John Brown, an American abolitionist once wrote “Slaves are, and of right ought to be as free and independent as the unchangeable Law of God, requires that All Men Shall be.” His goal was to carry out and accomplish the abolishment of slavery, however, he died before the Thirteenth Amendment was passed in 1865 abolishing slavery and involuntary servitude. In the years following the abolishment of slavery, emancipated slaves and white allies gather together to discuss what it meant to be “free” causing a ripple between the Northern and Southern states. This time period lasted for a little over ten years and would be known as the Reconstruction Era. The goal was to rebuild the shattered nations (Foner 565) however, it failed in many ways such as racial problems and inequality for example Louis Hughes wrote in “Thirty Years a Salve”, how sickening it was to see his fellow servants hung because they tried to escape to the Union but there was also some success during this era. The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendment was created, which allowed people of color to take a stand against the race problems without fear and address the government in regards to equal suffrage.
Unquestionably, the Reconstruction Era is of value to our nation’s history because it provides us with insight on the many failures and triumphs Americans faced while trying to define what it meant to be free in America during this time period. Undoubtedly, the Reconstruction Era failed many Americans both white and black. The racial problems and inequality in the south did not evolve. The new southern government created Black codes to regulate the lives of former slaves granting them certain rights like marriage and property ownership but prevented blacks from testifying in court against whites or even vote (Foner, 580). In a pledge titled Equal Suffrage, the colored citizens of Norfolk, Virgin addressed the people of the United States in 1865 describing the challenges they have endured in regards to obtaining equality. The pledge mentions how they were in a state of “serfdom” unable to choose their employers. Former slaves now had to purchase their own clothing and their families clothing as well as pay taxes, however, they were living in a state of poverty due to planters refusing to pay, low income or no job opportunities and in certain districts some planters refused to recognize their colored workers as free and killed anyone who tried to leave their plantations. Similarly, former slaves were also subdued into sharecropping which allowed them to rent a piece of land but guaranteed the planters a stable labor force. In the pledge, the colored citizens of Norfolk are asking for suffrage, which means the right to vote.
They informed the people of the United States that they could rely upon them to secure justice for themselves, and all Union men, and to keep the State forever in Union and they deserved suffrage, they are American. In addition, the Reconstruction Era saw lots of bloodshed. The death toll included black, white, male, female and children. Louis Hughes twin infants died from malnourishment because his wife was overworked as punishment for trying to escape and ultimately was unable to nurse. Furthermore, blacks were also shot and lynched. The Southern government even created its own Democratic military force known as the Ku Klux Klan or the KKK which terrorized the Republican Party. The KKK committed some of the most heinous crimes known to date. They killed both black and white people, instilling fear in anyone who opposed their views. Their most heinous crime took place during the Reconstruction Era, in Colfax, Louisiana where the KKK overtook the city by storm shooting cannons and killing several former slaves and even black militia after they surrendered. Eventually, the Southern government could no longer control the Klan and had to ask Washington for help so they created the Enforcement Acts which allowed the president to use his army against terrorist societies including the Ku Klux Klan (Foner, 596). The Enforcement Acts was just one of many benefits that came out of the Reconstruction Era. Union Soldiers would help former slaves reunite with their family, like the two brave men in “Thirty Years a Salve” by Louis Hughes. Additionally, Congress passed two important Amendments during this era. The first was the Fourteenth Amendment, which guaranteed citizenship and rights to any one born in the United States and the second was the Fifteenth Amendment which prohibited states from discriminating based on race for any voting privileges, however, this did not mean colored people were automatically accepted into society.
Subsequently, some people still did not believe blacks deserved voting privileges so they used nonracial excuses like illiteracy and property qualifications to prevent them from being included in the public votes. Nevertheless, with the creation of these amendments and the abolishment of slavery blacks were able to run for office and win elections and at one point in the Reconstruction Era, there were two black men in the United States Senate office. Finally, with the North and South actively working together and talking about some issues the nations were finally coming together. Ultimately the Reconstruction Era formally ended with the Bargain in 1877. The Northern and Southern states finally came to an agreement allowing the Democratic control over some of the Southern states. African Americans continued to vote and even held office in some states, however, the race problem did not end with the Reconstruction. Frederick Douglass gave a speech titled “The Race Problem” in 1890 to the Historical Association in Washington, DC informing the nation of his views on “The Negro Problem”. Mr. Douglass stated “the true problem is not the negro, but the nation”.
Blacks were considered as citizens, but treated indifferently. They were able defend our nation but were not honored like the White American Soldiers and even were allowed to vote but were intimidated at the ballot boxes making it impossible. All of these rights granted to them during the Reconstruction Era but still not acknowledged by most of the nation. Mr. Douglas also made another valid point in his speech, he said that the south wasn’t afraid of the ignorant negro but the intelligent North; not the supremacy of a different race from itself, but the supremacy of the Republican Party. That is why the Reconstruction Era is so essential to American History because that is when we really started to notice the rise and falls of the different political parties. Generally speaking, I don’t believe the Reconstruction Era ever ended since we still face racism, sexism and the states remain politically divided between the Republicans, Democrats or the Nonaffiliated, however, with all things considered, Douglas had faith and we should too. He finished his speech by saying “whatever disappointments and discouragements may come, truth, justice, liberty and humanity will ultimately prevail” meaning no matter what is to come, we will get through it as a nation.
