The Reconstruction Era

The reason being so is it was a major turning point for anyone of color. The union who was of the north was for abolishing slavery which many felt were wrong even though they still didn’t consider them equal. The south was comprised of the confederacy which was a bunch of plantation owners who owned many slaves that tilled their fields. The north was losing at first two years after the start of the war the union allowed for runaway slaves and freed slaves to join its ranks. This was a major turning point now since white men fought alongside black men they were equal on the battlefield but not in pay.

The Civil War ended in 1865 leaving the south disappointed and angry. The Union decided to help the south get back on their feet and have equal rights. Since the Emancipation Proclamation was put in place, the South was not allowed to own slaves. This took a big part of their economy away, so many were displeased. While the Emancipation Proclamation provided hope for former slaves, the KKK and lack of resources ultimately ended in social and economic inequality for African Americans.

Jay Winik also believes that even the most devoted and hardcore confederates knew they were going to lose at the end of the war. During this time in the book it was fall of 1864, right around the time president Abraham Lincoln, was going to be reelected. Through out the book Winik expels more stories of the month of April. This book talks

The black slaves endeavored to escape from their owners to search for their family. Howard Zinn said, “And one of these conditions would be the elimination of that class exploitation which has made poor whites desperate for small gifts of status, and has prevented that unity of black and white necessary for joint rebellion and reconstruction. Will the reconstruction of society occur? Racism is a systematic form of oppression that exists today. The United States is the great experiment of democracy in which all races in society are able to live peacefully.

The slaves were just put in a world they have not been prepared for. Their whole lives were built around dedicating their life for free labor. Now they are free and must find labor, and get paid for it. No one wants to hire a Black man or woman. Then there were these things called the Black Codes that were created, they took away many of the slaves rights.

Although, many people thought it only protect only the weak competitors from better ones. But, it was before, the civil war that planters rely on; they were known as middlemen, who would sell their supplies to them. Once, they’ve done this it extended credit, along with marketing crops of their own through urban merchants. Well, in the south, hundreds of thousands of tenants, and sharecroppers who needed far more localized credit network. This would have been difficult without the idea of having a transcontinental railroad system.

The Battle of Gettysburg is the most prominent and widely discussed battle in the Civil War. It is important to understand the significance of this battle on the outcome of the Civil War. After pushing well into the Union territory, all of General Lee’s forces were pushed back to Gettysburg. Both sides would receive a massive number of casualties, but it was the Confederates in the end that would retreat. The North was able to take advantage of several different key military strategies, which would enable them to win the battle.

The African Americans were “free” but were still being treated like slaves. They were given rights but had them taken away and were working for very little pay which was unfair compared to how whites were working for more. The blacks couldn’t even own a house or even rent unless they worked for a white man. They couldn’t even work unless it was for some white person or former owner. This is why reconstruction in the south after the civil war was a big

Pertaining to the rights of African Americans a new south did not appear after the reconstruction. While they were “free” they were often treated harshly and kept in a version of economic slavery by either their former masters or other white people in power. Sharecropping and the crop-lien system often had a negative impact on both the black and white tenants keeping them in debt with the owner. Jim Crow laws, vigilantes and various means of disfranchisement became the normal way of life in the South. It was believed that white people were superior to black people and when they moved up in politics or socially they were harassed and threatened.

Adult slaves and the blood-related slave children of their masters were bought or sold by their masters. In south slaveholders’ mind, slaves were and tool of laboring for support slaveholders’ living. Slave masters only care about keeping slaves working for them as long as slaves can alive, and how much fortune and wealth slaves can bring to them according the amount labor they can do. Base on this, slave owners would “retire” or abandon, but not free any slaves who were too old to work and became less profitable for slave-owners, just as Douglass’s grandma. Meanwhile, their masters enjoyed whipping and mistreating them regardless of their action, but slaves had to endure their feeling and angry in order to survive, and not telling the truth about their masters.

Although, back then was a completely different story. The Interesting Story of the life of Olaudah Equiano by Olaudah Equiano shows not only the struggles of being a newcomer in America, but also the difficulties he had to persevere coming over. Slaves were considered property, and not humans, so they often received harsh treatment which sometimes even were serious injuries or death. “While we forgot our misfortunes in the joy of being together, but even that small comfort was soon to have an end”, Olaudah says and he is one of the many slave siblings that were torn apart by the selling and buying of slaves (Jefferson 57). This had to be devastating for him and his sister because not only are they thousands of miles away from home and family, but they were also torn from the little family they had left.

In the South, the blacks had not exactly won their freedom. Sure the Constitution was amended, but this didn 't mean they would get that kind of freedom. I can totally relate to the Blacks back in the day, how hard they had to go through because of some very evil people who think they just can control anything they want. Me as a human being and a nice person would never use someone against their will because I have a little of what they call power. The Blacks were force to work for farm owners for almost something that didn’t even exist, so I guess you can say they worked for free.

Since there weren’t any more indentured servants, the rich white land owning men needed a new and more efficient labor force. One that you weren’t required to release ever to prevent another rebellion, so the colonies looked towards africa and their coastal slavery deals where they could the buy lives of africans. Unlike what many people think, these were in fact purchases and were in fact from other africans who captured these people not because of their ethnicity, obviously, but because they were the enemy. The thought that blacks were inferior came mostly because of the difference in their religion and culture (which is the basis of every occurrence of slavery) as well as being servants to rich white landowning men. This later on lead to the thought that black skin was inferior.

Many groups and individuals were able to preserver and become outstanding members of society despite these attacks. The unfree slaves lives were still kept in check and gave little opportunity for escape from their farms or plantations and for those who escaped; they were either caught and beaten or faced death. Even if they were able to successfully escape they lived in a constant fear of being caught, which could lead to a return to their farm or being resold again. In the end, life was difficult for those free and unfree in society, the rules may have been adjusted, but never full changed to embrace the newer members to society and its classes; this eventually would set the tone and establish the groundwork for the growth of racism that would and has plagued this nation and others for many years. The Out of Ditch experience was for those who despite the conditions and challenges of the times were able to lift themselves out of the ditch of life that was lacking freedoms and be able to pursue life, as it should be equally for