Reconstruction: What did Slavery Mean?
Just because the Civil War came to end and Congress passed the 13th Amendment ending slavery does not mean that life immediately improved for the millions of African American previously held in bondage. Reconstruction was in many ways a time of physical, social, and psychological rebuilding. Black and white Americans had to learn to co-exist in the Post-Bellum (after the Civil War) south. As with most major transitions, some fared better than other. Many African American simply returned to their former plantations because they could not find work elsewhere. Many white planters went bankrupt because they could not bring themselves to hire wage laborers. A handful of African Americans embraced their newfound freedom and used it to gain a better life for themselves and their children.
Your assignment is to examine the accounts of former masters, letters written by former slaves, to their former masters, and recollections of former slaves. Use that reading to answer the following questions in your essay. You will still need to make a historical argument. You thesis should address the following question: Was Reconstruction positive or negative for the rebuilding of the American economy and society? To help guide you as you work through this question, answer the following questions:
1. What strikes you odd or surprising from the accounts of the former masters?
2. What strikes you odd or surprising from the letters written by former slavers to their former masters?
3. How do the recollections of Former Slaves conform to your prior knowledge about slavery? How is it different?
4. How do these accounts help you understand the difficulty in putting America back together after the Civil War?
5. Do you find this situation positive or negative (or both)? Fully explain your answer.
In your essay you should take a position on this issue and cite evidence from the assigned readings to support that position. Your paper must be double-spaced in 12 point type with 1 inch margins. Turn it in via Blackboard in the Assignments section.
Attachment:- What_Did_Freedom_Mean-Dean_Brink.pdf