‘The Slaves went free and stood for a brief moment in the sun’ Du Bois; How valid is this view?
In 1865 reconstruction begun with the aim of securing racial equality between blacks and whites in the southern states. Du Bois believes that during this period blacks ‘stood for a brief moment in the sun’. There were significant improvements to black lies that took place during this period such as their freedom of movement, re-unification of family units and improvements in education. However reconstruction also failed to secure racial equality in many ways. Black people were still economically deprived and there was no real political equality as most black people were prevented form voting in the south and most had to live with the threat of white supremacy groups such as the KKK.
One of the most important benefits of the reconstruction for blacks was the freedom of movement. This meant Blacks could now move to find new work opportunities or to take advantage of new land in the west. Between 1865 and 1870 the black population of the South’s 10 largest cities doubled. Black people could now own their own property and choose their employment. One of the most significant impacts of this new freedom was the re-unification of many black families. Blacks could now move and find lost relations such as siblings and children who had been sold on to new owners during slavery, by 1900 80% of black families were strong family units. This freedom of movement meant blacks could now attempt to improve their lives and supports Du Bois’ view that reconstruction allowed for significant improvements to the lives of black Americans.
Another significant impact of reconstruction was the improvement to education opportunities for blacks. The reconstruction meant that black people could now begin to gain an education as education for blacks had previously been banned in many southern