The Reconstruction Era in Afro American History

After the Civil War in 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution abolished slavery. Black people received their freedom. A period of Reconstruction began and, over the next 12 years, many social, political, and economic changes occurred in the United States. The dawn of this Reconstruction held great promise for the previously enslaved African Americans. However, misconception, distrust, resentment, and hatred became stumbling blocks on the road to dismantling the racial animosity and intolerance ingrained in Southern culture. This historical era ended in 1877, when anti-black violence accompanied a period known as Redemption.
With the abolition of slavery, the slave-based culture of the South began to change. During slavery, black children, wives, and husbands had been sold without regard to family unity. The newly freed blacks attempted to reunite their families, through newspaper ads and notices. The reestablishment of the black family as a social unit began to...