Letters On Reconstruction

While the war on battle fields were over, for the United States war of reconstruction was far from over. With the emaciation of slaves, and most of the town in the south damaged by the war the people on both side Union and Confederate struggled to make it back from such a tragic time. The north even though they wanted slaves to be set free and for black to have the same opportunities to vote, they were still unhappy about African Americans moving to the north. As for the south still dealing with the upset of war, could not take into account the changes that were being placed upon them. Soldiers come back from war had to deal with the effects on their bodies and minds.  Along with the women and children who were also effect by the long war. The government, although they tried to come back from a country torn apart by war not only disappoint the African Americans but also the country as a whole.

The primary source that I used was a collection of letters from different people across the United States writing to their loved one about the changes that was happening around them. The first one that was used was by a young man back from war writing his mother about his new settled life.  In states in is letter that “we won the war my dear mother but my soul has been forever changed.” During a time of war a person that witnesses all that bloodshed comes back a changed person. For many of these men they went off to war as young men, farmers, sons, and workers. Many of them lost limbs and suffered major injuries but no where do you see the government trying to help them after. They were sent home in hopes to live normal lives, and while some might have been able to do that most were left with the images of war forever in their minds.

The North was for the emancipation of slaves was still not happy with the large amount of freed slaves that had moved into their towns. The Northern states had a large increase in violence of lynching and vigilantism.  In a letter from a former slave writes about what he heard in a group of white men saying “anger they were yelling we must have revenge kill the damn niggers and abolitionist”. As in the south with many African Americans were killed during reconstruction, and many of the white men that killed these men and women did not see any legal action. This happen due to the fact that many of the police did not agree with many African Americans in the north. The violence that accorded in the north is not talk about during the reconstruction phase but while the government did not do much to help the south with these same matters they did not do it for the north as well.

One of the main challenges in for the reconstruction of the south was the idea that for more than 140 years had not thought of African Americans as people. For the south they were objects to own to work. Overnight this whole understanding that whites had of black was to change. The idea of a person and their rights do not just change because another says so. While emancipation was very important and that all people should be treated equally is of also great importance’s the government should have known that there was going to be a large issue for the south.   As we have discussed in class many African Americans, women, men, and children were killed during the time of Reconstruction and while the government put all the laws in place to do so did not back up their decision of change with justice. During a meeting with freed slaves at a church ones was recorded saying “we are set free in without land, without shelter, without any claim to our homes the people think us as happy” I found this interesting because the idea of freedom was everything they wanted but post war they felt abandoned by the government. They were the ones that banded together to build schools, purchase land, establish churches and bring together their communities.

For United States government reconstruction was a difficult time, I feel as though people sometimes fail to see that it was not just African Americans that were changed by this great war. All of America was changed overnight and affected by it. The government could have done a better job of making sure that these new laws were carried out along with everyone else apart of the nation.  

"A Collection of letters on American Reconstruction"

Opotow, S. (2008). “Not So Much As Place to Lay Our Head...”: Moral Inclusion and Exclusion in the American Civil War Reconstruction. Social Justice Research, 21(1), 26-49. doi:10.1007/s11211-007-0061-9