During Reconstruction, free black Americans were not really able to participate as equal members of society because white supremacy was very evident, and President Johnson was not willing to give them a chance.
African Americans as voters and elected officials
Although African Americans were a majority in the Southern states, it is not surprising that they remained a minority when it came to government; most whites in the south were determined to keep their own race in control. On the surface it seemed African Americans would have a fair chance in the government, but one did not have to dig very much deeper to see that was not really the case.
Education
Prior to the war, slaves would be punished for seeking education. Because of this, the majority of freed African Americans were left starting their new lives without knowing how to read or write. Schools were set up and grew quite rapidly, with approximately 600,000 black elementary school students in 1877. As expected, there was a violent response from racists in the country, who even went as far as to murder an African Anerican man because he had become literate.
Sharecropping
Sharecropping was supposed to be a solution for people who were economically struggling, either recently freed African Americans or whites in poverty. The idea was that a land owner would rent out land to each person in exchange for (usually) half of their crops, and then the person could save money from the remaining crop. However, the majority of sharecroppers found themselves trapped in debt and unable to escape.
Tenant farmers
Tenant farmers were similar to sharecroppers, but instead of renting land in exchange for crops, they paid in money. This allowed them to gain more money because they could sell all of their crop instead of just the remainder. If tenant farmers did well, they might even be able to work up to owning their own farms, but it was a long way there.
Land distribution
During Reconstruction, there was a lot of dispute over how land should be distributed. Many freed slaves had been promised land by General Sherman during the war, but Johnson didn't honor this promise. Initially, they settled on the land they were to be allotted, but were forced off of it so that the original owners could reclaim it. Congress could not agree what the right thing to do was, so they gave the African American people land, but there was a major catch: it was unsuitable for farming. The situation was tricky because in order to give the freed slaves good land, the government would have to confiscate land that already belonged to whites. In the end, African Americans were given almost nothing form the government to help them start new lives.
Although African Americans were a majority in the Southern states, it is not surprising that they remained a minority when it came to government; most whites in the south were determined to keep their own race in control. On the surface it seemed African Americans would have a fair chance in the government, but one did not have to dig very much deeper to see that was not really the case.
Education
Prior to the war, slaves would be punished for seeking education. Because of this, the majority of freed African Americans were left starting their new lives without knowing how to read or write. Schools were set up and grew quite rapidly, with approximately 600,000 black elementary school students in 1877. As expected, there was a violent response from racists in the country, who even went as far as to murder an African Anerican man because he had become literate.
Sharecropping
Sharecropping was supposed to be a solution for people who were economically struggling, either recently freed African Americans or whites in poverty. The idea was that a land owner would rent out land to each person in exchange for (usually) half of their crops, and then the person could save money from the remaining crop. However, the majority of sharecroppers found themselves trapped in debt and unable to escape.
Tenant farmers
Tenant farmers were similar to sharecroppers, but instead of renting land in exchange for crops, they paid in money. This allowed them to gain more money because they could sell all of their crop instead of just the remainder. If tenant farmers did well, they might even be able to work up to owning their own farms, but it was a long way there.
Land distribution
During Reconstruction, there was a lot of dispute over how land should be distributed. Many freed slaves had been promised land by General Sherman during the war, but Johnson didn't honor this promise. Initially, they settled on the land they were to be allotted, but were forced off of it so that the original owners could reclaim it. Congress could not agree what the right thing to do was, so they gave the African American people land, but there was a major catch: it was unsuitable for farming. The situation was tricky because in order to give the freed slaves good land, the government would have to confiscate land that already belonged to whites. In the end, African Americans were given almost nothing form the government to help them start new lives.