Reconstruction: America After the Civil War

Mr. Nussbaum - The Reconstruction Era

 After watching the documentary video, "Reconstruction: America After the Civil War," I have learned more and more about the Reconstruction time period and how it changed the course of history in many ways. 

On the evening of June 17th, 2015, a stranger had walked into a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina. He prayed with the Bible study group for about an hour.

After that, he had opened fire. Many people believed this was a hate crime. From this attack, there were 9 victims. 

This individual was a 22-year-old high school dropout who had a very deep hatred for black people. After this had happened in recent times, people questioned why this was happening in our country. 

This all started with a very important and historical time period.

Reconstruction. 

Reconstruction came after the Civil War in the 1860s. This time period was chaotic and devastating. 

At first, people believed that this time period was about America becoming the land of freedom. 

After 250 years of slavery, white southerners were having a problem with the changes being made. Black individuals were given more freedom. 

The Charleston Massacre that the video had mentioned before comes from a history of white terror against African Americans. 

This period of Reconstruction is known as the time where everyone, no matter who you are or where you are from, came to terms. 

During this time period, Abraham Lincoln was president. However on April 15th, 1865, that all changed. Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth because Lincoln wanted intelligent black individuals and black veterans the right to vote. 

Shortly after that, a new president arrived. President Andrew Johnson. Johnson was a very power-hungry president because he had grown up poor. He didn't seem to be much of a fan of the black, according to Frederick Douglas. According to Douglas when Johnson went to shake his hand his smile when straight to a bitter look. 

Next coming was the Freedmen's Bureau. The Freedmen's Bureau did it's best to provide for the black community however it was short-lived and ended up failing, unfortunately. 

Overall, congress had taken power in the Reconstruction time period because they had that power over President Andrew Johnson. Nowadays, however, that would not be possible. 

During Reconstruction, there was also a lot of madness going on. In Memphis and other areas, black people were being hunted by white mobs and the police. The army had to regain control in Memphis. 

The Klu Klux Klan also came to light in Tennesse, 1866, and was coincided with black codes. 

Through all the terrors in the Reconstruction process, over time, blacks were beginning to be seen as more equal. At this point, things are going so well that there were dozens of black men elected to office. It is truly crazy to see how just years before that those same people were slaves. 

This Reconstruction period was a huge change for many people, despite the constant struggles, and was historically significant. 


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