Post Civil War Racism
The conclusion of the Civil War in favor of the north was supposed to mean an end to slavery and equal rights for the former slaves. Although laws and amendments were passed to uphold this assumption, the United States Government fell short. The thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments were proposed and passed within five years of the Civil War's conclusion. These amendments were to create equality throughout the United States, especially in the south where slavery had been most abundant. Making equality a realization would not be an easy task. This is because many problems were not perceived before and during the war. The reunification of the country would prove to be harder than expected, and entry into a new lifestyle would be difficult for both the freedmen and their former oppressors. The thirteenth amendment clearly prohibits slavery in the United States. All slaves were to be freed immediately when t
Those who felt threatened by the massive amount of African-Americans who would now be participating in the government criticized this Amendment, which allowed all male citizens the right to vote regardless of race. They were simply created as bitter retaliation by the ex-Confederates who were not pleased by the integration, which had just taken place. Another problem which arose in the south were laws which would further the oppression of the African-American population. In addition, the work force of the plantation would often live in the same quarters they did while enslaved. Government officials were unhelpful to the Klan's victims, and corruption spread through the police force as officers joined the group and granted access to prisons where black prisoners would be selected and used as punching bags. While the former slaves lived on the ideal that they were now free, the fifteenth amendment was under heavy fire. Black Codes were created and enforced on a State level which became superior to the Fourteenth Amendment. Violence was inflicted on their victims, who were usually randomly selected by the group based only on their race. This lack of knowledge would not be helpful in trying to find work once they were released. The debate on this topic would cause more tension in southern society, which was already undergoing a difficult period of adaptation. Unfortunately, the white population would do more than hurt the freedmen psychologically. his amendment was declared ratified in December of 1865, but what were they to do? Generations of African-Americans had been enslaved in America, and those who had lived their whole lives in slavery had little knowledge of the outside world. Plantation owners with a lack of workforce were eager to offer extremely low pay to their former slaves.
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