Reconstruction Video

 When the Civil War ended, the United States was split into two very different "nations" that had to work together again as a single country. There was a lot of hope for everyone after the Civil War. But for African Americans and freed slaves, that hope would turn into sadness again. Even though the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments had just been passed, "superior" white people still treated African Americans very badly. For instance, when Jim Crow laws were put in place, they took away the rights that African Americans had under those old laws and papers. These rules weren't made by the federal government. Instead, they were made by state and local governments that were given the power by the federal government to separate slaves and treat freed slaves horribly. Freed slaves were very poor because they had no wages, land, or anything else to their name. They also had to deal with segregation and anger. In this way, they were already way behind the rest of society, and then having their newly won rights taken away put us right back where we started.

We all know that Abraham Lincoln fought hard to win the Civil War and give freed slaves the rights they won and deserved. He was famously killed before he could see his work put into action in the newly changed United States. Andrew Jackson became president in his place. Frederick Douglass, an abolitionist, said, "Andrew Jackson is no friend of the black." Douglass was right when he said that. Jackson believed that the Planters, who were wealthy white southerners, were to blame for the Civil War and all of its horrible events. However, Jackson mostly forgot about the Planters' mistakes during the war. In exchange, the former Confederates were given their land back. This land was first given to freed slaves to help them start businesses and build the black community in the South. This made the freed slaves refuse to leave the land they were given by the government, which caused a lot of trouble between whites and blacks again.

To get rid of the freed slaves, the state and local governments of the South got back to work when things got tense. Once more, the Black Codes were passed to take away the rights of African Americans. These rules recognized that slavery ended, but they made sure that for African Americans living in the South, not much changed from slavery to ending. A lot of white people hated black people, which went hand in hand with the Black Codes and led to riots, deaths, and general violence in the South. Three years later, when the Fourteenth Amendment was passed, these rules took over the lives of freed slaves. Because of what the Fourteenth Amendment said, southern states had to make new constitutions, approve the law that gave African Americans the right to vote, and make new laws for freed slaves.

Most of the time, Reconstruction worked because it led to three new amendments that made it clear that African Americans had rights and could not be treated badly because of their race or past. Even though there were federal rules in place, the states and towns still decided how to treat African Americans. As a result, not many changes were made or steps were taken toward a more civil society. In fact, whites and blacks still don't get along perfectly, and it's likely they never will. Violence and rebellion in the South before the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments were passed helped get them passed. These changes might not have been made if there wasn't that unrest. Some "good" things came from the battles of Reconstruction in this way.