Reconstruction Dbq Essay

From 1865 to 1877 the process of reconstructing the Confederate States began just as the Civil War concluded. For many families the reconstruction period was a major inconvenience. For example, farmers lost their plantation workers, thus causing a huge inflation. This resulted in families losing lots of their money and struggling to buy things as simple as food, cotton, and tobacco. To politically heal, it is crucial to readmit the Southern States back into the nation politically and essentially allow African Americans the right to vote. From a societal standpoint the government needs to enforce civil rights that will provide protection for African Americans from unlawful discrimination towards them and give them full citizenship. Economically,

For example, the article Why did the south reject the 14th amendment? explained that the 14th amendment, “prohibited any state from depriving a citizen of their civil rights or equal protection under the law… This gave protection to African Americans against people trying to target them,” (Socratic Q&A 2017). Essentially, this clarifies that by creating a set of laws offering African Americans full citizenship then they will be protected from those who beat, torture, and in some cases kill them. By giving the black community civil rights then many of the organizations whose only purposes are to harm African Americans will be shut down. Furthermore, as expressed in the article Reconstruction and Its Aftermath, “After the Civil War, with the protection of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution and the Civil Rights Act of 1866, African Americans enjoyed a period when they were allowed to vote, actively participate in the political process, acquire the land of former owners, seek their own employment, and use public accommodations,” (African American Odyssey 2008). Evidently, this quote explains that by creating amendments/laws regarding the AFrican Americans rights then they will be able to live a regular life. Not only does this allow them to vote,

For instance, The Freedman states, “For its part, the federal government established the Freedmen's Bureau, a temporary agency, to provide food, clothing, and medical care to refugees,” (Library of Congress 2020). Essentially, this explains that it's important to provide slaves/refugees with the tools they need to live. If there was no one to supply former slaves with food, water, clothing, etc then many of them would die of starvation or dehydration. Furthermore, in regards to sharecropping The Southern Economy: Reconstruction and Today discusses the benefits for sharecropping. For example, it says, “ In sharecropping, both freed slaves and poor whites borrowed land, seeds, and tools from a landowner, in exchange for a share of the crop at harvest time,” (The Southern Economy 2011). In essence, the method of sharecropping allows slaves to have a job which pays and the farms are able to continue operating. In addition, the article Sharecropping also addresses sharecropping, in such it states, “Sharecropping is a system where the landlord/planter allows a tenant to use the land in exchange for a share of the crop,” (Slavery By Another Name 2023). This further elucidates that with sharecropping the landowner is able to keep his farm running, while African Americans get to work for a real job. Consequently,