How Did The Role Of African Americans Change After The Civil War?

The Civil War, a battle between the United States and Confederate states over the issues and disagreements of slavery, served as a major part of our racial system in America and what started the period of Reconstruction. The war began in April 1861 after years of tension between the Northern and Southern states over slavery. It lasted for four years and ultimately ended with Confederate General Robert E. Lee in 1865. The Union won, which would end slavery and reunite the nation under a singular government. The racial system of the United States seemed to drastically change with and after the Civil War, but although many previous laws were reformed, overall, many racial dynamics stayed the same and did not officially change until years later.
Black Americans were subject to lower quality items and were not able to enter the same spaces as White Americans. Whilst explaining the changing dynamic after the implementation of the Second Reconstruction Amendment, the American Yawp reveals that, “The United States never committed the personnel required to restore order and guarantee Black southerners the rights promised by the Fourteenth Amendment” (American Yawp). The Fifteenth Amendment was the third and final Reconstruction act passed on the basis of Civil Rights. The amendment was passed on February 26, 1869 and ratified February 3, 1870. It gave African American men the right to vote. This amendment served to represent African Americans as citizens that now were entitled to political power. After the many loopholes in the previous two amendments, many African Americans viewed this amendment as the breakthrough that would confirm their citizenship and finally allow them to be seen as people, but that was not the case. Without violating the 15th Amendment, many Southerners were able to prevent African Americans from voting by implementing literacy tests and poll