The Revolutionary Aftermath of the Civil War Essay -- Racism Discrimin

The Revolutionary Aftermath of the Civil War Despite many hardships that remained from the antebellum state of the union, reconstruction was a socially and constitutionally revolutionary period. The attempts to deter black voters were greatly outweighed by the numbers of blacks voting, as well as the laws that were passed to protect the rights of American citizens, black and white alike. The years after the war saw a rise in the number of human rights laws that were passed, most of which were primarily focused on blacks, but included whites as well. In document D, Gideon Welles stated that the national government didn’t hold the power to grant suffrage to anyone, nor had it shown any interest in the matter. Because of this, the state governments were able to enact black codes which restrained citizens, both black and white, from voting because they were illiterate or because they weren’t of a high enough economic status. This later changed as blacks became more active in government and voiced their upset to the national government, as shown by Document C. B...