Former Slaves Museum : 3D Gallery

The Slaves struggle

As you can see in the picture above there's a couple of African American slaves working in the field. Their work days were usually from sunrise to sundown. Or until their "owner" told them to stop. But that wasn't their only struggle they would also face physical abuse from their "owner."

Andrew Johnson 17th president

Andrew Johnson became president after Abraham Lincoln was murdered in 1865. He then continued the reconstruction. Johnson's reconstruction plan was pretty lenient towards the south. His plan consisted of a couple rules the south had to follow. The rules were each state would have to withdraw it secession, swear allegiance to the union, and ratify the 13th Amendment. And ordered all land under federal control to be returned to its previous owner. But Johnson's plan ignored slaves voting rights.

Radical Republic

The Radical Republics Reconstruction plan was more strict on the south than Johnson's plan. The Radicals wanted a majority of the Southern states voting population to swear allegiance to the union. They felt the congress should be in charge of the reconstruction instead of the president. But the Radical Republic were angry that Johnsons plan didnt support or help the freedman. They felt that freed slaves right should be protected. So their plan also wanted the south to ratify the 13th,14th,and 15th amendments.

The Amendments.

The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were made to protect freedmen's rights. All three Amendments were passed after the Union states won the Civil War in 1865 against the Confederacy states.

Black Codes

The trouble for African Americans wasn't over even after the passing of the Amendments. In 1865-1866 black codes were passed after the Civil War by Southern states with the intent and effect of restricting African Americans freedom. The codes also made them have to work in a labor economy based on low wages and debt. The black codes were abolished after the reconstruction.

Sharecropping

Sharecropping is a form of agriculture in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on their portion of land. Started in 1870-1950 Sharecropping helped the landowners in the south by allowing them to have a large labor force to handle their land without having to pay anyone. But Sharecropping was not really beneficial for the African Americans working the land. The white land owners arranged it so that most "sharecroppers" could not make enough money to buy their own food, clothes or farming tools needed. They would usually have to borrow money from the white land owners. And they would take their crops and sell it themselves so the "sharecroppers" would normally stay in debt. They would have to work whenever the land owners would tell them to. So again African Americans were basically being treated like slaves just under a different name.

K.K.K

A group including many former Confederate veterans founded the Ku Klux Klan as a social club in Pulaski, Tennessee, in 1866. The KKK turned into a violent terrorist organization. The overall goal was to restore white supremacy and prevent African Americans from exercising their political rights. But they also targeted catholic's and jew's.

The Aftermath

The civil war improved the North's economy but harmed the economy in the South. First of all it freed the slaves causing the south to lose its work force having to readjust to the economy. The most difficult part for Southerners was making a new system of labor to replace slavery. Most battles occurred in the South leaving their land destroyed with broken railroads, farms and plantations were burned down and their crops destroyed.

The Norths Economy

While the south's economy was crumbling the north was booming after the civil war ended. The northener's benefited from the railroad boom and manufacturing war time projects. There were markets for products used by the union army. Northern factories were producing more than ever before. Booming factories meant that bankers and investors were making profits.

Achievements and failures of the Reconstruction

African Americans were freed from Slavery
African Americans were allowed to vote
They are now considered citizens of the United States
they become politically active
They had the support of the union army

Failures

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Former Slaves Museum