Ernie Royer
Alyssa Arnell
HIS 106
February 6th 2025
The Beginning of Freedom
Three main characteristics define freedom at the time of the reconstruction era. The most important are changes to the constitution, African American participation in politics, and the government's intervention to protect rights. These characteristics directly affect African American freedoms at the time, such as citizenship, holding political seats, equal rights, and protection from violence.
The rewriting of the US Constitution established rights for the formerly enslaved. The Civil Rights Act of 1866, and the 14th and 15th Amendments were crucial to this goal. “Congress enacted one of the most important laws in American history, the Civil Rights Act of 1866, still on the books today. It affirmed the citizenship of everyone born in the United States, regardless of race (except Indians, still considered members of tribal sovereignties). This principle, birthright citizenship, is increasingly rare in today’s world and deeply contested in our own contemporary politics because it applies to the American-born children of undocumented immigrants” (Foner). Birthright citizenship, legal equality, and suffrage began for black men. These societal changes directly relate to freedom and still have a massive effect on the political landscape today, as immigration law takes the forefront of US politics. Being recognized as a citizen as a citizen and given the same rights as all other US citizens is the basis of freedom to this day.
With the addition of the 15th Amendment to the US Constitution, African American men were now given the right to vote. “For the first time, African-Americans voted in large numbers and held public office at every level of government” (Foner). This new freedom allowed participation in the political system and meant having a voice in government, giving the power to shape the future of America.
The government had to take measures to protect the newly freed people. “In May 1870, Congress enacted the Enforcement Act to restrict the Ku Klux” (Wright). This protection from violence meant freedom from the terror and violence that racist white people used to assert dominance over African Americans.
These achievements were not widely accepted across all of America. White supremacist groups emerged, namely the KKK, who murdered Black politicians and were beyond brutal to all African Americans. Redeemers, formerly known as confederates, came up with ways to disenfranchise black voting rights such as the Mississippi Plan, which established poll taxes, literacy tests, and comprehension tests (National Constitution Center). The Supreme Court negatively contributed to African American rights at this time too. In U.S v. Cruikshank, U.S v. Reese, and Plessy v. Ferguson the court sided against African American rights. The Cruikshank case weakened the First and Second Amendments, to not apply to private citizens, as well as weakened the the Fourteenth Amendment's rights of due process and equal protection, stating it only applied to state actions instead of individuals (Federal Judicial Center). U.S. v. Reese the Supreme Court agreed voting rights should be regulated by states and not the federal government (Wright). In Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court upheld segregation, establishing the “Separate but Equal” doctrine (Wormser). The Mississippi plan was not a one-time isolated incident of racism, but rather part of a larger systemic effort to undermine Black politics, setting the stage for Jim Crow laws.
I did not use AI for this document except for Grammarly to groom my work and Mybib.com to generate bibliographies and intext citations.
Works Cited
Federal Judicial Center. “U.S. V. Cruikshank | Federal Judicial Center.” Fjc.gov, 2000, www.fjc.gov/history/timeline/us-v-cruikshank.
Foner, Eric. “Opinion | Why Reconstruction Matters.” The New York Times, 28 Mar. 2015, www.nytimes.com/2015/03/29/opinion/sunday/why-reconstruction-matters.html.
National Constitution Center. “Henry Louis Gates Jr. Discusses Reconstruction and the Rollback of African American Rights.” YouTube, 14 Aug. 2020, . Accessed 30 July 2021.
Wormser, Richard. “The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow. Jim Crow Stories. Plessy v. Ferguson | PBS.” Thirteen.org, 2019, www.thirteen.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_events_plessy.html.
Wright, Kianna. “The Enforcement Act of 1870 (1870-1871).” BlackPast, 12 Dec. 2019, www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/the-enforcement-act-of-1870-1870-1871/.
Alyssa Arnell
HIS 106
February 6th 2025
The Beginning of Freedom
Three main characteristics define freedom at the time of the reconstruction era. The most important are changes to the constitution, African American participation in politics, and the government's intervention to protect rights. These characteristics directly affect African American freedoms at the time, such as citizenship, holding political seats, equal rights, and protection from violence.
The rewriting of the US Constitution established rights for the formerly enslaved. The Civil Rights Act of 1866, and the 14th and 15th Amendments were crucial to this goal. “Congress enacted one of the most important laws in American history, the Civil Rights Act of 1866, still on the books today. It affirmed the citizenship of everyone born in the United States, regardless of race (except Indians, still considered members of tribal sovereignties). This principle, birthright citizenship, is increasingly rare in today’s world and deeply contested in our own contemporary politics because it applies to the American-born children of undocumented immigrants” (Foner). Birthright citizenship, legal equality, and suffrage began for black men. These societal changes directly relate to freedom and still have a massive effect on the political landscape today, as immigration law takes the forefront of US politics. Being recognized as a citizen as a citizen and given the same rights as all other US citizens is the basis of freedom to this day.
With the addition of the 15th Amendment to the US Constitution, African American men were now given the right to vote. “For the first time, African-Americans voted in large numbers and held public office at every level of government” (Foner). This new freedom allowed participation in the political system and meant having a voice in government, giving the power to shape the future of America.
The government had to take measures to protect the newly freed people. “In May 1870, Congress enacted the Enforcement Act to restrict the Ku Klux” (Wright). This protection from violence meant freedom from the terror and violence that racist white people used to assert dominance over African Americans.
These achievements were not widely accepted across all of America. White supremacist groups emerged, namely the KKK, who murdered Black politicians and were beyond brutal to all African Americans. Redeemers, formerly known as confederates, came up with ways to disenfranchise black voting rights such as the Mississippi Plan, which established poll taxes, literacy tests, and comprehension tests (National Constitution Center). The Supreme Court negatively contributed to African American rights at this time too. In U.S v. Cruikshank, U.S v. Reese, and Plessy v. Ferguson the court sided against African American rights. The Cruikshank case weakened the First and Second Amendments, to not apply to private citizens, as well as weakened the the Fourteenth Amendment's rights of due process and equal protection, stating it only applied to state actions instead of individuals (Federal Judicial Center). U.S. v. Reese the Supreme Court agreed voting rights should be regulated by states and not the federal government (Wright). In Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court upheld segregation, establishing the “Separate but Equal” doctrine (Wormser). The Mississippi plan was not a one-time isolated incident of racism, but rather part of a larger systemic effort to undermine Black politics, setting the stage for Jim Crow laws.
I did not use AI for this document except for Grammarly to groom my work and Mybib.com to generate bibliographies and intext citations.
Works Cited
Federal Judicial Center. “U.S. V. Cruikshank | Federal Judicial Center.” Fjc.gov, 2000, www.fjc.gov/history/timeline/us-v-cruikshank.
Foner, Eric. “Opinion | Why Reconstruction Matters.” The New York Times, 28 Mar. 2015, www.nytimes.com/2015/03/29/opinion/sunday/why-reconstruction-matters.html.
National Constitution Center. “Henry Louis Gates Jr. Discusses Reconstruction and the Rollback of African American Rights.” YouTube, 14 Aug. 2020, . Accessed 30 July 2021.
Wormser, Richard. “The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow. Jim Crow Stories. Plessy v. Ferguson | PBS.” Thirteen.org, 2019, www.thirteen.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_events_plessy.html.
Wright, Kianna. “The Enforcement Act of 1870 (1870-1871).” BlackPast, 12 Dec. 2019, www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/the-enforcement-act-of-1870-1870-1871/.