Reconstruction and Race Relations
XXXXXXXX
Professor XXXXXX
Contemporary U.S. History
October 17, 2013

Reconstruction and Race Relations The Civil War consisted of several events during the Reconstruction period. Many complications occurred between white Americans and black people as the struggle for equality began. Prior to the end of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln drafted the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. The Wade-Davis Bill was proposed by Congress to counter Lincoln’s 10 percent rule for support. The Wade-Davis Bill suggested that 51 percent of voters pledge support to the United States before being accepted back into the Union. Lincoln pocket-vetoed this bill in order to prevent it from becoming law (Reconstruction Following the Civil War, 1999). The ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865 abolished slavery in the South (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2013). The Freedmen’s Bureau was established in 1865 by congress during the Reconstruction period and was designed to manage new schools, provide food and healthcare to the new freed African Americans. Led by Major General Oliver O. Howard, The Bureau’s most notable achievement was the establishment of education by building more than 1,000 black schools and expending over $400,000 on establishing teacher-training institutions. The greatest failure was the disbursement of abandoned lands to the freed slaves. The south was determined to make the transition to freedom very difficult for the free black men and women. To the distain of Congress, President Andrew Johnson gave the majority of the abandoned southern land to pardoned Southerners that forced oppressive sharecropping to become one of the only ways the newly freed African American’s to earn wages and support their families. The bureau was terminated in 1872 because of other national interests and the hostility of white Southerners (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2013). Many African American moved north to escape the oppressive treatment of the white Southerners.
The newly formed southern state governments were overwhelmingly staffed by ousted Confederate leaders. These Southern leader all passed laws to discriminate against the freed blacks called the “black codes”. These codes allowed the Southern whites to discriminate against the blacks by giving the whites nearly unlimited power. The institution of these codes caused the African Americans to revolt causing race riots from Memphis, Tennessee to New Orleans, Louisiana. During this time the Ku Klux Klan was formed by six former Confederate soldiers that were against black freedom. The Ku Klux Klan (also known as the KKK) would terrorize Southern black town by burning black churches and sometime even killing blacks by beating or hanging. Ku Klux Klan members would wear white masks to hide their identities. This group ended up being protected by the leadership of the Southern states (A History of US, 2003 pg. 19, 20). In 1866, President Johnson vetoed the Civil Rights Act that was proposed by Congress and the Radical Republicans led by Thaddeus Stevens who was an outspoken advocate of integration in the south. Stevens detested Johnson and Johnson called Stevens a traitor. Stevens called for Johnson to be impeached after he pointed out that the Constitution included this process. Stevens believed that Johnson took advantage of his office by committing crimes such as bribery and other high crimes. For the first time ever, Congress overrode Johnsons veto in a historic move destroying the Black Codes that were instilled in the South as law. (Clark, J. F. (2006). pg. 2.). This began the era known as the Congressional Reconstrution which meant Congress held more power than the president. The Fourteenth Amendment was then ratified ensuring all persons born or naturalized in the United States would be given equal protection under the law. This granted black people full citizenship. Tennessee was the only state to ratify this new amendment and was accepted back into the union as the remaining southern states did not. Then in 1868 Republicans drafted the Fifteenth Amendment which prohibited any state from denying citizens the right to vote. Under strong opposition, freed black slaves of the South began to organize and cast ballots for Republican politicians. Northern soldiers that were stationed in the south would ensure that black men were able to vote because still many white Southerners tried to block voting of blacks. With the addition of voter’s rights, Black Americans then began to hold office although rarely to high positions. Many of the Southern offices were white Republicans that had moved South after the war. These men were called “carpetbaggers” because they moved South with merely a ratty old carpetbag. The carpetbaggers that weren’t on another agenda came south to help improve the American black people. Conversely, Southern-born white Republicans and elite southern Republicans were given the name of “scalawag” by southern Democrats because these scalawag’s were seen to be some of the dirtiest, filthiest men. Northerners looked to head south to take advantage of commodities such as lumber from the lush southern forests.
In 1868 black voters were believed to have been a great support for the Republican candidates for President and Vice President, Ulysses S. Grant and Schuyler Colfax. Ultimately Grant and Colfax won the election for the Republicans. The Ku Klux Klan was creating havoc amongst the southern voters to try and sway their votes away from the Republican ticket. Sixteen blacks ultimately served Congress during the Reconstruction. Black men, to include Blanche K. Bruce and Hiram Revels of Mississippi would eventually go on to become U.S. Senators. Revels took Jefferson Davis’s seat in in the Senate. On the day Revels was sworn in the galleries of the Senate were packed. This day would go on to become one largest groups ever assembled in the Senate. Radical Southern whites found it difficult to accept black in the Senate (A History of US, 2003 pg. 25, 26).
Today, racial tension and disparity can be compared to the Civil War era of the late 1900’s but in a slightly different way. America today consists of immigrants from South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Today some Americans go out of their way to discriminate against others that are immigrants from other countries. Discrimination exists with sexual orientation, religious beliefs, and even political affiliation and can easily be compared to the discrimination practiced during the 1800’s. One major difference today is the absence of slavery. An example of tension was demonstrated after the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001. As Al Qaeda threatened Americans security and the resulting attack on the World Trade Center in New York, Middle Eastern men and women around the world were automatically associated with terrorism. Even 12 years later, Muslims are discriminated against and find it difficult to live in many areas of the United States as some extreme Americans continue to threaten violence regardless of the lack of involvement with the attacks. Another recent example of racial tension was Paula Deens use of racial slurs to former employees. Deen, from Georgia, is known throughout the world as a renowned southern chef and personality. She was accused of making racist remarks and harassment by a former manager from one of her Savannah restaurants. Once the accusations were made public, Deen’s public image along with her cooking empire was shattered in a matter of weeks. She was fired from The Food Network where she starred in three shows and her publisher cancelled her next book. She lost millions. Most importantly she lost the massive loyal following that made up the core of her success. Even though legally Deen avoided legal worries, she has found herself working diligently to regain the public’s trust and approval (Soltis, A (2013). New York Post).

References
Thirteenth Amendment. (2013). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/592556/Thirteenth-Amendment
Freedmen’s Bureau. (2013). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/218498/Freedmens-Bureau
Hakim, J. (1993). A History of US: Reconstructing America. Pages 19-20, 28-30
Clark, J. F. (2006). Eyewitness History: The Gilded Age pg. 2.
Ziff, M. (1999). Reconstruction Following the Civil War: In American History pg. 31, 83-84
Soltis, A (2013). New York Post: Paula Deen accuser can’t sue her for racism because she’s white, judge rule. http://nypost.com/2013/08/13/paula-deen-accuser-cant-sue-her-for-racism-because-shes-white-judge-rules/