Essays --

After the abolition of slavery, many African Americans became extremely optimistic about their future in the United States. They figured there would be more equality, more opportunities, and overall more respect. They were given empty promises, false hopes, and sugar-coated lies, because, in all actuality, it was the exact opposite of what they imagined. Racism became even more prevalent, and it was just as hard, if not harder for African Americans. The abolition of slavery did not mean blacks were free. It did not mean we were equal. All it meant was that they had different ways to do the same thing, and they made sure that regardless of the freedom of slaves, African Americans would still be controlled in some way. On January 1, 1863, Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves. The Emancipation Proclamation was issued as the country entered the third year of the Civil War. It declared that â€Å"all persons held as slaves †¦ shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.† The Emancipation Proclamation was, and continues to be a symbol of equality and social justice. As a result, he was assassinated. After his death, Andrew Jackson became President of the United States. Jackson was an extreme racist, and made this very clear during his term of presidency. On July 9, 1886, the 14th Amendment was put into place. This law recognizes anyone born in the United States of America as a legal US citizen. It also forbids states from denying any person his life, liberty or property, without the correct means of the law. It was meant to protect the civil rights of all Americans regardless of their race or gender. The Fifteenth Amendment was established on February 26, 1869. It was the third in the Reconstruction Amendments. This amendment prohibits an... ...the Reconstruction, is that no matter what legally was done in an effort to help, there were always loopholes and other laws that would counter us from being totally free. We may not have been in slavery, but we were still enslaved, not only because of our mindsets, but because of our surroundings. The system was meant for us to fail, be dependent, and continue being submissive to the white man because no matter what laws were passed, or what changes were made, that is where they wanted us to be. Black codes, Jim Crow laws, segregation, and everything else that was legal after slavery was abolished, were all forms of slavery in a subtle way. They were meant to get in the heads of the blacks, and if you can get in a person’s head, you can control them. The reconstruction era was the beginning of a downward spiral between blacks and whites that branched after slavery.