Reconstruction
Credit: Library of Congress (2)
The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the President of the United States during the Civil War and advocated against slavery, a big reason for the South seceding. Due to his beliefs and eventual victory in the Civil War, Lincoln was seen as an enemy in some southerners eyes. Before his passing, Lincoln was able to pass the 13th amendment to the constitution, abolishing slavery in the United States. Lincoln, who had been planning for reconstruction and unifying the states, was shot and killed by John Wilkes Booth while attending a play at Ford's Theater (1). This ended his leadership going into the important parts of reconstruction.
Credit: PNG EGG (4)
The Future of the Southern States
Following the end of the Civil War, the future of the southern states apart the confederacy remain hung in the balance. Following their loss, confederate states were left broken with a critically damaged infrastructure. Following the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, newly appointed Andrew Jackson allowed the Southern States back into the Union with limited penalties. Upon re-entry to the Union, these southern states would have to give up slavery and adhere to the Union's central authority (3).
Credit: History Crunch (6)
Black Codes
Black codes were laws and regulations that were imposed to give African Americans some of the basic human rights they lacked while enslaved (5). African American marriages were now recognized by the government under law and they were allowed to own their own property. Although they were given more rights than they had before, it doesn't mean that they were treated equally. An example of this was punishing African Americans who were unemployed with jail time, something that did not effect unemployed white people.
Credit: Brittanica (8)
The Ku Klux Klan (KKK)
The Ku Klux Klan, also known as the KKK, was an organized group of white supremacists that formed during the reconstruction stage of the Union. The KKK was prevalent in the southern states, terrorizing African Americans and their communities (7). Their violence wasn't only directed at African Americans, they also disliked white Americans that supported the rights of African Americans and targeted them as well. Even after knowledge of them became wide-spread and people tried to stop them, their organization continued causing violence.
Credit: Wikipedia (10)
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass was an African American advocate for human rights during the reconstruction period. Douglass brought light to many issues that still affected African Americans after slavery was abolished, including the mistreatment and disrespect towards them. As a former slave, Douglass was able to gain a lot of support, as he knew first-hand the kind of hardships those who were discriminated in the United States faced (9). He is a big reason for the changes that were to come in the future regarding the well-being of African Americans in the United States.
Christopher Abernathy et al., “Reconstruction,” Nicole Turner, ed., in The American Yawp, eds. Joseph Locke and Ben Wright (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2018) www.americanyawp.com/text/15-reconstruction/
Currier & Ives. The Assassination of President Lincoln: at Ford's Theatre, Washington, D.C., April 14th, 1865. 1865. Photograph. Library of Congress. Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/resource/pga.06090/.
Christopher Abernathy et al., “Reconstruction,” Nicole Turner, ed., in The American Yawp, eds. Joseph Locke and Ben Wright (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2018) www.americanyawp.com/text/15-reconstruction/
Confederate States of America American Civil War Southern United States Union Flag of the United States. Photograph. PNG EGG. Accessed February 12, 2023. https://www.pngegg.com/en/png-yzkvu.
Christopher Abernathy et al., “Reconstruction,” Nicole Turner, ed., in The American Yawp, eds. Joseph Locke and Ben Wright (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2018) www.americanyawp.com/text/15-reconstruction/
Worse Than Slavery. 1874. Photograph. History Crunch. https://www.historycrunch.com/black-codes-in-the-united-states.html#/.
Christopher Abernathy et al., “Reconstruction,” Nicole Turner, ed., in The American Yawp, eds. Joseph Locke and Ben Wright (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2018) www.americanyawp.com/text/15-reconstruction/
Ku Klux Klan. Photograph. Britannica. Tennessee, 1948. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ku-Klux-Klan.
Douglass, Frederick, Accessed 2/12/23, https://link-gale-com.eznvcc.vccs.edu/apps/doc/CX3045300638/UHIC?u=viva2_nvcc&sid=bookmark-UHIC&xid=81466708.
Frederick Douglass. 1879. Photograph. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Douglass.