To begin with, the economic plight during Reconstruction affected both African Americans and white southerners. Sherman’s march to the sea had destroyed copious amounts of farmland necessary for the livelihoods of most southerners, and they also lost all of the money they invested in slaves, then considered a form of wealth. African Americans finally free from slavery owned nothing and had no prospects. Lacking education, skills aside from manual farm labor, money to start out, and job opportunities, they struggled to find work and support themselves. As a result, sharecropping, tenant farming, and poverty suppressed the abilities of blacks and forced them into a system of “economic slavery,” (Jackson n.p). My plan involving the economic
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What if the North attempted to organize that force into paid labor camps which offered former slaves housing and food, as well as land payment? In the west, numerous free land territories lay, empty with potential, to eventually be sold cheaply under the Homestead Act. The entire infrastructure of the South also needed restored after the war, especially since Sherman and his men burned and destroyed much of the land during the March to the Sea. Plenty of manual labor existed for a force of African Americans looking to get started in the world. Paid labor camps, if set up and run effectively, could solve both the issue of how to pay African Americans, and offer payment to the South by rebuilding what the North destroyed. Of course, under the circumstances, their payment would seem less than what a man may make for that kind of work, however they also would not have to pay for food or housing, as it would be provided. The idea for a labor camp such as this came from the Civilian Conservation Corp formed by President Roosevelt in 1933 and supervised by the army during the Great Depression. The organization served to promote natural conservation and employ men without jobs in difficult …show more content…
According to the authors of The Reader’s Companion to American History, “In less than 10 years, the Civilian Conservation Corp built more than 800 parks and planted nearly 3 billion trees nationwide,” (Foner, Garraty n.p). Training and disciplining a large group of men also proved quite useful as, “The army’s experience in managing such large numbers and the paramilitary discipline learned by corpsmen provided unexpected preparation for the massive call-up of civilians in World War II,” (Foner, Garraty n.p). With any radical suggestion such as this, criticism will come, and in this case, the problem lies in ability and money. Most African Americans, thanks to slavery, had never been educated and knew nothing but manual farm labor. They, of course, would need training by northerners who would willingly invest their time in order to improve the lives of African Americans. Historically, northerners tended to lose patience and interest in trying to fix the country. A program similar to the CCC camps would require ongoing supervision, which may be found in the army. However at the time, the Government likely would not want to enforce martial law in work camps, considering the Civil War had just ended and
What if the North attempted to organize that force into paid labor camps which offered former slaves housing and food, as well as land payment? In the west, numerous free land territories lay, empty with potential, to eventually be sold cheaply under the Homestead Act. The entire infrastructure of the South also needed restored after the war, especially since Sherman and his men burned and destroyed much of the land during the March to the Sea. Plenty of manual labor existed for a force of African Americans looking to get started in the world. Paid labor camps, if set up and run effectively, could solve both the issue of how to pay African Americans, and offer payment to the South by rebuilding what the North destroyed. Of course, under the circumstances, their payment would seem less than what a man may make for that kind of work, however they also would not have to pay for food or housing, as it would be provided. The idea for a labor camp such as this came from the Civilian Conservation Corp formed by President Roosevelt in 1933 and supervised by the army during the Great Depression. The organization served to promote natural conservation and employ men without jobs in difficult …show more content…
According to the authors of The Reader’s Companion to American History, “In less than 10 years, the Civilian Conservation Corp built more than 800 parks and planted nearly 3 billion trees nationwide,” (Foner, Garraty n.p). Training and disciplining a large group of men also proved quite useful as, “The army’s experience in managing such large numbers and the paramilitary discipline learned by corpsmen provided unexpected preparation for the massive call-up of civilians in World War II,” (Foner, Garraty n.p). With any radical suggestion such as this, criticism will come, and in this case, the problem lies in ability and money. Most African Americans, thanks to slavery, had never been educated and knew nothing but manual farm labor. They, of course, would need training by northerners who would willingly invest their time in order to improve the lives of African Americans. Historically, northerners tended to lose patience and interest in trying to fix the country. A program similar to the CCC camps would require ongoing supervision, which may be found in the army. However at the time, the Government likely would not want to enforce martial law in work camps, considering the Civil War had just ended and