History On The Freedmen Essay, Research Paper

History of Freedmen

1. After the Civil War, the United States had to deal with the question on what to do about the status of the Freedmen of the South. Many people had different views and opinions on what should have been done. One of the extreme alternatives which could have occurred, is the Freedmen should be given full political, economic and social rights. People such as Frederick Douglas, radical republicans and obviously the Freedmen themselves hoped that this would occur. If this were to happen, the Freedmen would finally have the status as the White majority of Americans. This, of course did not happen. Two other alternatives that might have occurred is that the Freedmen would be allowed the right to vote and to hold office, which people such as Charles Sumner believed in, and the other, granted full economic freedom. Thaddeus Stevens and Booker T. Washington believed in the latter. Both of these groups believed that if at least one of these rights were achieved, the others would surely follow. The other extreme alternative that might have also happened is to keep the Freedmen segregated. Obviously the majority of the southerners were the ones that wished to see this followed through. The final alternative and the one that was carried out were to grant the Freedmen with second-class citizenship, which entitled them only to life, liberty and property.

2. There was different reasoning behind these alternatives the people believed should be enacted. The first alternative mentioned, giving Freedmen full rights, was sought after due to the fact that some felt as though the Freedmen were just as equal as the WASP s. These people also pointed to the constitution for back up, saying that all men are created equal. The next two alternatives pretty much tie into one when it comes to the reasoning behind them. Giving the Freedmen the right to vote and hold office or giving them economic freedom, was thought, by some, to be what every person should be entitled to. If a person is living in their country and abiding by the countries rules, then they at least should have a say in what affects them. As mentioned before, these people thought that if these basic rules were implemented, then all other rights would be sure to follow in time. Segregation was the solution according to the majority of the southerners. According to the latest philosophy on the creation on man, Darwinism, the white man was an inferior race and the blacks, not as high up the developmental ladder as them. Another main reason behind this alternative is history. Since as far back as, the people of this time period, could remember, blacks had always been the inferior race. It would be unethical to even slightly compare them to the all mighty white race. As history has shown, however, as strong as these previous arguments might have been, these alternatives were not enacted.

3. The alternative that was enacted by Lincoln and was viewed by most Americans as the right decision, was to make the Freedmen Second Class Citizens. This entitled the Freedmen to the three essentials of the constitution, life, liberty and property. In 1963, Lincoln started what was known to be the Presidential Reconstruction. Lincoln wanted to get the southern states back into the country as quick and lenient as possible. He did, however want to make clear that the southerners were not to be forgiven until they had recognized the 13th amendment and had also accepted their loss of the Civil War. On April 14, 1965, however, one single event changed the destiny of not only the Freedmen, but also the country as a whole. Henry Wilkes Booth snuck into a theater that Lincoln was attending and shot him in the back of the head, killing him instantly. This event caused a chain of events that affected a number of lives. When Lincoln ran a second time, he chose Andrew Johnson, a southerner, in hopes that he would gain the trust and popularity of the southerners. When Lincoln was assassinated, Johnson obviously was inducted as President of the United States. The actions Johnson took were, as many thought, not the actions Lincoln would have decided on. He took Lincolns quick and lenient policy one step further and re-admitted the southern states into the union. Johnson also returned all property to the southerners that were confiscated in the war and he also pardoned the confederate leaders. These events, much more rapid that Lincolns proposal, caused an already prominent lack of respect towards the Union to grow even more. This portrayed that all was forgotten and that the southerners had been forgiven. Other actions taken by the southerners such as passing of the black codes which stated blacks could not vote, serve jury duty or sit in for court testimony, proved that Lincolns policy of Second Class Citizenship would not be taken seriously for at least the next decade to come.

4. In conclusion, one must evaluate the alternatives that many thought should be the outcome of the Freedmen, and figure if not only the alternative chosen was the right one, but if it was effective. At the time, I don t believe that any of the other alternatives besides the concept of Second Class Citizenship would have succeeded with the majority of the population. I think that this concept, again in its time, was a valid decision. This would eventually, although through an extended period of time, lead to the full citizenship of the African American race it is today. I do, however, believe that they are still not truly as equal the whites are, even in this day. On the other hand, if one were to compare what the policy had been before the civil war, I do believe that they were partially successful in what was desired to achieve. If Lincoln had not been assassinated, I do also think that more actions would have been taken and that the southerners would not have been let off the hook as easily as they were.