History.
Slaveless South
Linn Reindl
2/13/2012
Period 5
When slavery was eradicated in the Southern states, a lot changed in the way of life in that region. Not only was there the changes of the 11 confederate states being reintroduced into the Union, but also the economic and personal changed for the people in the South. Most still saw Blacks as an underclass, and most were still treated as such.
Though ensured freedom by the 13th amendment, ex-slaves were treated barely better than they had been before. Lincoln’s successor, Andrew Johnson, cared little for the freedom of Southern blacks, and laws were passed that seemed to keep them under servitude. If an African American had no steady employment, they could be arrested and fined heavily; if the fines were unpaid they could be hired out for labor and once again treated like a slave. Slavery might have been abolished, yet the war for true African American freedom was yet to be over.
The next step to leap over was getting African Americans a say in the goings on of our country; the right to vote. Rallied alongside them were radical Republicans who were worried about Democrats taking over their dominant position in congress and automatically believed that the African Americans they supported would vote Republican.
Though the president still opposed black rights fiercely, Fredrick Douglass and other African American rights activists moved forward with success. The public opinion was beginning to be swayed away from keeping the blacks as lower class citizens, and in the summer of 1866 two bills were passed, over the president’s veto, to further African American rights.
It wasn’t until quite a few years later, and a lot more political battling that African Americans got true freedom. African American men were allowed to begin voting in 1820, and women were allowed to begin voting 1920. That’s when life in the South truly changed for everyone, but by then African American’s had been ex-slaves for around five years, but hadn’t yet truly gotten freedom.
2/13/2012
Period 5
When slavery was eradicated in the Southern states, a lot changed in the way of life in that region. Not only was there the changes of the 11 confederate states being reintroduced into the Union, but also the economic and personal changed for the people in the South. Most still saw Blacks as an underclass, and most were still treated as such.
Though ensured freedom by the 13th amendment, ex-slaves were treated barely better than they had been before. Lincoln’s successor, Andrew Johnson, cared little for the freedom of Southern blacks, and laws were passed that seemed to keep them under servitude. If an African American had no steady employment, they could be arrested and fined heavily; if the fines were unpaid they could be hired out for labor and once again treated like a slave. Slavery might have been abolished, yet the war for true African American freedom was yet to be over.
The next step to leap over was getting African Americans a say in the goings on of our country; the right to vote. Rallied alongside them were radical Republicans who were worried about Democrats taking over their dominant position in congress and automatically believed that the African Americans they supported would vote Republican.
Though the president still opposed black rights fiercely, Fredrick Douglass and other African American rights activists moved forward with success. The public opinion was beginning to be swayed away from keeping the blacks as lower class citizens, and in the summer of 1866 two bills were passed, over the president’s veto, to further African American rights.
It wasn’t until quite a few years later, and a lot more political battling that African Americans got true freedom. African American men were allowed to begin voting in 1820, and women were allowed to begin voting 1920. That’s when life in the South truly changed for everyone, but by then African American’s had been ex-slaves for around five years, but hadn’t yet truly gotten freedom.