A freedmen is taking part in sharecropping as he gives most of the crops he produced to the land’s owner. He hopes for a better life, but he knows he will be forever indebted to the landowner. While some things changed for the better, the acceptance of African Americans was still scarce. During Reconstruction, the life of freedmen did change politically, but not socially or economically. The freedmen’s lives changed politically because they could become citizens and had the right to vote. Also, the Freedmen’s Bureau was created to help and support the newly freed slaves which helped a lot of freedmen get back on their feet. According to Document E, the 15th amendment allowed African Americans the right to vote. Although it was difficult because …show more content…
The system of sharecropping was only a modified alternative for slavery considering the workers would always have debt owed to the landowner and they were not treated much better. They would rent a small portion of land and then they would give the landowner the majority of the crops. Document D shows how sharecropping was spread widely throughout the South, replacing slavery. This prevented freedmen from being completely free, even after slavery had been abolished. In addition, many African Americans in the North were limited when it came to getting jobs. This didn’t change because most freedmen still had no way of making money for themselves, so they were not apart of the American economy. It also showed that even though slavery had been abolished, African Americans would still have a long and rough journey before being treated as equals. …show more content…
Discrimination against blacks was happening in both the North and the South equally. While the Plessy vs. Ferguson case declared facilities were to be “separate but equal”, they were separate and unequal for 60 years. In Document C, there is a water fountain where one side is for whites, while the other side is for colored. This only created more tension between whites and blacks, and made the fight even harder for everyone to be treated equally. African Americans will always get the run down part of the bus and the dirtier water fountain. On the other hand, whites will get a neat side of the bus and the clean water fountain. Also, groups like the Klu Klux Klan were formed and terrorized and sometimes would kill blacks. This is still the same as before the Civil War because African Americans are still not accepted even after they got freedom. Discrimination against blacks continues to be a problem for decades to come, and even today. (American Anti-Slavery and Civil Rights
The landowners took advantage of their tenants by overcharging for land and underpaying for the crops. The tenants began falling deeper into debt. They could not leave until they paid off their debt, which was nearly impossible. Although former slaves had been freed, they were still facing many struggles in free life. America’s plan for reconstruction had good intent, but did not give African Americans the equality they deserved.
No matter if you were a colored adult, teenager, or straight out your mother 's womb; if you were colored you weren 't equal in any means. During this time period ‘separate but equal’ was a doctrine thanks to the Plessy v. Ferguson ruling; meaning segregation was technically legal. According to the Plessy v. Ferguson ruling it was legal to segregate public areas but to the fourteenth amendment it was not legal to segregate schools, “Segregation of white and Negro children in the public schools of a State solely on the basis of race, pursuant to state laws permitting or requiring such segregation, denies to Negro children the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment -- even though the physical facilities and other "tangible" factors of white and Negro schools may be equal” (The National Center for Public Policy Research 2). Everything was separate but certainly not equal, colored people weren’t allowed in certain stores, bathrooms, and even buses. If you were a person of color in this time not only did you have to worry about inequality but you also had an organization that would kill, hang, burn, and skin you.
Not stating that they were completely free from harsh conditions, but they were free from slavery, allowing Southern African Americans to join tenant and sharecropping. “The sharecropping system arose in the years immediately following the civil war, apparently as a compromise between freedmen who wanted land and cash-starved planters who found it difficult to pay wages” (Whayne 50). African Americans did not like this idea because these actions would remind them of their past of being slaves, they had just gained their freedom and wanted complete power and control to own their own land. Even though many African Americans did not agree with the sharecropping system, this tend to be the only choice that allowed the men in the south that had to support their families to continue working. By surprise Lee Wilson joined in the tenant and sharecropping union, but he treated his men a lot better than majority of the tenants did.
Though African Americans made some progress from the 1880s to the 1930s, August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson illustrates how the convict lease system and sharecropping caused an overwhelming lack of social and economic
A major aspect of this is because after the Freedmen’s Bureau lost its funding and was no longer as strong and powerful as it was earlier, and white supremacist groups such as the KKK and segregation laws gained power. Another system that emerged was the sharecropping system, which had clauses in which, “[The freed slave] agrees to work faithfully and dilligently with-out any unnecessary loss of time, to do all manner of work on Said farm as may be directed by [landowner], And to be respectful in manners and deportment to [landowner].” The sharecropping system was essentially slavery without the term, the African Americans would work on the farms and the landowners would provide them shelter and food. Post Reconstruction, the lack of political, economic, and social prowess for the former slaves (because of a lack of proper integration of these slaves into society) caused for them to fall back into the same kind of oppression that they had faced during the time of
Lincoln’s emancipation proclamation in 1863 declared “all persons held as slaves…shall be free,” which granted Black Americans a necessity they had not had before, freedom. This significantly improved Black American’s lives as it meant they were able to marry, own property and move freely between states. This was a definite improvement as Black Americans had not had this opportunity before. Without the President Lincoln having issued the proclamation, this would not have been put into effect.
- Black families would rent farm land, and pay back a portion of harvested crops to the landowner at the end of each year (“Sharecropping") - Increased the South’s reliance on cotton (“Sharecropping") - The price of cotton dropped by nearly 50% from 1872-1877 (Mertz) - Increased poverty for freed blacks because the price of renting equipment was more than they were able to repay (“Sharecropping") - Debt/poverty forced freed blacks to sign labor contracts regarding exploitive sharecropping that deprived them of hope for improvement in life
The recently freed African Americans plead to receive citizenship and equal rights, they expected to be treated as any other human being. After many years of slavery, the African Americans were finally freed from slavery by president Lincoln. Many of them were granted freedom for serving loyally in the Union army, along with certain rights, such as the right to buy land. The freed slaves were then allowed to purchase land, and received help from the government in the form of establishments such as Freedman’s Bureau and Freedmen’s Aid Society. The former slaves were now allowed to attend certain churches, schools, and were also allowed to socialize in public, although only in certain places.
Without the many disparities that whites continuously pointed out during this time period, there would be equality throughout the nation between African Americans and caucasians. First and foremost, whites and blacks were seen as exact opposites of each other. In other words, whites were known as superior to all others, while blacks were known as inferior. Think about how blacks were treated outside court rooms. There
As a result of the end of the Civil War in 1865, which was fought over the system of slavery, three amendments were passed in order to achieve equality between whites and African Americans. Slavery was abolished by the 13th amendment, citizenship was given to all African Americans in the 14th amendment and suffrage for men was provided under the 15th amendment. Although these rights were given to African Americans, many southern states found ways to still mistreat them. Furthermore, one of the biggest mistakes during the Reconstruction Era was not to give any kind of economic resources or opportunities for African Americans. Although they technically had freedom, many found themselves forced to go back to their previous job as they had no
This did not solve the problem because in the compromise of 1877 the troops were once again pulled out of the south and impeding social equality. Despite these setbacks, African Americans made it to the middle class and earned respect. Then the Jim Crow laws were put into effect segregation. Though these laws were meant to equalize blacks and whites socially, they created an even more significant divide. Reconstruction did not provide African Americans with social
Even after slavery was abolished in 1865, people of color weren’t treated the same. For a long time, they were segregated. Different schools, restaurants, and even drinking fountains. In Frederick’s famous speech “The Race Problem”, he says,”...by representing the negro as an ignorant, base, and dangerous person, and by presenting to those enemies that his existence to them is a dreadful problem. ”(Douglass).
During that time, African-American doesn’t have equal rights with white people, they cannot use same restroom with white, and they cannot sit
To keep this from happening farmers made the sharecroppers indebted to them keeping the sharecroppers from having any money to support themselves. As stated, sharecropping had drastic effects on the relationship between black people and white people. Examples of this are shown when the article states: “Well, I’ve had so much trouble with these black people, I’m going to employ white people” (Painter para. 13) Additionally, the overall actions between black and white people rose wages (Painter para.
Pertaining to the rights of African Americans a new south did not appear after the reconstruction. While they were “free” they were often treated harshly and kept in a version of economic slavery by either their former masters or other white people in power. Sharecropping and the crop-lien system often had a negative impact on both the black and white tenants keeping them in debt with the owner. Jim Crow laws, vigilantes and various means of disfranchisement became the normal way of life in the South. It was believed that white people were superior to black people and when they moved up in politics or socially they were harassed and threatened.