Black Codes example essay topic

Chapter 22: The Ordeal of Reconstruction After the war, one of the big questions was what to do with all the free blacks? It was a confusing tie as some masters re-enslaved their former slaves and some were even loyal to their master and stayed. Eventually all of the blacks were freed despite the angry plantation owners' reluctance to give them up. The freed men were now entitled to an education, but despite all the freedoms that they had won, they faced another century of discrimination before finally getting the rights that they deserved.

The Freedman's Bureau was set into place in order to train the unskilled and illiterate blacks. Yet, it was as successful as it wash hoped to be as there was further discrimination of the newly freed men. There was now a time of presidential reconstruction as Andrew Johnson took over Lincoln's seat. He was much feared for his temper and being a great fighter, but he followed along with a lot of bills and plans that Lincoln was passing, such as the Ten Percent Plan.

The plan allowed a state to enter the Union as long as ten percent of the population was willing and all the slaves were emancipated, even though the radicals were fighting for much larger numbers. The South had its own agenda for dealing with the newly freed blacks; they used the Black Codes. These codes stated that the black's wages would be kept low and they could not rent or even lease land. This made a mockery of their newly found freedom, and made many people wonder if all the blood that was shed on the battlefields of the Civil War were even worth it... Luckily President Johnson responded quickly with the Civil Rights Act that stated that all blacks were American citizens and nullified the negative effects of the Black Codes. The Reconstruction Act of 1867 divided the South into five specific zones, disenfranchised many former Confederate soldiers and laid down the guidelines for readmission into the union.

The state had to agree to the 14th Amendment, making all blacks citizens and had to guarantee full suffrage of all male slaves. The 15th Amendment, passed in 1869, gave the blacks the right to vote, which was a huge step in their progress towards equality. By 1877, the last of the states had complied with these regulations and Reconstruction was finally over. Although the women of the day were not content, as none of these Amendments helped their cause, many of the blacks began exercising their freedoms in the South. They organized politically and ran the Union League and even held political offices.

Even women took part in this new glory as they attended parades and rallies in their communities. Along with their freedom, the blacks received much hatred and discrimination from the racist and jealous whites, as they formed organizations against them. The President was even disliked by the radicals, but he ended up barely hanging on to the office after testimony. He later purchased Alaska from the Russians, and it wasn't until later did they realize the benefit of all the gold and oil in Alaska.