After the Civil War, African Americans were freed from the bondage of slavery and released into society as human beings, something they were not seen as before. The racial tension following the abolition of slavery was very evident in the south and taken at different angles by different people. Freedmen now expect freedom and equality while the whites in the south, and even some of the government were not ready to see the African Americans as equal citizens. Because of the disagreement of the future of the citizenship of the Blacks, there was a huge racial divide throughout America that affected African Americans throughout the country. Following the Civil War, African Americans were given land in the south. Under General William Sherman’s field order 15, thousands of black families were given land and opportunity. This is where the saying “40 Acres and a mule” comes from, following the field order that gave 40 acres of abandoned land by former plantation holders to newly freed black families. The blacks expressed that all they wants was freedom, protection of this freedom, and to be left alone as equal citizens. The government had put in place laws and many people from the north came down to help liberate and educate the former slaves. Schools and churches were now being built all over the south for the Blacks. The former slaves wanted nothing more than to be educated, and were often most disappointed that they had their education taken away from them. Teachers from the north came down and worked to make them literate. Once they were literate they were able to be as educated and smart as the whites. They would no longer get taken advantage of and they would be able to fight for the rights they knew they should have. Blacks were growing their own communities and growing as a people. They finally had the ability to know and execute their rights. Although the government had laws to protect the Freedmen and their rights, many southern states had taken advantage of the leniency of the enforcement of the laws and made their own laws. These were often referred to as black codes. Whites implemented these to give themselves power over the blacks once again. One example of black codes were the Mississippi Black Codes. They placed laws such as no interracial marriage and the right for Whites to “recapture” them if they leave their fields and refuse to work. The absence of government force led to the whites making an “institution a system of near-slavery”¹. These codes degraded the blacks and gave them power to mistreat blacks as if they were slaves again. Blacks held no power in society, whether it be political, judicial, or just societal. Blacks held no voice in court and many never were brought to fair trial; those who were were usually wrongfully convicted of their crimes and unfairly punished. Blacks had no chance of being in a political position nor in most other positions that weren’t labor focused. They had to respect white people and fear for their lives when faced in any conflict. Following the creation of the codes, a group of white southerners from Tennessee become a racial supremacist terrorist group called the Ku Klux Klan, famously known as KKK. They enforced the role of white supremacy throughout the south, reigning terror through the black community and whites that supported or helped them. They started killing innocent blacks and their white counterparts. The Ku Klux Klan spread throughout the states, demanding the power they had lost with the
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One of the most famous abolitionists of African American discrimination was W. E. B. Dubois. Dubois was a northern black man, born in a predominantly white town. He argued that blacks needed to stand up and fight for what they want. In his essay “Souls of Black Folks”, he states “unless his striving be not simply seconded,. . .he cannot hope for great success. . . .”. He urges blacks to strive for what they want, fighting for their rights, and refusing to be compliant with the discrimination they are facing throughout the nation. Dubois argues that higher education, political power, and civil rights are necessary for a satisfying
One of the most famous abolitionists of African American discrimination was W. E. B. Dubois. Dubois was a northern black man, born in a predominantly white town. He argued that blacks needed to stand up and fight for what they want. In his essay “Souls of Black Folks”, he states “unless his striving be not simply seconded,. . .he cannot hope for great success. . . .”. He urges blacks to strive for what they want, fighting for their rights, and refusing to be compliant with the discrimination they are facing throughout the nation. Dubois argues that higher education, political power, and civil rights are necessary for a satisfying