Biology Forums - Study Force

Citing the Harper's Weekly Reports on Black America, describe how northerners and southerners viewed and treated blacks during Reconstruction. What conclusions can you draw regarding race relations in the United States. Include a brief discussion on how African Americans responded to their former masters after the Civil War ended.

After looking through the "Reconstruction: Reports on Black America from Harper’s Weekly magazine," I began to notice some of the common trends of the Reconstruction era. After the Civil War was completed, the constitution was tweaked, and the period of Reconstruction followed shortly after. The United States Reconstruction was a long and drawn out process that lasted a total of 14 years. The goal of the Reconstruction was to "fix" the United States and begin to put order back into place. The ending of the Civil War resulted in African Americans receiving their freedom. Although African Americans were rewarded their freedom, Whites in the North and South struggled to treat them as if it were true. Although the African Americans were "free" most of the whites failed to give them a fair voice, and equal opportunity which resulted in the "Black Codes." For example, Although the blacks were free, they were forced to work for their previous owners for little pay which caused them to remain extremely poor which effected their quality of living. Based on the Reconstruction era in the United States, it is clear that the white race was held at a higher standard than the blacks based on the opportunities and voice they each received.