President Johnson's Black Codes

Although slavery was declared over after the passing of the thirteenth amendment, African Americans were not being treated with the respect or equality they deserved. Socially, politically and economically, African American people were not being given equal opportunities as white people. They had certain laws directed at them, which held them back from being equal to their white peers. They also had certain requirements, making it difficult for many African Americans to participate in the opportunity to vote for government leaders. Although they were freed from slavery, there was still a long way to go for equality through America’s reconstruction plan.

During his presidency, Congress ratified the 13th-Amendment that abolished slavery in 1865. In addition, President Johnson made contributions to the black people by vetoing bills that increased protection offered by Freedman Bureau. His vetoes also nullified the Black Codes and guaranteed full citizenship and equal rights to black people. This brought up the Civil Rights Act of 1866, an act that granted citizenships and same rights that both black and white enjoyed. As a result, the Civil Rights Act set up the basis for the 14th amendments that was also later ratified in 1866.

African Americans held rights, but those benefits did not involve a position in the administration. Johnson declared, “White men alone must manage the South.” Johnson forgave virtually everyone who appealed, and ere officers were returned to power. Congress declined to seat these past Confederates.

A few days after the civil War ended, President Lincoln was assassinated and never had the chance to implement his Reconstruction plan.   The Reconstruction Era occurred in the period of 1865 to 1877 under the reign of President Andrew Johnson who was the predecessor of President Lincoln.  Congress was not scheduled to convene until December 1865, which gave Johnson eight months to pursue his own Reconstruction policies. Under his Reconstruction policies, the former Confederate states were required to join back into the Union and heal the wounds of the nation.

However, there were some situations before their ratification that stayed the same after 1865. Segregation, especially in the South, took a huge toll on the lives of African-Americans. Many transportation systems and restaurants were segregated by color therefore, some were whites only and some had areas designated for black and area designated for whites. Even after the ratification of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, by 1900, persons of color were required to be seperated from whites in railroad cars and depots, hotels, theaters, restaurants, barber shops and other establishments. Many of the segregation laws didn’t go away until after the Civil Rights movement which occurred from 1954 to

The right of citizens of the body United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. This amendment was proposed on February 26, 1869, and ratified on February 3, 1870. African Americans who had been slaves became citizens under the terms of the 14th Amendment. The 15th Amendment does not specifically say that they must be allowed to vote. The states are free to set qualifications for voters.

Sandrew Johnson tried to stop the 14th Amendment from being passed by Congress. This amendment granted the blacks citizenship. Andrew Johnson tried to convince the Southern states not to ratify the amendment but they did anyway. Andrew Johnson was the only Southern Senator

The Civil Rights movements in the 60’s was one of the issue that President Johnson had to deal with as President. ONe of the civil rights acts that President Johnson created was the Voting Rights Act of 1965 . The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was created to help the black citizens of the US to vote. Black rights activist saw the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as just the beginning of black discrimination. President Johnson went to Congress and called for a change in the country also known as a domestic reform.

‘‘Brown tried to get Douglass to join him countless times in his physical escapades but Douglass refused. (Wu page 55) Slavery was eventually abolished in 1865. Douglass then started campaigning for blacks to have the right to vote. After years of devoting his life to antislavery he then started devoting it towards equality between blacks and whites. The 15th amendment was passed in 1870 which gave blacks the right to vote.

Over the course of many years, many groups of people have had to fight to win the freedom of voting. Starting with the 14th Amendment ratified on July 9th, 1868, gave citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States' which included former slaves, this Amendment was a step towards giving the "free slaves" more freedoms. On February 3rd, 1870, the 15th Amendment is ratified into the Constitution, this Amendment gave African-American men the right to vote. After fighting for many years for citizenship, finally winning and then being given the right to vote was a major win in the African-American society. Almost 50 years later on June 9th, 1919 Women won the right to vote.

The Union victory in the Civil War prompted the abolition of slavery and African American’s were granted freedom, along with rights that should have been there from the start, however, white supremacy overpowered in the South, forcing African Americans back into a state of slavery. The Reconstruction era, the postwar rebuilding of the South, proved to be an attempt towards change in the lives of African Americans but the opportunities were only available for a limited time. African Americans had hopes of a new South after the Civil War was fought yet that was only accomplished to a certain extent. African Americans have always faced discrimination in society, for that same reason they weren’t accepted into Congress. The graph shown in Document

The 15th Amendment (Amendment XV), which gave African-American men the right to vote, was inserted into the U.S. Constitution on March 30, 1870. Passed by Congress the year before, the amendment says, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” Although the amendment was passed in the late 1870s, many racist practices were used to oppose African-Americans from voting, especially in the Southern States like Georgia and Alabama. After many years of racism, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 aimed to overthrow legal barricades at the state and local levels that deny African-Americans their right to vote. In the

Once Johnson was no longer in charge congress put into place the Civil Rights Act, an act that declared everyone who was born in the United states to be granted a citizen no matter their race or previous conditions. This meant all former slaves could become true legal citizens. Similarly, the 14th amendment made it so that each state was to give equal protection of the laws to everyone because it too declared all citizens were equal. This amendment also would not allow for confederate political leaders to hold positions and it would not forgive any debts of the confederacy. Following the civil rights act and the 14th amendment the 15th amendment and then another civil rights act were also put into effect.

African Americans were allowed to vote however they were intimidated fear their lives to both so it was useless. Newly freed slaves were aided through the usage of federal laws and constitutional amendments. Former slaves were enabled to vote, own property, legally marriage, receive and education and file lawsuits. This extended the power of the newly freedmen. Women were jealous because they still weren't allowed to vote or have a say in

Abraham Lincoln’s vs Andrew Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan Lincoln shared the uncommon belief that the confederate states could still be part of the union and that the cause of the rebellion was only a few within the states which lead him to begin the reconstruction in December of 1863. This resulted in plans with lenient guidelines and although they were challenged by Wade-Davis Bill, Lincoln still rejected his ideas and kept his policies in place. Lincoln also allowed land to be given the newly freed slave or homeless white by distributing the land that had been confiscated from former land owners however this fell through once Johnson took office. After Lincoln’s death when Johnson was elected many things started to turn away from giving blacks equal rights and resulted in many things such a black codes which kept newly freed slaves from having the same rights as whites. When Lincoln first acted after the civil war, he offered policies that would allow the confederate slaves to become part of the union again and would allow a pardon for those states.