The 1863 Emancipation Proclamation led to the freeing of African American slaves living in the rebel states. Furthermore, the end of the Civil War saw the enactment of the Thirteenth Amendment which subsequently led to the emancipation of all the slaves in the United States irrespective of where they lived. However, the Southern blacks had to confront a new challenge that their Northern counterparts had initially experienced, and that was dealing with the hostilities of the whites. Two more years after the Civil War, the nation faced immense challenges including their unpreparedness to provide full citizenship to the freed black population. The Congress implemented the Reconstruction which lasted between 1866 and 1877 with the aim of reorganizing the Southern states following the Civil War and providing a framework for the coexistence between the blacks and whites in a non-slave community. However, the South failed to welcome the Reconstruction as they saw it as a humiliating and vengeful imposition. Civil War and the Reconstruction period set a pathway for equality in the American society. However, the anger and resentment of the Southerners did not allow for the full realization of the newly acquired freedom.
Civil War
Slavery was at the heart of the American Civil War which began in 1861. The war followed a boiling tension between the Northern and the Southern states over the rights of the slaves and the westward expansion. The ascendancy of Abraham Lincoln to Presidency in 1860 led to the secession of seven Southern states leading to the formation of the Confederate states (Downs, 2012). Subsequently, four more states joined. The war ended after the surrendering of the Confederate in 1865. The war was regarded as the deadliest and costliest ever experienced in the US soil with a whopping 620 soldiers succumbing to death. The simmering tension between the two factions started with the growth of the abolitionist ideas in the north. The Northerners further resented the extension of slavery into the new western territories. As a result, there was growing fear among the Southerners as to whether slavery, a backbone of their economy, would continue to exist amidst such sentiments. The course of the Civil War had several impacts on the welfare of the blacks, whose position as slaves was a major point of contention.
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One of the major hallmarks and turning points of the American Civil War was the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. President Abraham Lincoln declared that all slaves living in the territories that rebelled against the federal government would be freed. Although it did not influence any slaves fighting for either of the sides, it primarily targeted the states that acted in rebellion to Lincoln’s order. The most significant importance of the proclamation was that it showed the world that the war was now a fight to end slavery. However, it is also vital to understand the position of Lincoln in this particular war. As a white supremacist, he viewed the war as a struggle to preserve the Union. However, he slowly changed his position as pressure mounted in the Congress and the whole country over the abolition sentiments (Downs, 2012). Although the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation did not end slavery in America, it played a significant role in creating a pathway for its ultimate end. Therefore, the Civil War in summery helped in creating a framework that would eventually lead to the emancipation of the black slaves.
The Civil War was a step in the right direction and further strengthened the nation’s inclination towards equality. The Civil War and the subsequent Emancipation Proclamation was equivalent to a freedom’s promise that committed the nation towards the end of slavery. Therefore, the US Congress embarked on a series of Constitutional Amendments that aimed at providing the blacks with more freedom (Downs, 2012). The war also provided a platform for the creation of a sociopolitical climate that accepted the blacks as bona fide citizens of the United States. The release of over 4 million as an aftermath of the war was a positive indicator that the African Americans indeed moved towards equality. The end of the Civil War was, therefore, a new start for the blacks. Downs (2012) intimated that they experienced emancipation from the indignities, brutalities, and sexual assault that came with the institution of slavery. The African Americans were now free from denial of fundamental freedoms that include education, homeownership, wages, and legal marriages. The blacks celebrated their new-found liberty both privately and in the public setting.
Reconstruction
The Reconstruction was a period that came immediately after the Civil War. It was a time of rebuilding the nation following the animosity and the deadly impacts that the war had on the nation. However, important to note is that it was a time of great uncertainty and endless questions with the major one being the terms on which the Confederacy would ultimately rejoin the Union. Another critical question asked during this time was as to whether the newly acquired freedom meant that the blacks would now enjoy the full rights as their white counterparts. Historians further note that the Reconstruction was marred with a unique type of conflict with radical northerners having the urge of punishing the South and the Southerners greatly in need to preserve their way of life. The Reconstruction period lasted between 1865 and 1877. After the end of the slavery, the Reconstruction was a continuation of the process of gaining liberty as the Congress engaged in creating laws that further improved the lives of the black communities in America (Downs, 2012).
The Reconstruction was a positive moment in the upholding of equality among the African American communities. The laws passed by the Congress particularly ensured that the blacks acquired not only the civil but also political rights for the blacks living in the South. The three notable amendments that the Congress passed the Constitution include the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and the Fifteenth Amendment. The Thirteenth Amendment was passed in 1865 and played a significant role in formally ending slavery in all the territories and states (Downs, 2012). The Fourteenth Amendment was passed in 1868 ensured that the states did not deprive any male citizen of their right to equal protection as provided by law, irrespective of their race. The Fifteenth Amendment came into existence in 1870 and granted all African-American males the right to engage in the voting exercise. The laws provided as the irreducible minimums for the Southern states for them to win readmission into the Union. Although the laws provided a framework for the establishment of racial equality, their implementation was extremely difficult.
However, the period provided the African Americans with numerous opportunities and benefits which they actively undertook. They adopted several rights, responsibilities, and opportunities that came with being a bona fide citizen. For the first time, seven hundred blacks served in elected offices in various capacities. Out of this number, two served as Senator, and another fourteen acted in the capacities of House of Representatives. Many African Americans also held key positions as appointed government officials. The federal government remained firm in its quest to ensure that all African Americans enjoyed full civil and political rights even in the face of rebellion from the Southerners.
Many historians have argued that although the Civil War and the Reconstruction set the country into a positive path of equality, in the real sense, it achieved little. Therefore, many regard the Reconstruction as a massive failure because it could not meet its most fundamental objective (Blackmon, 2009). The Thirteenth Amendment played a significant role in emancipating the blacks, but little was gained thereafter. The defeated south was showed extreme bitterness and resent and further asserted their urge to keep the African Americans as slaves. One of the most significant strategies they used in this endeavor was the passage of the “Black Codes” which limited the rights of the black communities (Blackmon, 2009). The Fourteenth Amendment rights also faced violations in the country as the African Americans were forced to use separate facilities from the whites and even denied the chance to sit on the juries. The whites had long planned for this and could not allow the blacks to enjoy similar rights as theirs. In what came to be known as freedoms denied, the white supremacists used means such as the courts and terror to force away from the African Americans who exercised their Constitutional rights such as voting.
Towards the end of the 19th century, the Southern states passed several legal laws that sought to segregate the blacks legally. The states, for instance, created voting laws that required the blacks to pass the literacy tests. Blackmon (2009) noted that other discriminatory laws and policies included the poll taxes and the all-white Democratic primaries amongst many others. Furthermore, the Supreme Court of the US also upheld such draconian laws. In 1896, the Supreme Court also ruled in favor of the Southern states in the case of "Plessy v Ferguson" which asserted that the use of racially separated facilities was legal. It, therefore, led to the "separate but equal" doctrine which served for almost a half a century before the Supreme Court reversed it in the Brown v Board decision of 1954. The Southern whites used terror as an additional means of ensuring that equality was a far distant reality in the country. For instance, the white supremacists formed a group known as the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) in the 1860s which had a primary intention of terrorizing black leaders and citizens.
The New South
Woodson (2017) asserted that the Civil War and the Reconstruction had had long-term consequences that continue to affect the African Americans today. The two events ultimately led to the end of slavery and its reinforcement through the Thirteenth Amendment. The Southern defeat in the war also meant that the federal government had the ultimate decision when it came to the implementation of laws. It, therefore, gives hope to African Americans and minorities across the country today that the government can never tolerate localized discrimination policies. Leary and Robinson (2012) asserted that the Civil War and the Reconstruction also bore the idea of racial equality that continues to form a meaningful discourse in the American population today. The Civil War was primarily a fight to regain the rights of the black people. The Reconstruction period ensured that this became a reality. However, at the beginning of the 20th century, many of the rights that the blacks had acquired were no longer existent due to restriction and elimination. The Jim Crow laws, for instance, acted as the epitome of the degradation of all the hard earned freedoms. Significant improvements have been seen especially after the onset of the civil rights movement of the mid-20th century (Leary, & Robinson, 2012). However, gaps in areas such as education and the economy continue to differ across the races with blacks suffering the most. Achieving full equality remains a major challenge in the country.
The experience of the African American communities during the reconstruction period has many similarities with contemporary America with regards to the experiences of the black people. Racism has continued to divide the society, a factor that has impacted on the opportunities available for the blacks. In the same way, the supremacists used the courts to impede on various laws that promoted equality, the criminal justice system today has shown little consideration to the principles of equality. Blacks continue to face disproportionate levels of incarceration and police shootings and killings. Although major steps have been made in filling the gaps between the two races, certain Jim Crow principles continue to implicate the blacks such as the inequalities and inequities in education. Racial profiling of blacks and stereotyping the law enforcers and other departments in the country remains a huge problem in America's society ( Woodson, 2017). However, with regards to the laws created during the Reconstruction era such as the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth amendments, the blacks today enjoy similar constitutional rights with their white counterparts in areas such as voting, freedom from slavery, and the right to equal protection.
The Civil War and Reconstruction period played a significant role in providing the African Americans with fundamental rights albeit on a temporary basis. The white supremacists in the new south countered these progress and showed great determination in preventing equality. Slavery was a function of race, and although it is now non-existent in America, racism remains a fundamental aspect of the fabric of America's society. Although the blacks have come a long way in advocating for their freedoms and rights, the reality is that equality is yet to be achieved. Social and economic disparities have shown the greatest implications on the African Americans. Some of the challenges that they continue to face include high levels of incarceration, police killings, profiling, and stereotyping all which are synonymous with the past eras. However, in terms of fundamental rights and freedoms, the truth is that most blacks would agree today that major steps have occurred something that is attributable to the actions of the civic groups in the mid-20th century.
References
Blackmon, D. A. (2009). Slavery by another name: The re-enslavement of black Americans from the Civil War to World War II . Anchor.
Downs, J. (2012). Sick from freedom: African-American illness and suffering during the civil war and reconstruction . Oxford University Press.
Leary, J. D., & Robinson, R. (2012). Post traumatic slave syndrome: America's legacy of enduring injury and healing (p. 14). Milwaukie, OR: Uptone Press.
Woodson, C. G. (2017). The Mis-education of the Negro . CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
