and had a crucial part in the establishment of the Democratic Party in the state in the late nineteenth century. During this period, North Carolina was also home to a number of other white supremacist organizations, such as the Red Shirts and the White Brotherhood, in addition to the Ku Klux Klan. For the sake of maintaining their hold on political power, these organizations engaged in acts of violence and
Following the ending of the Civil War in 1865, America was in an era known as the Reconstruction. The Reconstruction lasted until 1877. Citizens were attempting to rebuild our nation following one of the deadliest war in American History. In this time, the Fourteenth Amendment and Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution were ratified. Although slaves were freed, African Americans still faced intense racial prejudice and discrimination.
The KKK was a white nationalized group that included former veterans, which created the first branch of the group. The Klansmen founded in 1865, in Pulaski, Tennessee, is now known as the birthplace of the KKK. This group dedicated themselves to a campaign of violence to Republican leaders and voters. The KKK targeted many people based on their race or sexuality , including, Gays, Immigrants, African Americans, and Catholics(KKK history). Jim Crow laws,
Introduction In 1865, when Reconstruction was going on in Southern of the United States, it was the command topic being spoken. Reconstruction purpose was to restore the South in back to the union. Also to rebuild the southern government, society and political right. The main concern was if the reconstruction was a success or just a waste of time.
Freed slaves felt that reconstruction was going to help them so in general, they felt good about reconstruction. The Southerners hated reconstruction and everything else about the North. You can see
The Reconstruction Era of American history was plagued by many problems. One of the most important problems being the recently released from slavery Freedmen. Freedmen were in a tricky situation in which they had just been released from their owner and had nowhere to go, but the Federal Government made many successful attempts to help them out. The Government helped alleviate all the problems Freedmen had from their finances to basic needs and rights, and in doing so, made the period of reconstruction more helpful than harmful for Freedmen. The events of reconstruction were helpful to freedmen as they were not only freed from slavery, they were given rights directly from the federal government.
Disputes were caused by disagreements between the North’s and the South’s way of life. The Reconstruction’s purpose was supposed to be a time period of forgiveness for the Union. Consequently, it led to many disagreements between the North and South. Overall, reconstruction was a time period of challenges, which led to failures, rather than a period of
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..
Upon this, the Klu Klux Klan chose to dedicate themselves to a campaign of violence against both black and white Republican leaders and voters. They did this as an effort to change the policies of Radical Reconstruction in the South (“Klu Klux Klan”). They wanted to reinstate white supremacy in the South as to how it was back before the Revolution and before Reconstruction. Other groups, such as the Knights of the White Camelia and the White Brotherhood, joined in on this with the Klu Klux Klan. Due to this dedication by these groups and the KKK, at least ten percent of the black legislators that were elected between 1867 and 1868 were subject to violence due to discrimination.