The freeing of the slaves not only affected the African American community. Some northern business owners who offered jobs to former slaves were ridiculed and threatened for their kindness and hospitality. Also, some northern teachers were deemed traders by some whites because they were teaching “those who should stay ignorant”.

For those who went north, a basic education was available consisting of reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic and geography. Since books were in low quantity, most teachers used the Bible or a Farmer’s Almanac to create their lessons. Also, some former slaves were offered jobs by sympathetic white northerners.

south. At the start of the war, no African Americans were allowed to fight for either side. A law passed in 1862, however, allowed them to fight for northern states, though after the war a larger scale enlistment process was implemented for African Americans. Also in 1862, the first draft laws were put into affect for the Confederate army. A similar law was passed for the Union in 1863. These laws forced certain members of the population to enlist in their respective armies. Such laws caused great objection, as the rich were exempt from the draft. The vexation of the population was the fuel for several riots in the north, the worst of which left some one hundred people dead in New York. Finally, on April 9, 1865, Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant surrendered to the Union. After four years and countless deaths, the seemingly perpetual blood-bath was over. Also marking the end of the war was the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery. More people died in the Civil War (almost 625 thousand) than in any other US War in history. Though the south had been defeated, there was no real winner. The United States had been dealt a blow that would take years to undo. A reconstruction of the union was greatly needed. Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, and the rest of congress all had different ideas of how the Union should be reconstructed. Where Lincoln and Johnson favored a less strict approach to the re-unionization, congress believed that the punishments to the south should be just that, punishments. Obviously, the south favored Lincoln and Johnson’s ideas more so than that of congress. Unfortunately, Lincoln was assassinated before he could implement his plan. His death was mourned by northerners and southerners alike. He was killed by a man named John Wilkes Booth, who felt that t

Some topics in this essay:
African American, Civil War, African Americans, Declaration Independence, South Carolina, Sherman January, Fourteenth Amendment, Thirteenth Amendment, Louisiana Texas, Abraham Lincoln, former slaves, african american, thirteenth amendment, african americans, post-civil war society, law passed, it’s people, post-civil war, war society, plantation owners, south favored,