Events that have occurred in the past become the history people study today as they influence present times as well as immediate periods after their occurrence. A comparison can also be made with regards to certain elements or aspects of a society based on the occurrence of certain historical events as they have the ability to drive change or encourage adoption of new ways of doing things. An event such as the assassination of the late former President Lincoln is one whose period can show differences and similarities between before his assassination and after the time period of his assassination. There is a difference with regards to the social status of American before and after the time period of Lincoln's assassination. The aim of this paper, therefore, is to compare and contrast the social status of America before and after the time period of Lincoln's assassination.
The time period before the assassination of Lincoln was characterized by a way of living and events that can be used to describe the social status of America before the Civil War. Civil war is described as the most significant event that can be used for reference for comparing and contrasting the social status of America before and after the time period of Lincoln's assassination. On the one hand, the time period before the assassination of Lincoln was characterized by the development of strategies and forms of abolishing slavery in an effort to ensure freedom for every American, including the salves. 1 Lincoln had a 10% plan, where he required all southerners, except for the high ranking Confederate official to accept the abolishment of slavery in order to get a full pardon and the restoration of rights. 2 On March 3rd, 1865, a time period before the assassination of Lincoln, the Freedmen Bureau was founded with the aim of providing the social construction that would facilitate the attainment of citizenship of the freedmen. Lincoln’s ten percent plan, as well as the establishment of the Freedmen Bureau, were an indication of the possible improvement of the social status in as far as slaves were concerned.
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On the other hand, however, after the time period after the assassination of Lincoln, the developments towards ensuring complete freedom for every American including the slaves began to prove futile. After the assassination of Lincoln, African Americans did not experience total freedom from the abolishment of slavery and instead experienced limited freedoms. Under the leadership of President Andrew Johnson, southern states were able to pass laws identified in history as the Black codes in the years 1865 and 1866. 3 Despite being freed, the Black codes became laws that would facilitate the restriction of lives for African Americans that had been freed from slavery. Despite the idea of Reconstruction being that of abolishing any form of restriction on the lives of freed slaves, the same did not happen after the assassination of Lincoln. The now-freed slaves were required by the Black codes to sign annual contracts in order to work, irrespective of the prior intent for them to freely gain meaningful employment, before Lincoln’s assassination.
Another difference with regards to social status in the United States before and after the assassination of Lincoln is associated with property ownership and marriage. Before the assassination of Lincoln, slaves were not allowed to freely marry, which had negative implications on the social well-being and status. Similarly, slaves were not also allowed to own property, which resulted in them holding an inferior position in as far as social class and status went. 4 After the assassination of Lincoln, slaves could own property, but their social class and status were still inferior to that of the white man owing to the many restrictions that came with the laws passed by southern states. Before the assassination of Lincoln, there was no existence of the Jim Crow laws, which persisted until the 1960’s. However, after Lincoln’s assassination, the Jim Crow laws were established following the Black Codes.
On the one hand, the time period before the assassination of Lincoln, no amendments had been done on the constitution regarding reconstruction which would lead to the protection of the rights of freed slaves. Similarly, with the Reconstruction amendments to the constitution, the social status of the United States would change from that of a divided nation to a unified one since the southern states were allowed to join and become part of the United States. On the other hand, after Lincoln’s assassination, reconstruction amendments to the constitution were passed namely the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments. 5 The 13th Amendment abolished slavery, the 14th granted citizenship to former slaves, while the 15th set up equal rights to all American citizens irrespective of their social status and colour of skin. 6 Before these laws, the southern states could not once again become part of the United States. However, with these set of laws in place, the process towards allowing southern states to become part of the United States once again was set in motion.
The time period before the assassination of Lincoln was marked by a time in history, where it was politically and socially unacceptable for African Americans to vote. However, after his assassination, some of the new laws passed by Congress allowed African Americans to be able to cast their votes. This marked a change not only in the political spectrum of the United States but also in that of the social status of African Americans. 7 Their participation in elections was a symbol of the same amount of freedom whit people had at the time, thus symbolizing unification of the American people. This had a positive implication on the social status of Africa Americans as not only were they free, but they also had rights equal to those of the whites, making them socially active and important members of the society as well.
One of the similarities between before and after the time period of the assassination of Lincoln is that regarding the issue of complete freedom. Even with the gaining of rights and freedom from slavery, the social status of African Americas still remains inferior to that of the whites. Even after gaining freedom and rights equal to that of the white man, African Americans have never been treated as equal to the white man both before and after the assassination of Lincoln. This was evident with the formation of the Ku Klux Klan, a movement meant to spread the idea of genetic superiority of the white man over black, thus undermining the social status of African Americans. 8 This was after the abolition of slavery which was the instrument used to undermine the social status of back people before.
Overall, the time period before and after the assassination of Lincoln was marked by great events, including the Civil war. Civil War was necessary for reconstruction owing to the abolition of slavery and the coming together of white people and African Americans to win the war. Civil War was also necessary for reconstruction as it facilitated the creation of laws that would allow southern states to once again become part of the United States. 9 The end of the Civil war saw certain events such as the industrial revolution take place as there was the need for the America economy to recover as well as the now-freed slaves being able to work for their properties, thus availability of labour.
Bibliography
Christianson, Stephen G, and Jane M. Hatch. The American Book of Days . New York: H.W. Wilson, 2000. Print.
Hesseltine, William Best. Lincoln's Plan of Reconstruction . Quadrangle Books, 1967.
MacLean, Nancy. Behind the mask of chivalry: The making of the second Ku Klux Klan . Oxford University Press, USA, 1995.
Shi, David E., and George Brown Tindall. America: A narrative history . WW Norton & Company, 2016.
1 Shi, David E., and George Brown Tindall. America: A narrative history . WW Norton & Company, 2016.
2 Hesseltine, William Best. Lincoln's Plan of Reconstruction . Quadrangle Books, 1967.
3 Shi, David E., and George Brown Tindall. America: A narrative history . WW Norton & Company, 2016.
4 Shi, David E., and George Brown Tindall. America: A narrative history . WW Norton & Company, 2016.
5 Shi, David E., and George Brown Tindall. America: A narrative history . Ibid.
6 Christianson, Stephen G, and Jane M. Hatch. The American Book of Days . New York: H.W. Wilson, 2000. Print.
7 Shi, David E., and George Brown Tindall. America: A narrative history . WW Norton & Company, 2016.
8 MacLean, Nancy. Behind the mask of chivalry: The making of the second Ku Klux Klan . Oxford University Press, USA, 1995.
9 Shi, David E., and George Brown Tindall. America: A narrative history . WW Norton & Company, 2016.
