Reconstruction or Destruction? 1871

The Civil War is over, but the hate is not. Recently, Congress passed the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. This was celebrated by blacks and abolitionists everywhere. In the South, however, they are finding loop holes in the system. Sharecropping has become one of the only ways for freed blacks and poor whites to make a living, forcing them into a lifestyle not so different from slavery. Jim Crow laws are being enacted everyday as a way to prevent newly freed blacks from having a say in politics. Violent uprisings occur everyday from groups of angry ex-confederates. Most of these uprisings have been linked back to organized white supremacy groups such as the Ku Klux Klan. The Freedman's Bureau has fallen. Where does this leave us? Has all of this, the War, reconstruction, assassination, been for nothing? No, it has not been for nothing. Even with the destruction and the hate roaring its ugly head, we still have hope. We have taken a giant step for America by even attempting to fix this broken system. The hope, this noble attempt of reconstruction in the South, will live on in the hearts of our children for generations to come, and when the time is right, equality and integration will prevail.

1871 Reconstruction of the South