Week 2 Reflection: Reconstruction and Rise of Jim Crow

Following the Civil War came the period of Reconstruction which lasted from 1865 to 1877. During Reconstruction efforts were made to promote and instill racial equality throughout the United States. Reconstruction lead to nearly 4 million African Americans being freed.  

The Freedmen’s Bureau was established by Congress. It was established in hopes of creating reinforcement between whites and blacks over disputes about land and labor. The Freedmen’s Bureaus also provided medical care and educational opportunities for former slaves. They also played a role in ensuring former slaves were receiving justice in the courts. During 1865, president Abraham Lincoln was assassinated very early during the Reconstruction movement. His assassination led to Vice President Andrew Jackson taking an immediate placement in office of the presidential seat. Lincoln and Johnsons visions for reconstruction weren’t the same. Johnson opposed rights for freed people. He vetoed all attempts to give rights to freedmen of the states. In 1865, Black Codes were created to deny African Americans the chance to buy or even rent land. There were also codes that denied African Americans to own weapons, marry whites and gather with each other after sunset. Some laws allowed whites to arrest blacks if they posed as a threat to them which really could be characterized as anything the whites thought were troubling. Some of these laws also resulted in African Americans being able to be auctioned off for up to a year. The 13th amendment ended up abolishing slavery in 1865. However, just because slavery was abolished doesn’t mean African Americas immediately obtained equal rights or were treated as equal just because they amendment freed them. 

In efforts to protect the freed African Americans, congress gave more power to the Freedmen’s Bureau. Congress creates the 14th amendment which grants citizenship to African Americans. This amendment also gave African Americans equal protection under the law and required states suffrage to male citizens. Laws under the 14th amendment were still hard to enforce. Some African American didn’t experience equality or access to goods and services. Frustration amongst whites due to the 14th amendment caused riots. So many African Americans were killed during these riots that the Northerners seen it necessary to take greater precautions to protect freed African Americans. 

In 1868, Johnson was impeached but was one vote short from being removed from office. Ulysses S. Grant was voted in as president in 1868. Due to only eight states in the north allowing African Americans the right to vote, congress created the 15th amendment. This amendment forbids the states from not allowing citizens the rights to vote due to race or religion. Discrimination against women literacy test, poll taxes and grandfather clauses were also not outlawed. 

During the 1870’s secret organizations such as the “Ku Klux Klan” were formed to scare and intimidate freed African Americans. These organizations burned houses these African Americans owned, beat and even killed them. Congress once again tried to protect these freed citizens by passing The Force and Ku Klux Klan act. These acts reinforced that these organizations couldn’t use violence in order to prevent African Americans to not vote. 

The Civil Rights Act of 1875 guaranteed equal rights to African Americans in public places. Blacks were also allowed on juries and a clause was formed that also allowed for desegregated schools. This began to lead to the end of Reconstruction as northern states being to allow the southern states to live within their beliefs. 

After the election in 1876, Reconstruction came to a complete end. This resulted in a new ruling class called “The redeemers”. They were between middle- and upper-class whites who took interest in industrial development and modernization. There were also more social interactions between whites and blacks. However, the redeemers wanted segregation. Jim Crow laws were created and took away African American rights that were received because the 14th and 15th amendment. Whites once again enforced these rules with intimidation. Lynching became one of the tactics used to intimidate African Americans. 

African Americans overcame the bare minimum during Reconstruction with the help of the 14th and 15th amendment only for this time period to end and their freedom be threatened again by Jim Crow. 

African American Male Voting

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Digital History by The College of Education at The University of Houston

Reuniting the Union: A Chronology

Website:http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtid=2&psid=3096