One of the most controversial topics in U.S. history is slavery. Essentially since the establishment of the colonies slavery was a common practice, especially among those tasked with the labor-intensive job of growing and harvesting crops during colonial America. In the years between the colonies being established and the Civil War, enslaving people of a darker skin color became essential to the way of life for many citizens. As the world developed and new ideas were brought forth, the idea of slavery became viewed as cruel and inhumane and after debates, campaigns, and bloodshed, the Emancipation Proclamation was passed and slavery became illegal. The struggle that the country went through in the process of abolishing slavery was long and wearying, but even after all of that, it would be a long time before the freedmen truly gained rights and felt free.
Although early Americans heavily relied on slaves to maintain a lifestyle and economy, the slaves weren’t treated as valuable. After being imported from places such as Africa, they were separated from their families and sold off to the highest bidder, most often ending up on large plantations with many other slaves. “Talkin’ ‘bout somethin’ awful, you should have been dere. De slave owners was shoutin’ and sellin’ chillen to one man and de mamma and pappy to ‘nother. De slaves cries and takes on somethin’ awful. If a woman had lots of chillen she was sold for mo’, cause it a sign she a good breeder.” —(Millie Williams). They were paid near to nothing, or nothing at all. The slave owners normally treated them with nothing but cruelty, using torture devices such as whips to punish any slaves who didn’t meet their satisfaction. “I sure has had a hard life. Jes wok an’ wok an wok. I nebbah know nothin’ but wok . . . No’m I nebbah knowed whut it wah t’ rest. I jes wok all de time f’om mawnin’ till late at night . . . Lawdy, honey, yo’ cain’t know what a time I had. All cold n’ hungry. No’m, I aint tellin’ no lies. It de gospel truf. It sho is.” —(Sarah Gudger). On April 12, 1861, the Civil War began. On May 9, 1865, it ended, and slavery along with it. The war left a devastated south and a tired country. The abolishment of slavery changed the lifestyles of many people, especially the former slave owners and the freedmen themselves. The freedmen, especially those who had been enslaved for a long time, had an extremely difficult time adjusting to their new life.
All they had ever known was the life of a slave, and now they were no longer under the ownership of a white man. The freedmen were so set on obtaining the freedom that they had wanted for so long, that their expectations were unrealistic. They were thrown out into the world without any money, practical skills, experience, extra clothing, housing, and no one to really help them. Many were so set in their ways that they returned to the plantations as soon as they could because that’s all they knew. They received harsh social treatment from the whites and were at the bottom of the social ladder. Freedom was not all they expected it to be. (Unfinished War) Homeless, with few possessions, the freedmen who chose to leave their plantations lived in shelters and buildings full to the brim with others in their same situation. Since most of the slaves were highly uneducated and white business owners were very rarely willing to hire black employees, many freed slaves stayed on plantations and worked as sharecroppers. This arrangement was when a former slave owner (now just a landowner) would allow the freed slaves to work the land and give a large portion of the harvest to the landowner.
In theory, the freedmen could save enough of their portion to sell and eventually rent the land on their own, but their portion was so small that it rarely happened. After beginning to see the problems with integrating the freedmen into society, the goal became to make the freedmen as self-reliant as possible. They were not doing well. Supplemental aid arrived from Northern relief societies that collected food and clothing for the freedmen and began sending teachers to educate them. “The Freedman’s Bureau established by Congress assisted the aid societies in meeting the burgeoning African American demand for education. It rented buildings for schoolrooms, provided books and transportation for teachers, superintended the schools, and offered military protection for students and teachers against the opponents of black literacy.”(Civil War) The black community began “reuniting families separated under slavery, establishing their own churches and schools, seeking economic autonomy, and demanding equal civil and political rights.”(Captiol Men). The white southerners reacted with dismay, and most held a great inner hatred for the freed slaves. Many resorted to violent tactics to show this hatred. Not only were the freedmen treated with utter disrespect and contempt in public and social ways, but they also still remained inferior to the white population on a citizenship and political level. Frederick Douglas said, “Slavery is not abolished until the black man has a ballot.” The freedman had no rights and no power and were only considered partial citizens for population purposes. It wasn’t until the 14th Amendment was passed that equal protection was promised to all citizens, but this didn’t stop the violent acts and racial slurs that the freedmen endured every day. “Reconstruction after the Civil War posed serious challenges to white supremacy and segregation, especially in the South where most African Americans continued to live.
The Fifteenth Amendment barring racial discrimination in voting, threatened to overturn the barriers whites had erected to keep blacks separate and unequal. Yet the possibilities of blacks sharing public conveyances and public accommodations with whites increased during the period after 1865. Blacks obtained access to streetcars and railroads on an integrated basis. Indeed, many transportation companies favored integration because they did not want to risk losing black business.” (Capitol Men) In 1870, the arrival of Senator Hiram Revels and Representative Joseph Rainey on Capitol Hill marks one of the most memorable days in history. After overcoming the adversity that they both faced as black men in a white-prejudice-laced political scene, they made it to the highest political positions a black man had ever held. These men representing the freedmen meant better lives for the black community, and hope for a future. For the first time in history, black men were sitting in position of equal power to other white men, and it challenged the whole country to see the world a new way and invite the possibility into their minds that even people of color could become important and valued citizens in America. The journey from slavery to Capitol Hill was a long and difficult one. It changed minds and opened the door to new possibilities of equality and freedom, and made early America re-examine their morals and ideals. The road to complete equality between skin colors continued long after the first black representatives arrived in political settings, and it continues to come up and open us up to new ideas even in modern day.
