Part 1 - Presidential Election Republican Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrat Samuel J. Tilden
Part 2 - Constitutional Crisis and Proposed Solutions
On October 8th, we began to discuss the failures of Reconstruction. This week we will begin to explore the constitutional gains of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments and the Compromise of 1877. This information is also presented in Chapter 13 of your text book, The African-American Odyssey.
Please review chapter 13 of your text book, particularly pages 340-343. View the videos above. And review the links listed:
- http://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/compromise-of-1877
- http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-civilwar/5470
- http://www.rbhayes.org/hayes/president/display.asp?id=511&subj=president
How do the facts
presented on this page affirm, challenge, or change your understanding of
American culture (inclusive of race relations), the power of the U.S.
Constitution, and/or citizen rights?
You may incorporate examples from Dr.
Melynda Price's lecture.
What I was taught in high school was that after the civil war the transition from African Americans being slaves to being free was flawless. But we were never taught of the actual turmoil that really took over behind the scenes. Listening to Dr. Melynda Price speak definitely changed the way that I looked at reconstruction. Especially the fact that African Americans once free were basically forced back into free labor from fake laws such as eyeballing, etc.The one that disturbed me personally was the fact that African Americans weren't allowed to leave unless in secret. This reminded me a lot of slavery, and made me realize that although the term slavery couldn't be applied anymore, African Americans in the south weren't really free. They were scared to vote as well because white men might come and lynch them for voicing their opinion. It shows that although slavery was gone, white systematic oppression in the south was still very much alive.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with Jared. We learned about chattel slavery, and we learned about the emancipation. But, it was always a very clear-cut topic. It was like one day there was slavery, and the next, they were all free. Dr. Price, our class discussions and these videos on the Compromise of 1877 have all really opened my eye to to the truth about the emancipation, the amendments and the compromise.
ReplyDeleteThe compromise of 1877 proves that while America boast of its love of democracy and of equality when it came down to it the ones who made the decisions were not the people, but instead rich white men with an agenda of their own making back door deals. This is what America's policies and legislations are built on, not the will of the people whose lives would too be affected. Specifically for newly freed African Americans that were given rights for the first time thanks to the 13th,14th, and 15th amendments, however history repeats itself and once again one man's needs outweighs the needs of a majority as a result of the Compromise of 1877. Federal troops leave the south and therefore leave African Americans to figure it out on their own, once again not able to use the voice that the civil war amendments were suppose to give them.
ReplyDeleteI never really had a clear understanding of what happened in America after emancipation. In my history classes we always went straight from Abraham Lincoln, the Great Emancipator to Martin Luther King, Jr. Through the information covered in these videos, our readings, and Dr. Price's lecture, I now have a better understanding of what America was like post-reconstruction. It was a dark time in our history. Things were changing and not everyone was happy about it.
ReplyDeleteThe Compromise of 1877 showed how weak and sketchy the United States government was. The compromise showed the weakness by the supreme court justice person in the compromise was too scared to vote as a tie breaker. The compromise showed the sketchiness because they knew that if all the troops left the south, it would mean bad news for the black people there without protection.
ReplyDeleteThe facts presented on this page affirm my understanding of American culture for the power of the U.S. Constitution, and US citizen rights. Even though new laws and new amendment were made, nothing wasn't really getting solved. The compromise is an excellent example of mistrust and disloyalty to blacks. I know that some black republicans would have felt some type of betrayal when they lost power that they recently had.
ReplyDeleteMy knowledge of what actually happened after the emancipation was never very clear. As many others have noted, I thought it was just a smooth transition and nothing was really opposed. After watching these videos, I feel as if I am learning about this for the first time. My eyes have been opened to this new "real" side of the story. This was a down time for our country.
ReplyDeleteThe Compromise of 1877 was never fully covered through my public education in high school. I am not sure if it was because of ignorance or fear that it would be "too gruesome" much like we were taught that we were kind to the Native Americans. I found the part about how free slaves were free until they were found breaking the law. These laws could be as easy as being out after dark, looking at a white superior the wrong way etc. If the "freed slave" were to be accountable for the crime they would be forced to be sent to "working Farms". These farms were labor fields that slaves use to work on much like plantations they could spend up to two years working without pay for a crime as simple as being out past six. For me, this personally stuck to me as I never heard this part of our (American) history. I feel strong need to want to change how we teach this part of our history.
ReplyDeleteMy views on American culture were not changed; however, this information filled in the gaps in my knowledge on this subject. I knew that the compromise of 1877 brought the end of reconstruction, but i didn't know the cultural and political ramifications of the compromise. It seems to me that this document set into place nearly a century of violent (post-slavery) hatred in the south. The compromise of 1877 left all the African-Americans in the south without protection from angry southern whites. The end of reconstruction and retreat of northern troops from the south is ,what I believe, what ultimately led to Jim Crow laws, segregation, and much more.
ReplyDeleteThis information, along with lectures and reading have crystalized my views on America. It has provided hard evidence of the hypocrisy that existed (and still exists) in this country that has had a profound impact on the well being of an entire population. Laws that masked themselves as freedom and lawmakers that masked themselves as freedom fighters, are false notions of an America that wanted equality for all its people. Emancipation brought about many things - one of them not being life, liberty or pursuit of happiness for black Americans.
ReplyDeleteThe facts presented on this page affirm my understanding of American culture. Throughout American history, hypocrisy is evident. The compromise of 1877, along with other documents signed after the emancipation of slavery, did little for the lives of African Americans in the United States. What shocked me the most about the facts discussed in class was how when African Americans were charged with a crime, they would be sent to a “working farm”. Meaning they were sent back to the plantation they worked on when they were not free. This just proves that after the emancipation, African Americans were far from free.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I don't recall learning about the Emancipation and the effect it had on the United States. After watching the videos, and the lectures we had that covered information about the emancipation opened my eyes. People were upset about the changes that were in set to change and changes that had been made.
ReplyDeleteThe facts presented affirm my understanding of American culture during this era. Although I did not know all the details about what happened during reconstruction, I was still aware that slavery did not actually end. African Americans have been fighting for equality for years (and in some aspects the fight is still alive). The Constitution did not protect African Americans or give them the same rights as whites. In a sense, the Constitution was first created for whites and whites only, and throughout the years it has been revised to essentially protect the greater population, including African Americans. But, it is important to note that the "foundation" of America did not represent various races and cultures.
ReplyDeleteThe facts presented on this page have really changed my views of everything that happened shortly after the civil war. I never really realized how little documents such as the Compromise of 1877 and the Constitution actually did for African Americans. There are so many contradictions throughout them that it really ignores a lot of rights for African American. I always thought it was not a hard transition from slavery to being free, but that is obviously wrong. There was not much of a change at all and there was actually an increase in violence that carried on after the war. There so many innocent lives lost during this time of Reconstruction and a lot of history fail to mention it, which is why my knowledge of this point in history has greatly changed.
ReplyDelete