Two characteristics of the reconstruction had to do with the battle over the rights of now free formerly enslaved people, and in that same thought, the abuse of the now freed enslaved population in retaliation. Even when rejoining the union, Mississippi would not ratify the 13th amendment that abolished slavery (Mintz, S., & McNeil). Starting with this state, other previously confederate states start to create legal codes that aim to deny these people rights to rent or buy land of their own. These were called the “Black Codes.” These sought to punish black people for existing, with laws allowing the arrest of anyone black on such things as idleness, mischief, or insulting gestures. With these laws in place, the state essentially reinstated slavery by another name (Foner). Auctioning off those who had been arrested or placing them on a chain gang. Other ways of trying to keep control came in acts like debt bonding tenant farming, and sharecropping. This led to congress attempting to give more power to the Freedmen’s Bureau, whose goal it was to provide education and medical care to those formerly enslaved (Mintz, S., & McNeil). This was not much better and enforced the vagrancy laws and oversaw contracts between black Americans and their former enslavers. In retaliation, groups arose like the initial fraternity turned terrorist group, the Ku Klux Klan, who attempted to impede upon black voters and formerly enslaved people from serving in the government (Wormser).
A third important issue was the struggle with admitting the confederate states back into the union, and the struggle between congress and presidential power. Lincoln was not willing to commit to a plan, and he and Congress did not entirely see eye to eye on what grounds to accept them back in (Mintz, S., & McNeil). Johnson was overly lenient, creating a list of requirements that must be met and then not standing by. Readily accepting the states back even with their refusal to comply. Congress did not like leniency and refused confederates in congress. To prevent the president from obstructing the reconstruction program, Congress passed laws to limit powers of the president.
The definition of freedom during the reconstruction varied greatly depending on where you were asking and for whom. For Congress, it meant education and political power in voting and serving on juries and in government. For President Johnson, it was undefined and optional. For the former confederacy, it was nothing but words in an amendment that they strove to get around with racist codes and laws dedicated in re-enslaving the formerly enslaved. There is still a fight, especially in the south. Racism is still rampant, and people are still hung for nothing but existing with black skin. My definition of freedom differs significantly. I do not think freedom should be called without true equity. Reparations should be paid and more programs to help the communities where our ongoing history of discrimination has made it impossible to catch up to the old money families that once kept enslaved humans. The monopolies on land and in commerce need to be broken, wages made fair and given to those who work. Healthcare needs to be affordable or free for all, and doctors need to be retrained without racist textbooks still in circulation.
There were some activists in congress who were determined to enforce decisions that were aimed to keep the black community free and safe, but this period did not last long (Mintz, S., & McNeil). Black leaders and politicians attempted to rise but often met violence such as the Colfax Massacre (Lewis).
The redeemers reacted to the protection of civil rights with violence, leading to the uprising of groups such as the Ku Klux Klan (Mintz, S., & McNeil).
With the reconstruction backing government falling, Democrats gained the presidency and power and acquired the Supreme Court. This led to, “a comprehensive system of racial, political and economic inequality, summarized in the phrase Jim Crow, had come into being across the South (Foner).”
Mintz, S., & McNeil, S. (2018). Digital History. Retrieved 2 February 2025 from
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu
Foner, Eric. “Why Reconstruction Matters.” The New York Times New York, 28 March 2015. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/29/opinion/sunday/why-reconstruction-matters.html
Wormser, Richard. “Jim Crow Stories: The Ku Klux Klan.” Thirteen PBS, Educational Broadcasting Corporation, 2002. https://www.thirteen.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_events_kkk.html
Lewis, Danny. “The 1873 Colfax Massacre Set Back the Reconstruction Era.” Smithsonian Magazine, April 13, 2023. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/1873-colfax-massacre-crippled-reconstruction-180958746/
A third important issue was the struggle with admitting the confederate states back into the union, and the struggle between congress and presidential power. Lincoln was not willing to commit to a plan, and he and Congress did not entirely see eye to eye on what grounds to accept them back in (Mintz, S., & McNeil). Johnson was overly lenient, creating a list of requirements that must be met and then not standing by. Readily accepting the states back even with their refusal to comply. Congress did not like leniency and refused confederates in congress. To prevent the president from obstructing the reconstruction program, Congress passed laws to limit powers of the president.
The definition of freedom during the reconstruction varied greatly depending on where you were asking and for whom. For Congress, it meant education and political power in voting and serving on juries and in government. For President Johnson, it was undefined and optional. For the former confederacy, it was nothing but words in an amendment that they strove to get around with racist codes and laws dedicated in re-enslaving the formerly enslaved. There is still a fight, especially in the south. Racism is still rampant, and people are still hung for nothing but existing with black skin. My definition of freedom differs significantly. I do not think freedom should be called without true equity. Reparations should be paid and more programs to help the communities where our ongoing history of discrimination has made it impossible to catch up to the old money families that once kept enslaved humans. The monopolies on land and in commerce need to be broken, wages made fair and given to those who work. Healthcare needs to be affordable or free for all, and doctors need to be retrained without racist textbooks still in circulation.
There were some activists in congress who were determined to enforce decisions that were aimed to keep the black community free and safe, but this period did not last long (Mintz, S., & McNeil). Black leaders and politicians attempted to rise but often met violence such as the Colfax Massacre (Lewis).
The redeemers reacted to the protection of civil rights with violence, leading to the uprising of groups such as the Ku Klux Klan (Mintz, S., & McNeil).
With the reconstruction backing government falling, Democrats gained the presidency and power and acquired the Supreme Court. This led to, “a comprehensive system of racial, political and economic inequality, summarized in the phrase Jim Crow, had come into being across the South (Foner).”
Mintz, S., & McNeil, S. (2018). Digital History. Retrieved 2 February 2025 from
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu
Foner, Eric. “Why Reconstruction Matters.” The New York Times New York, 28 March 2015. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/29/opinion/sunday/why-reconstruction-matters.html
Wormser, Richard. “Jim Crow Stories: The Ku Klux Klan.” Thirteen PBS, Educational Broadcasting Corporation, 2002. https://www.thirteen.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_events_kkk.html
Lewis, Danny. “The 1873 Colfax Massacre Set Back the Reconstruction Era.” Smithsonian Magazine, April 13, 2023. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/1873-colfax-massacre-crippled-reconstruction-180958746/