How Was African Americans Treated After The Civil War

The Civil War solved the issue of slavery regarding the African Americans. Once the Union had won the war, they proceeded to eliminate slavery across the entire United States, freeing all previous slaves. Through the Emancipation Proclamation, President Abraham Lincoln pronounced all slaves in states in rebellion against the Union free, with the promise that others will “recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons” (Lincoln 1862). With the addition of the 13th amendment, adopted in 1865, slavery was prohibited by rule of the constitution (Hakim 139). Without the Civil War, the 13th Amendment would have never been passed. On January 1st of 1863, Lincoln's proclamation of freedom went into effect and the ex-slaves became “forever free”. To celebrate, close to 3,000 freed people assembled at Camp Saxton to
As the War was won by the Union, slavery became abolished and in turn, granted all the slaves their freedom.
Though the Civil War solved many important issues presented at the time, it also brought up the problem of what to do with the ex-slaves now that they were freed. One way they attempted to solve this problem introduced by the war was through Field Order #15. By reserving “the islands from Charleston SC, south, the abandoned rice fields along the rivers for thirty miles back from the sea, and the country bordering the St. John’s river, Florida” for the freed African Americans, they had the land needed to kickstart their new lives (Sherman 1865). This land could be used for starting families, building homes, and for agricultural reasons as a source of profit. With this field order, they were to just be given all the resources needed to start their lives. Contradictory to its advantages, this order, prompted by the War, also presented many problems. For example, the first 40 acres of land to be given away was to be free as long as the receivers met certain requirements (Sherman 1865). In addition, prior to the war, many people, including