Reconstruction Video Reaction

The Reconstruction era of American history started in 1863 and was a pivotal period marked by violence.  The violence came from attempts to integrate the newly freed African Americans into society and faced a major backlash from white Southerners who refused to change.  Reconstruction had aimed to reunite the Southern states back with the Union and create a status for the newly freed slaves.  This time gave hope to many African Americans as they searched for their family with ads, claimed their rights with the "Reconstruction Amendments", and built lives after the Civil War.  However, this idea that society could function without racial barriers was quickly stopped by white Southerners.  

The resistance used violence with riots and oppressive laws, known as the Black Codes, as they wanted to control Black labor and maintain white supremacy.  The creation of the Ku Klux Klan sought to reclaim their lives and social order before the Civil War, as they acted like Slave Patrols.  The backlash revealed the deep-seated racism that still remained within the nation despite the end of slavery and the promises from the government for citizenship and rights for Black Americans. 

Even after the Civil War, Black Americans struggled with their rights well into the 1960s, illustrating the failure of the Reconstruction to deliver on their promises.  The hope was that after the 14th Amendment Black families would be given citizenship, and while they had citizenship, the racism and violence from white Southerners made life as an equal citizen.  From the race riots in Memphis that lasted three days, to a white mob in New Orleans that killed over 40 people, cases such as Emmett Till underlined the landscape of this period.  Much like Fredrick Douglass and others noted the political landscape was largely unwelcoming and non-protective of Black citizens due to Southern Democrats like Andrew Johnson.  As their priorities and interests lay with wealthy white landowners over those who had been freed.  

The legacy of Reconstruction is a reminder of the fragility of progress within the system.  While this time gave a glimpse of what equality could look like, it also laid the groundwork for long-lasting racial tension and struggles, shaping the civil rights movements for decades.