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Reconstruction and African- American Rights. What the federal government did and how the South reacted. 13 th ….14 th ….15 th ….. N ow what?. Congress passed 3 amendments that freed enslaved people and gave them the freedoms they deserved.
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Reconstruction and African- American Rights What the federal government did and how the South reacted
13th….14th ….15th …..Now what? • Congress passed 3 amendments that freed enslaved people and gave them the freedoms they deserved. • Although these amendments were passed, states created their own ways of discriminating and keeping formerly enslaved people from enjoying their freedom.
13th Amendment • This amendment abolished slavery. • This made it illegal to own, sell, or trade enslaved people.
14th Amendment • This amendment guaranteed citizenship to everyone including formerly enslaved people. • It also prohibits states from creating laws that take those rights away .
15th Amendment • This amendment prohibits the federal government and the states from using a citizen's race, color, or previous status as a slave as a qualification for voting.
The Early Days of Reconstructi0n You are now considered a U.S. citizen. Start your new life by clicking right here.
Black Codes of 1865-66 • As you make choices, you will learn that states created their own laws and regulations to keep formerly enslaved people from enjoying true freedom. • You will be able to identify Black Codes as you learn that your choices are limited by the laws of the state government.
To begin your new life, you need to take care of your basic needs: food, shelter, and clothing. You can decide to stay with your master where you have always lived. He agrees to pay you for your work and you can live there on his plantation. Click here to stay living with your master. You find out that the federal government has created the Freedman’s Bureau to help former slaves. Click here to visit the Freedmen’s Bureau.
Staying with your master. Your master has agreed to pay you 20 cents a day for your work. This is a pretty good wage for a former slave. BUT You have to sign a contract to work for him. He will pay you 20 cents a day, but he charges 15 cents a day for rent, 3 cents a day for food, and 1 cent a day to use his tools for work. You realize that you will not be making much money for yourself. How does this feel? (Click here to change your mind.)
Provided food, clothes, and money for needy, formerly enslaved people The Freedman's Bureau Provided education for adults and children Provided help in finding a job Click hereto get a job. Click here to learn more. Click the image to take care of your family.
The Freedman's Bureau • The Freedman’s Bureau offered opportunities for formerly enslaved people to learn to read and write and offered children the opportunity for an education. • The Bureau spent nearly $5 million on creating a system of public education in the South. At the end of 1865, there were nearly 90,000 former slaves enrolled in the school system. Click here to go back to the Freedmen’s Bureau.
Freedman's Bureau The Freedman’s Bureau has helped provide your family with some clothing and has given you enough money to travel to the next town to find a job. If you want to travel to the next town on your own to find a job ,click here. If you want the Freedman’s Bureau to help you find a job ,click here.
Your job options A local planter is offering you a one- year contract to work on his cotton plantation. Your whole family will also have to work. Click here to sign this contract. You can try traveling out on your own again to find a job in a neighboring state. Click here to leave your home state and try to get a job elsewhere.
You have been stopped by the Ku Klux Klan!!! They are a group of men that terrorize and sometimes kill African Americans and whites who help African Americans. They tell you next time they see you out, they will kill you! You decide to head back to town. Click to go back to the Freedmen’s Bureau.
Your job contract It is now a law that formerly enslaved persons must sign a contract with the employer (boss or planter). You agree to work for 12 months. Your son will become an apprentice to the local blacksmith to learn how to be a blacksmith. After he finishes his apprenticeship, he can work. Click here to sign the contract.
Your new job You hear about a different job that pays more and is easier work. You have only worked your job for three months, but the other job sounds great. Click here to leave town to get a new job. Click here to stay at your old job.
BUSTED!! You cannot leave for a new job! State law says that any person of color who does not finish working for their entire contract will be punished. Here is your punishment: • You are taken to jail. • You are sent back to your old job. • You do not receive any payment for one year. • You are whipped by your boss for leaving. Click here to change your mind.
Your old job… Today you see your son working at the blacksmith shop for his apprenticeship. You see the head blacksmith cursing him and hitting him with a belt saying that he broke a tool on purpose. This makes you angry. What do you do? Click here to do nothing. Click here to jump in and stop your son’s punishment.
You do nothing As much as it hurts you to stand and do nothing, the law states that the master of any apprentice can punish the apprentice just as a father would. If you would have stepped in, you may have been arrested for assaulting the blacksmith. Click here to go back to work.
You step in You step in and assault the blacksmith. You are arrested. • It is the law that a master can punish an apprentice just as a parent would. This includes physical punishment. • You now have to go to trial for assault. • You have no money for a trial, so government officials auction you off to the highest bidder so you can work off your fees. Click here to change your mind about stepping in.
Back at the old job You are known as “servant” and you must call your boss “master.” This is stated in the laws and in your contract. You work from sun up to sun down. Your only off day is Sunday. If you do not get home before sun down on Sunday, you will be beaten. You live your life working and paying your “master” rent for housing and for the food you and your family need. Are you really free?
