Freedom To Former Slaves During The Reconstruction Era
Reconstruction was more than just putting the country back together. It was a period of chaos and freedom. The civil war had just ended and slaves were finally “free”. Slaves did not know what it meant to be free since they had always been someone’s property and never really were able to live their own lives. The rise of actual freedom to former slaves came after the Reconstruction of 1867. Former slaves now had the power to be involved in politics, however, they were rising in power that led to opposing views of he whites. During the Reconstruction era, African American’s oppression to restricted political freedom challenged the norms of white society which led to violence to maintain white supremacy. During this period of time, former slave owners “…seem wholly unable to comprehend that freedom for the negro means the same thing as freedom for them” (Andrews). How can former slaves that never had a voice now be the ones making all the decisions?
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At first, former slaves did not know the true meaning of freedom. Once freed they wanted to have the same rights as whites but could not. They were placed under “Black Codes” which were laws that limited their freedom such as: “That all freedmen, free negroes and mullatoes…may acquire personal property….intermarry with each other….found unlawfully assembling themselves together…on terms of equality…shall be deemed vagrants, and on conviction…” (Johnson). This shows that the white society was still trying to suppress the new freedom of the African Americans in every way possible. The whites never considered African American to be real citizens or provide them voting rights. Angered with such limited freedom, they did everything from public gatherings to sit-ins to achieve political rights. Although he Reconstruction Act grant them the right to vote, the white society saw this as a social problem. The whites felt African Americans were trying to alter the “white man’s government” and impose “black supremacy”. The whites saw the blacks as less human since they were once slaves and now trying be superior. They were more active in politics than ever before that they were also taking offices. The former slaves were never seen as free but rather as slaves still. The belief that among the white dominated society, anybody of colored skin did not have a voice in society. Since the American Americans were gaining too much power in politics, the whites felt they had to do something to prevent further problems. Whites used violence and intimidation against African Americans to reaffirm their white dominance. In order to put an end to the blacks rise in power, a terrorist organization known as the Ku Klux Klan came to action.
Elias Hill claims that, “then they hit me with their fists…struck me again with their fists…they said I had no honor, and hit me again”. The KKK believed that in order to deal with them was to terrorize them. This seemed like the right thing to do for the whites because the blacks were basically surpassing them in power. They went on assaulting blacks, raiding and destroying homes, schools, and churches to prove who actually had authority. This notion that whites are superior to the blacks was seen through all the violence and criminal acts performed on them. Whites not only did this to put a halt to the uprising power of the blacks but to maintain their power. They believed their race was superior to everybody else; “Don’t you pray against Ku-Klux, but pray that God may forgive Ku-Klux”. This shows that this organization believed it was doing the right thing by killing the blacks and eliminating
the inferiors. Whites were always dominant to the blacks in every aspect regarding political, socially, and economically. They believed blacks were poor and idiots so they did not want them involved in their society. It was a white man’s society and should be kept that way. The period of Reconstruction can be seen as a process of American freedom. Blacks once free were still enslaved though laws that limited their freedom leading to a radical change in politics. It gave blacks the right to exercise their power to vote and hold offices which angered the white society causing a response to this.
At first, former slaves did not know the true meaning of freedom. Once freed they wanted to have the same rights as whites but could not. They were placed under “Black Codes” which were laws that limited their freedom such as: “That all freedmen, free negroes and mullatoes…may acquire personal property….intermarry with each other….found unlawfully assembling themselves together…on terms of equality…shall be deemed vagrants, and on conviction…” (Johnson). This shows that the white society was still trying to suppress the new freedom of the African Americans in every way possible. The whites never considered African American to be real citizens or provide them voting rights. Angered with such limited freedom, they did everything from public gatherings to sit-ins to achieve political rights. Although he Reconstruction Act grant them the right to vote, the white society saw this as a social problem. The whites felt African Americans were trying to alter the “white man’s government” and impose “black supremacy”. The whites saw the blacks as less human since they were once slaves and now trying be superior. They were more active in politics than ever before that they were also taking offices. The former slaves were never seen as free but rather as slaves still. The belief that among the white dominated society, anybody of colored skin did not have a voice in society. Since the American Americans were gaining too much power in politics, the whites felt they had to do something to prevent further problems. Whites used violence and intimidation against African Americans to reaffirm their white dominance. In order to put an end to the blacks rise in power, a terrorist organization known as the Ku Klux Klan came to action.
Elias Hill claims that, “then they hit me with their fists…struck me again with their fists…they said I had no honor, and hit me again”. The KKK believed that in order to deal with them was to terrorize them. This seemed like the right thing to do for the whites because the blacks were basically surpassing them in power. They went on assaulting blacks, raiding and destroying homes, schools, and churches to prove who actually had authority. This notion that whites are superior to the blacks was seen through all the violence and criminal acts performed on them. Whites not only did this to put a halt to the uprising power of the blacks but to maintain their power. They believed their race was superior to everybody else; “Don’t you pray against Ku-Klux, but pray that God may forgive Ku-Klux”. This shows that this organization believed it was doing the right thing by killing the blacks and eliminating
the inferiors. Whites were always dominant to the blacks in every aspect regarding political, socially, and economically. They believed blacks were poor and idiots so they did not want them involved in their society. It was a white man’s society and should be kept that way. The period of Reconstruction can be seen as a process of American freedom. Blacks once free were still enslaved though laws that limited their freedom leading to a radical change in politics. It gave blacks the right to exercise their power to vote and hold offices which angered the white society causing a response to this.