Reconstruction had a major impact on African-Americans. African-Americans were better off as a result of Reconstruction, even if some of the improvements were temporary. Before the Civil War, most African-Americans in the South were slaves. They had no rights and no freedoms. This changed after the Civil War.
After the Civil War, the Freedmen’s Bureau was created to help the former slaves adjust to being freed. They received food, clothes, and medical care. They also received funds to build their own schools. The 14th Amendment was ratified that said that all people born in the United States were citizens and had the rights of citizens. These rights couldn’t be taken away without due process of law. The 15th Amendment gave African-American males the right to vote. Some African-American males got elected to office. African-Americans received rights that they didn’t have before the Civil War.
Even though many of these rights were restricted or taken away after Reconstruction ended, African-Americans were still free. Having freedom is far better than being a slave. African-Americans were being educated, something that didn’t happen during slavery. They were free to move from place to place with a pass. This also didn’t occur while they were slaves. Even though they had to struggle for about another 100 years before they regained some of the freedoms they lost after Reconstruction ended, such as equal access to public places, they were better off as free people than as slaves.
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