The Ku Klux Klan

The Ku Klux Klan was a secret society with a goal and extreme determination to discriminate blacks and terrorize them. However, their original goal was to prevent blacks from voting things escalated to the extremes and racial discrimination had never been worse. Not only were blacks targeted, but also any person who aided blacks or sympathized with them, disregarding race.

Lynching was unfortunately one of the ways that the KKK terrorized the blacks. Hung from trees, many blacks suffered a horrible death simply because of the color of their skin. Thinking and reflection back on this time makes my skin crawl and also wonder how someone can hate another human so horribly that their life goal is to cause them unbelievably large amounts of pain and suffering. 

13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution

The 13th amendment stated that slavery was totally and completely abolished. The 14th amendment gave blacks the right to citizenship and also prevented former Confederate officers from holding office. The 15th amendment gave all men the right to vote, disregarding race and whether or not slavery was part of their past.

These amendments were possibly the most important and dramatic changes to the constitution and with out them, our country would be drastically different today. Even thought  they grated freedom and equality to the black, this was no abolishment of the worst racial discrimination our country has seen.  

Reconstruction Plans and Henry McNeal Turner

The Reconstruction Plans were made to rebuild the south and return states back to the Union. Lincoln simply wanted the reuniting of the country. With Lincoln's plan, southerns would be granted a pardon if they took an oath. This plan allowed states to form new governments and constitutions if 10% of their voters supported the Union

Henry McNeal turner was a minister elected to the Georgi General Assembly, but he and other black legislators were removed by the democratic legislature. The Democrats claimed that the right to vote did not give them the right to hold office. The federal government protested, and the black legislators returned to their seats.

Henry McNeal Turner

Sharecropping and Tenant Farming

Sharecroppers were people who farmed land that belonged to someone else. The sharecropper grows, harvests, and uses the crops he grows on the the land that the owner lends him, and in return, the owner gets a share of the crop. The sharecropper pays rent with a portion of the crop he raises and who brings little besides his family labor. Sharecroppers never made much profit but it was enough to provide for their family and put food on the table.

Tenant farmers were considered a step up from sharecroppers. Tenant farmers usually owned equipment and/or farm animals; however, the landowner provided the house and land. At the end of the year, these farmers paid the owners cash or a share of a crop.

Freedman's Bureau

The Freedman's Bureau was an organization designed to aid freed slaves during the Reconstruction era in the United States. Formed by Radical Republicans, their goal was to protect the rights of liberated blacks. The Freedman's Bureau encouraged blacks to look for job opportunities and also encouraged whites and blacks to work together not as masters and slaves, but as employers and employees.

Schools were set up and up run by missionaries and northern school teachers in order to teach blacks how to read and write, as it was illegal for them to do so before. As well as schools, the Freedman's Bureau helped the establish colleges and churches for the blacks and hopefully help them overcome the stronger opposing force known as white supremacy. 

The Atlanta Campaign and Sherman's March to the Sea

There were two major reasons for the Atlanta campaign: Atlanta was a major rail center, and a victory for the Union would ensure Lincoln's reelection. The Union succeeded in capturing Atlanta and it major influenced the outcome of the war to the Unions benefit. It ensured that Lincoln would be reelected into office and it increased Northern support for the war.

Sherman's march to the sea was risky because he and his army would be cut off from any supplies or methods of communication. When Sherman made his way through the state to Savannah, his men gathered food from the Georgians and the burned everything when they left. This war strategy was known as hard war, total war, or scorched. The Union Army also destroyed the Atlanta railroads, and the effect of the damage done to the state,the city, and the Confederacy caused cracks in leadership.  

Union Blockade

The goal of the Union Blockade was to cut off the south from supplies and weaken them. The Union navy cut of supplies entering from both the Atlantic and the Gulf. Lincoln set this plan into action on April 19, 1861 and his goal to cover 3500 miles of Confederate coastline and 12 major ports. This strategy weakened the southerly in the war and greatly benefited the Union's chance of victory.