The Reconstruction period

The Reconstruction period in America lasted from 1865 to 1877. Since then many historians have argued whether the Reconstruction was a success or a failure. During this period great occurrences happened for the African Americans, and here are two of them.

The first big success was the Freedmen's Bureau. Before the Thirteenth Amendment was implemented African Americans were slaves. Meaning they were without any personal possessions like food and clothing. And worst of all, they were not allowed any formal education! The Freedmen's Bureau was an organization established by Congress, during Reconstruction period, to provide food, clothing, hospitals, legal protection and education to former slaves and also poor whites. Now, with education, African Americans were able to go out and get a job and manage to provide food, a place to live and take care of their family on their own.

The second huge success was the Fifteenth Amendment that gave African Americans the right to vote. It stated that no one could be kept from voting because of their skin color, race or previous condition of servitude. Even though African Americans didn't have much experience within politics their votes made a huge impact on the results of political elections. The winner of the 1868 presidential election was a man named Ulysses S. Grant. He was the Civil War hero and the presidential candidate of the Republican Party which fought for the African Americans rights during the Civil War. They were also the force behind the Fourteenth Amendment, which gave African Americans citizenship. With African Americans able to vote, nine out of ten voted for Grant. If it hadn't been for the African Americans votes, then the Republicans would never have won the election! But not only could the African Americans vote, they also became active politicians after the Civil War and some were actually members of the U.S. Congress, one of them was Hiram Revels, the first African American senator!

Without the Freedmen's Bureau and the Fifteenth Amendment African Americans wouldn't have the life they have today. These two steps were just a part of the process for the African Americans to become American citizens with civil rights after the Civil War.