Black History

Losing the Peace

In chapter 13 Franklin wants the reader to be able to understand the struggle that was brewing as different factions attempted to take control of the south after the civil war. The Union league of America attempted to   reform the old south by organizing black   Americans, as a means   to induct them into the Republican   party. The Union league was instrumental in instructing black Americans on the political process and getting them out to vote. Within a short period of time many chapters of the union league were all over the south. Needless to say this was causing an uproar among   Southern whites. Southern whites were determined that they would oversee their destiny and continue to control black Americans. However, radical reconstruction would make it impossible for southern whites to continue their system of oppression against blacks. To deal with radical reconstruction many white protective societies started to emerge. One of the most notable was the Ku Klux Clan. To maintain control and establish white supremacy, southern whites would implore brutal tactics to ensure their way of life would remain the same. After the Democrats returned to power, they immediately looked for ways to decrease the political power or of southern blacks or to disfranchise them all together. To decrease the political power of Blacks, whites would use intimation, violence, poll taxes and the grandfather clause to ensure that blacks could not participate in the political process. Although the south was successful in disfranchising black Americans, blacks   were making progress in other areas and uniting to throw off the oppressive shackles of the south.

Philanthropy and Self-Help
In chapter 14 Franklin wants the reader to see the progression that African Americans were starting to make during this time period. The end of reconstruction did signal a political and economic change for black Americans in the south. However, the end of reconstruction did not impeded on... [continues]

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