Civil War/ Reconstruction Dbq Essay

During the late 1800s, the Civil War and the period of Reconstruction brought great changes in America. One cause that led to the Civil War was slavery. As a result of Reconstruction, there were several changes including segregation and the given rights of African American. The effect of these changes continued into the 20th century. One major social cause that led to the Civil was slavery. The North wanted to abolish slavery, but the South opposed to abolishing slavery. The North did not need slaves because there economy is made up of factories, and manufactured products. The South depended on slaves to work on plantations. During the Civil war, slave owners treated their slaves like property. The slaves were treated like property because slave owners brought them from slave auctions. Slaves were considered not citizens. Many abolitionists and former slaves gave speeches and wrote books to go against slavery. They told stories to people in the North and in Europe. Some of the most famous abolitionist was Frederick Douglass, Solomon Northup’s, and Harriet Beecher Stowe. Harriet Beecher Stowe was a white woman that wrote an anti-slavery message that came in the form of a novel. It was called the Uncle Tom’s Cabin. (Document 7) The books and lecturers purpose was to help abolish slavery because it gave an understanding of how slavery was like. Segregation was a social change that occurred as a result of Reconstruction and has affected a lot of the South. African Americans in the South and sometimes in the North used different facilities. In 1950, a public fountain in North Carolina was separated by whites and African Americans (Document 6). The document shows segregation was strongly enforced in even minor places such as water fountains. These fountains were “separate but equal” but undoubtedly were of different quality. Segregation became legal in 1896 due to the Plessy vs. Ferguson Court Case. During segregation, racism grew in the South. For example, there