Reconstruction Equality

While Reconstruction could have been the opportunity to heal our country after the American Civil War. Unfortunately politics, greed and emotions got in the way of this. Society was a mess prior to the war, it was even worse after the war. Former slaves’ major goal was to achieve equality with whites. Southern whites’ goal was to ensure the blacks did not achieve equality. Legislation can change laws but it cannot change feelings. Reconstruction was an attempt at a social revolution that failed.
Former slaves’ major goal was to achieve equality with whites. Southern whites goal was to ensure the blacks did not achieve equality. Education was necessary for freedom and the slaves longed to be educated. Frederick Douglas, who was self-educated …show more content…
Eventually widows of black soldiers were granted survivor benefits from the government which had been previously denied. Black families were loyal to their families. It was not uncommon for an African American family to adopt the children of lost family members, saving this expense from the government. Political activity by radical republicans in the north as well as by activists in the south, brought about a decree by congress in 186 giving black men the right to vote, the ultimate symbol of freedom. Reconstruction did remove black children from the workforce to allow for them to go to school. It also allowed black women to leave the workforce in order to be at home to raise their families. A few attitudes were changed through Reconstruction. Illinois Republican leader Jesse Fell expressed in front of Congress that blacks’ “present nominal freedom is nothing but a mockery,” acknowledging the fact that there was much work to be done in order to protect blacks’ …show more content…
Slavery has always been a part of history. Between 1500 and 1820, of the 12.5 million person to come to North America, 10 million of them were African Americans. During the late 18th century, Virginia and Maryland volunteered to free their slaves out of patriotism to their new country. Even George Washington willed his slaves to be freed upon the death of his wife. He also put it in his will that the children of his slaves were to be educated in order to provide for themselves in their freedom. So there were a few lame attempts and trying to do the right thing by slaves. There were even a few free blacks who owned their own slaves but this was not very common. Most freed slaves lived a life of poverty doing laborious tasks with very little pay. In our countries constitution, slaves were referred to as “other persons” so as not to “contaminate the glorious fabric of American