Introduction

The Reconstruction of the United States was the attempt to rebuild the country after the Civil War. The southern part of the United States did not want to give African Americans their rights, and made it difficult for them to achieve freedom. In “Reconstruction” the history is of how African Americans gained their freedom, but they were still limited in certain rights and things they were able to do, “ White Democrats granted African Americans legal freedom but little more. When Black Americans and their radical allies succeeded in securing citizenship for freedpeople, a new fight commenced to determine the legal, political, and social implications of American citizenship.” This explains that even though African Americans were allowed to become free, they were not able to do a lot without the government limiting their power. These primary sources highlight the imbalance of how former slaves received after the Civil War, the reconstruction of the United States was not fruitful enough to give African Americans complete freedom because there were restrictions and limitations to what they could do.