Question

What were the challenges facing blacks after the war? How did things change for the better, and how did they change in some cases for the worse? Was it the federal government's responsibility to provide land and other assistance? Physical protection? Reflect briefly on the situation.

Answer 1

Although the Civil War brought freedom to all Black people in the United States, freedom by itself did not correct the injustices that these people had been enduring for years. Most Black people were not educated, and lacked skills that would allow them to enter other industries. Moreover, for most of them, freedom also meant immediately losing their housing, food, clothing and other benefits provided by slave owners. This left millions of people in a very precarious situation.

This was complicated by the fact that racism was widespread, particularly in the South, and many white people wanted to take away the rights that had been given to former slaves. They achieved this to some extent by the passage of racist laws such as the Black Codes.

The integration of former slaves was the responsibility of the federal government, as it was responsible for both slavery and for the new status of former slaves. The federal government took some action to solve this. Laws were challenged and changed at a federal level. Moreover, many programs were implemented in order to help former slaves assimilate to mainstream society. However, these were not always successful or able to reach all people.

Answer 2

Blacks suffered from discrimination after the war. Things have changed for the better because people were able to understand and appreciate the Blacks. It is the responsibility of the federal government to provide land and other assistance since Blacks are considered to be their people who deserved assistance, service and protection from the government but things turned out to be different because the government didn't care about the Blacks.