The Battles of Reconstruction and the definition of freedom (week 3)

1/19/2015

The 13th , 14th, and 15th amendment arguably secured legal freedoms for black people in the United States. These decisions played a crucial role in the formation of the current interpretation of freedom and civil rights in this country. Defining and acting in ways that promote freedom in the black community has been an ongoing debate and nuance in the experience of black people nationwide. Things to think about: What does it mean to be free? How did the legalized oppression and consistent denial of humanity impact people during that time (black people and others)? How has this level of oppression in private and public spaces impact all people's sense of self and political agency?

Instructions
For this weeks blog I want you to watch both videos below. Develop a 150 word original post by Friday and respond to another student by Sunday of each week. Your original post should include a brief overview of what you read, an analysis of the two major themes from each reading that directly address the questions above and a conclusion that asks critical thinking questions (open ended questions about the subject matter). These questions will be the prompt to other students to respond to you. In your original post include two quotes from the Black Liberation & Socialism text in an effort to connect the material.

19 Comments

Andre Mouton

1/23/2015 05:06:25 am

What it means to be free during reconstruction was an oxymoron but for the most part was enlightening and something that America had to adjust and come to the realization that Blacks would be free by law. Blacks were exited and started taking advantage of laws and spaces that was not available to them before. This ideal of freedom was all but accepted in the Southern States mostly because the Union had to come to the south and free slaves by enforcing the law through military means. One problem with reconstruction in the south was the land once taken was given back to the former slave owners and share cropping was again a tool in which blacks were used as cheap laborers. Northern whites did not complete reconstruction in the south and southern democrats regained power and created laws designed to keep blacks from voting even though blacks were given the right to vote loopholes and threatening tactics where used to keep them from voting at the voting polls. The KKK reemerges and terrorized blacks their rights to vote and whites who supported it.
What could have been done to make reconstruction a more effective act? Do you think 40 acres and a mule would have made a difference? if so how?. I think we have come a long way from George Washington’s days and the Constitution is a great document but the sub-conscious mind of black and white America is scared and divided by society from the past.

Jessica Jaime

1/28/2015 09:53:05 am

I agree with what your saying about how can African American people be "free" when laws are being places against them and share cropping was another way slave owners kept them and used them for cheap labor. I feel that only the truth and the opportunity to learn the truth will help us learn and change the devious cycle.

marie brown

1/23/2015 08:00:03 am

The Battles of Reconstruction and the definition of freedom

To be free, can mean to be able to be one-self have your own opinions, and have characteristics that separate you from other. Freedom can also be view as having major human rights that protect you by the law. As for my thoughts it also means to be able to be proud that we live.
But the facts that African had been kidnaped, torture, enslaved, raped and murder. Also sold off to other part of the country, and generally kept in an inferior position to demonstrate just how they view black as inferior. The lies only served to show the horrors of slavery and create a crucial part of social glue that held society together. “Andrew Johnson believe that blacks never have a right to succeed” And the only way was to show that they own land; the land that they help share cropping and build. (What a joke) the end of slavery, enabled America for the first time to live up to the full involvement of its independent principle canceling racial discrimination and accepting blacks into the political nation reconstruction was a mark in the history of civil rights in the United States. But for black the failure of reconstruction was a disaster. The white southerners’ concept played large role in the moving the manner of white supremacy and second-class citizenship for blacks, better known as the era of Jim Crow. The white protective societies that arose during this period—the largest of which was the Ku Klux Klan (KKK)—sought to disenfranchise blacks by using voter fraud and intimidation as well as more extreme violence, such as lynch and so on. But some today claim that America is a “post-racial society.” They say the “barriers to Black advancement” have been largely overcome. Many go so far as to put the main blame for the severe problems faced by Black people today on…Black people themselves. Others claim that better education, or more traditional families, or religion, or elections will solve.
Do our black children need male role models or do the need to see man and women who model the respect and equality that reflects the world we are fighting for?

amal pujol

1/25/2015 02:24:30 pm

Hi Marie,
I agree with your analysis completely. I do feel that our black children need role models both male and female to teach them that they can over so many obstacles. However, the issues in our community are so deeply rooted that it would take the support of our nation(all races and colors) for us to fully overcome these. There needs to be a comprehensive history taught in schools to educate all youth of all races and background of the important role that Black people play in the creation of this nation. Our black youths need to feel empowered at knowing the truth that without their ancestors there would be no America in the sense that it exist today. I feel that only when the truth is exposed and digested for what it is, can we learn for those mistakes and see how far in the journey we have come and most importantly how long we have to go.

Gabriela Hernandez

1/23/2015 01:12:56 pm

The Battles of Reconstruction and the Definition of Freedom

In my opinion what it means to be free is to be allowed to do whatever you want which in this case would be being allowed your right to vote, own property and be equal.Watching both videos it talked about reconstruction in the first video it says " For many thought the best way to return things to the way they were before reconstruction was through violence."The video also talks about legislatures passing Jim Crow Laws that limited African Americans access to public accommodations. After 1867 much of the violence directed toward African Americans in the south was politically motivated.One thing about this video that caught my attention was that they said men and women were being beat in order to intimidate them from voting. This caught my attention because it's sad to know that these people were being beaten for some thing they should have been entitled to,which were their rights to vote. In the second video, it talks about registering to vote and how if you were a black man it was a matter of life or death, the possibility of having your home burned down, of getting whipped, beaten and shot. What is your view on how reconstruction ended ?

Makamae (Davina) Heinz

1/25/2015 03:51:33 pm

I also like your definition of free. I feel it is where we are free to do whatever we want to do. I also was in shock to know how people were being beat so that they are afraid to vote. I think a lot of people do not know how lucky we are today. I know there is still a lot of things that need to be changed but I could not imagine being alive around the time when people could not vote that were of color or being a women also.The second reconstruction video was really deep how it ended. I can not believe there were post cards for people to send. I am still in shock and it is hard to not get angry after the end of that video. I can not get how anyone can hang people like that and be normal like it is nothing sitting or standing next to the body. It is really evil and sick. I am so disturbed.

Marcos Guzman

1/23/2015 01:38:17 pm

Reconstruction Crash Course:

After the civil war the United States was in a progress of reconstruction. The government was re integrated between the slave population and rebellious population. After Abraham Lincoln’s assassination President Johnson appointed provisional governors and ordered them to call state conventions to set new governments that were similar to those of confederate governments. Many slaves after the war were Promised Land, though the promise was not kept. Share cropping was implemented, freed blacks got to control their work and plantation owners got a steady workforce that could not leave due to poverty. Radical republicans wanted the governmental power to expand and passed the civil rights bill. The constitution was amended and the fourteenth amendment was added during this time.
Black codes were legal codes that replaces the word slave with “Negro” preventing the prosperity of freed black slaves. African Americans later were granted the right to vote once they began to gain power they began to dominate the South. Reconstruction began to end because taxes were implemented and white southerners could not accept the fact blacks were being given the same right as white Americans. Violence began to prevent reconstruction through physical violence (KKK).

Reconstruction (Continued):

There was a massive cultural shift in the south. Once freed politics and labor were flipped. Reconstruction is followed soon by redemption. Yet through reconstruction white southerners were overwhelmed by anxiety due to blacks being freed. Redemption is the era of white trying to reconcile what was lost during the war. They redeemed what was possible through violent organizations known as the Klu Klux Klan, Knight of the white Camilia, pale faces, white brotherhood, and council of safety. Once the northern troops receded from the south the movement of white power began. White southerners targeted black southerners and destroyed crops and barns etc. Blacks prior to reconstruction had no representation. The southerners began gerrymandering to prevent black votes to mater and pole taxes were implemented. This was all used to prevent them from voting. Large majority of southerners primarily blacks were lynched men accused of crimes against white southerners. Black men were seen as uncivilized and lynching was a form of corrective reprimanding to keep blacks down.

part 1 of 2

marcos guzman

1/23/2015 01:40:06 pm

Questions:

Freedom means to not be under the control of another entity or person. To be able to act as one wishes without repercussions or fear.
The legalized oppression by white southerners implemented on blacks was overall negative. The oppression lead to the deaths of blacks who were considered uncivilized and lynching seemed as an appropriate response. The legal denial of equality was very traumatizing because even after granted their freedom blacks knew the direct result that would emerge for speaking out and exercising their new granted rights. Most who did speak out were killed or fled the south in fear of death. The political agency took a rather bigger impact in the south. Blacks began to take office and dominate the government due to the high population of blacks in the south.

Conclusion:
African Americans have made many advancement since they were granted their freedom…Yet in current events with what is currently going on regarding African Americans is it safe to say they are still in the same struggle trying to have a voice at the table? Why is it still hard for people in this day and age to see Blacks as equals?

part 2 of 2

marie

1/24/2015 11:05:57 am

We live in a society that no matter how poor a white person is, “he is still white”. How dare someone like Barack Obama became President. The equalization has always been there; but the thought of society losing control, threaten their sense of security. And when African American stop looking back, and know they are not controlled by their past.

1/25/2015 12:23:48 pm

Freeing the slaves was about equality but more so a political move made by the Republican Party. It seems that the African American civil rights movement has been taking a step backwards legally and socially. Although some African Americans have made great progress they are exceptions and the masses still have been targeted to be suppressed and disadvantaged. African Americans need a new leader that will win the trust and attention of people all colors who want to make equality and transparency a reality for all people especially minorities.

1/25/2015 02:58:23 pm

CORRECTION: Freeing the slaves was NOT about equality.

3/24/2015 06:27:05 am

The African American communities still face discrimination when it comes to voting. In the past pre voting tax fees had to be paid, one must own land or meet certain criteria. Though it is illegal to do any of this and prevent them from voting. Intimidation is still very present at voting booths. This prevents minorities from voting due to a fear of arrest or possibly even deportation.

Jordan Leopold

1/23/2015 03:27:06 pm

Crash Course provided a in thorough overview of the Reconstruction Era by looking at the progress that took place after the end of the civil war/Lincoln era to the the midst of the Redemption Era in an historical perspective of dates, people, and political impacts on Black African Americans and the country. The Yale lecture provided a more thorough insight into the social aspects of the Reconstruction/Redemption Era by detailing the impact of social ideologies, voting restrictions, lynchings, and more through much use of pathos. Powerful.

My definition of “freedom” is the ability to do as one may please with no restrictions — synonymous with “Liberty.” This was felt during the reconstruction era, when Blacks were able to demonstrate for equality, ability to vote and hold office, better school system, own land, and advance within American world with the assistance of the Civil Rights Law. Unfortunately, this was cut short once the Bargain of 1877 took place — north vacated the south, began construction of the Transcontinental Railroad, intense Jim Crow laws (Gerrymandering, Grandfather Rule, Literacy Tests, Poll Taxes, etc.), and an onslaught of violent acts. This level of oppression faced by Blacks of America really pulverized the Black mindset as the progress that was being made greatly regressed back to a more oppressive state. It affects many to this day in the form of “post traumatic slave syndrome.” Something I learned a little about recently.

Makamae D.R Heinz

1/23/2015 03:55:45 pm

What does it mean to be free? I believe being free is being able to make decisions without no one deciding for you. It means free to do what you want to do. It means being able to go where you want also and be free and not have to go in only certain areas where you can go based on your color. In the videos we watched it was really interesting what the professor was saying about how they harassed black people when they were trying to vote. The way they were there waiting with a whip to try to scare them so that they can reclaim what they felt was theirs. They also would destroy homes, and barns to try to scare people off. In the reading of the first chapter in Black Liberation And Socialism one of the quotes that really stood out to me was in the introduction when they talked about Katrina and how this one lady held up a sign that said "No Iraqis left me on a roof to die." That was so true and sad and it all goes back to how black people got treated back in the day. It shows how it is still a struggle and how racism will always be out here. I do believe a lot has changed but it still is a lot that still needs to happen.

1/25/2015 04:32:43 am

Makamae,
I like your definition of freedom and I agree with you how its sad that these people were being beaten and how they weren't allowed to make their own decisions like you said their were people waiting on them with a whip to scare them. It's sad and frustrating to know that at some point this happened and that these peoples life and freedom were being dictated.

Melissa Strah

1/23/2015 04:54:15 pm

By, 1876 the nation was prepared to abandon its commitment to equality for all citizens regardless of race. Was that really followed through? Were the Black people going to have the ability to vote? Reconstruction was taking place to benefit the Southern whites. If a African American want to vote they were given restrictions such as your grandfather needed to be a registered voter, you needed to be literate in reading and they had to be able to pay taxes and so on. Threat of violence would wipe out the Black vote. The white supremacy groups would make sure that the Blacks would not cross the line to make it to the ballot box. The Democrats established dominance through violence, intimidation, and discrimination forcing the Blacks not to have any freedom and more or less excluding them from any political rights. Instead of the Blacks having any freedom to vote it seemed that it would turn into chaos. Forces by the Ku Klux Klan would reverse anything to and defeat the Blacks so that they would not have the ability to vote. Lynching would take place by the Ku Klux Klan giving no freedom at all to the Black people, instead it seem that things became worse.

1/24/2015 04:38:46 am

To be free in my opinion means that you are able to live in a society where you can exercise all rights and are entitled to have opinions on pressing issues that affect your life. It means that you have the right to choose when and how to earn a living, to receive fair wages for the work that you do, to have a say in the educational system that your children participate in, to have access to health care and to have the right and access to officials into power that will represent and advocate for the needs of your community. The legalized oppression and consistent denial of humanity had several negative impacts on the people during that time. It stripped them of a voice in society as a whole. It was not for the work that blacks did during slavery then America would not have been a successful nation. It was the cotton industry that allowed North America to be such an impactful player in during the industrial ages. The nations wealth was literally built on the backs of black Americans and to deny them basic human rights at the same time as granting white Americans freedom, the right to vote. Even when Black people where given the right to vote, they had so many obstacles that where put in their way that prevented them from doing so. They had to take literacy test, they were threatened with violence, and they had to have proof of property taxes and many other hurdles that were designed to prevent them from exercising their rights. These methods intimidated many Blacks from voting and instilled a substantial amount of fear in their minds. This level of oppression may have caused some to lose their sense of self and feel like a lesser citizen than white Americans. It also may have caused some white Americans to have an inflated sense of entitlement. It also caused a deep divide in the nation that can still be felt today. How have those obstacles affected the voter turnout in African American communities in the present time? What are some ways we can reverse these negative effects?

1/25/2015 06:17:53 am

Amal, your analysis of the reconstruction/redemption era is accurate. Freedom for Blacks was nonexistent as slaves. Once slavery was abolished, freedom wasn't immediately felt. As time progressed and Blacks were able to experience the little "freedom" that was -- voting, holding office, schooling -- it was soon restricted to lesser states. Blacks were able to vote, but that "right" regressed as voting intimidation practices and other Jim Crow laws politically oppressed the Black/African American attitude and culture. Having to face this sad truth for a great period of time, I feel this deeply affected the Black attitude towards voting to this day. I feel many lack faith in our government and feel that we as a people are not full represented or acknowledged. I think the way to resolve this attitude is by strengthening our teachings of US government and the importance of voting within our school systems and provide insight into the matter. The partnership between movie theaters and the creators of the movie "Selma" is a great example, allowing free showings to 7th-9th graders. Also, engaging with Black communities and assist their understanding of the importance of city, state, and federal politics, all to encourage and support more Black political figures to run for office to bring out the Black vote. Look at the voting turn out for Obama's elections.

1/28/2015 09:47:33 am

The Battles of Reconstruction and the definition of freedom have not changed and the failure of the reconstruction is still a huge issue. How can you change anything if you keep appointing the same people in power and not honoring African American equality or moral values but change things to benefit your personal goals? Andrew Johnson believe that blacks never have a right to succeed and how would African Americans be free if they are still being beat, killed, kidnapped and limit them with Jim crow laws to prevent any type of advancement of becoming economically independent. Freedom was never given and share cropping was just another way for legalized work to keep the African Americans oppressed within these Southern states.

The Battles of Reconstruction and the definition of freedom (week 3)

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The Battles of Reconstruction and the definition of freedom (week 3)

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THE BEAUTY

OF BLACK

CREATION

ABOUT US

JOURNALS

SUBMISSIONS