Problems, Obstacles, and Solutions

Social, Political, and Economic problems were prevalent after the war.  These problems were centered around blacks and the South.  Even though the war was over, blacks still had many hardships such as poor living conditions, racists adamant in keeping whites superior (mainly the Ku Klux Klan), unstable rights, and poor job training.  Also, devastated Southern cities needed to be rebuilt as well as towns, bridges, roads, and farmland, plus the Southern States needed to be brought back into the Union.

America could not be whole with these problems.  So, of course, there were attempts to find the solutions.  The Freedman’s Bureau gave slaves medicine, rations, and clothing; and the 1871 Force Bill gave the President of the United States authority to use federal troops against the KKK.  But former slaves still needed jobs and their rights ensured.  This was confirmed by the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution which outlawed slavery and involuntary servitude, gave citizenship to former slaves, and voting rights to African American males.  Blacks helped themselves by using their skills to become sharecroppers, and attending schools thaft were started for former slaves and their children.  These people weren’t  helpless.

With these results, there were still obstacles in the path of the solution.  There was KKK violence against former slaves and supporters, ever-lasting racism, and the terror tactics of the KKK to prevent blacks from voting and practicing other rights.  Despite the fact that blacks were trying to support themselves with sharecropping, it didn’t improve their economic status.  Also, some people didn’t want slaves to have a broad education, just labor skills.  I wonder how America did it.

Many problems were rampant after the Civil War, such as the Ku Klux Klan and the devastated South, but they were all fixed by the Union, Abe, and people who had common sense.