The novel The Larger Reconstruction's Chapter 7 As implied by the book's title, Reconstruction is a topic covered in 1864–1996. (Pages 141-159). The book's introduction introduces the subject of reconstruction: In "Study for Aspects of Negro Life," the Harlem Renaissance artist Aaron Douglas encapsulated the era's promise of engaged citizenry and its realities of racist violence and unrelenting labor. (Pages 141). Douglas' reflection of the reality that local and state governments frequently tolerated anti-black terrorism is noteworthy. Then we read: Although reconstruction started a few years of hopeful promise, the promises stayed largely unfulfilled. (Pages,141). Reconstruction was broken down by historians into two stages mainly: Presidential reconstruction, 1865-1866 and Congressional reconstruction, 1867-1877.During this period it is mentioned, and I quote “African Americans reconstructed their families, pursued formal education and created their institutions. Men tried to vote and hold office as though they lived in a democracy. They did not. For black people, democracy proved limited and fled. However, the institutions created during the larger era of reconstruction (1864-1896) endured”.
First for much freedom meant that one was not a property of someone else, could own property, educate him or herself and vote although this was limited to men alone. The first step most people began looking for their lost family members whom they had been separated from due to slavery. For instance, one man walked the six hundred miles from Georgia to North Carolina in search of the wife and children he had been sold away from as a slave (pages, 142).Also, Black-oriented newspapers often run adverts for lost family members to aid in their tracing of each other (pagegs142-143). After the family unification, there was a dilemma whether blacks would continue working as before on the farms. How work was conceived was different, and this led to Sharecropping.
In sharecropping, freed people were allowed to work on the lands of their former owners and split the returns earned in a ratio depending on the agreement. The first instance of land ownership was first experienced in Savannah, Georgia where General William Sherman met with local black leaders in 1865.This culminated to the allocation of land to the freed black people. Shortly after this meeting, General Sherman issued his special orders No.15 allocating the South Carolina, Georgina and Florida Low country for the exclusive settlement of freed people (Pages, 144).
Of importance to the process of Reconstruction of the freed people was their education. Mary S Peake (1823-1862) was among the first people who helped educate blacks (page 145). A black herself she helped in illegally teaching black’s local black people to read. Also, teachers from the north moved to the south to show the freed people how to read in the south. The Freedmen Bureau allocated a considerable amount to the education of black people in the south (page 146).The church also played a part in the Reconstruction process. Whereas initially, blacks would go to biracial churches they started their independent churches such as The African Methodist Episcopal Church. The clergymen who were often well educated and good public speakers often advanced the rights of their clergy. For instance, Reverend Hiram R .Revels (1822-1901) was elected to fulfill Davis unexpired term in the Us senate recruited blacks in the Union army (page 148)
Despite the above steps some like Fredrick Douglas felt the reconstruction process was not entirely done. “Slavery is not abolished until the black man has a ballot” (Page, 148).Many of the freed people fought for the right to vote for the African Americans. In 1864 Black Men in Syracuse, New York, to form a National Equal Rights League and demand the vote and range of civil rights that the Northern States had denied black men during the antebellum era (Page, 148).This process of blacks wanting to vote was fought against by the white supremacists who were opposed to the idea of enfranchising blacks. The process of reconstruction, in general, created large opportunities for the blacks.
After all the above the reconstruction process served a major setback. As a result of being free, the blacks were not a property of anyone. Some of the white supremacists tried to reestablish control over blacks using violence (Pages, 151).Records of these instances of violence were kept by one Adams between the years 1866 and 1876.The highest court of land did not help either. It made several rulings that undermined the blacks. In 1892 Horner Plessy (1862-1925) took newly segregated Louisiana Railroads to court for kicking him out of the first class couch. The supreme county ruled against Plessy and condoned racial segregation according to the fictional separate but equal formula (Page, 154).All these were meant in curtailing the blacks push for freedom.
Reconstruction helped breach the prevalent racial segregation that was in place then. Reconstruction governments represented the greater majority of the southern people (Page, 158).They collected tax and redistributed wealth to the poor in the form of schools and provision of other social services.
