Eric Foner

The most important chapter in this reading is when Foner talks about how freedom means different things to different people. Foner explains the two different types that people think about freedom. The first way people think of freedom is by protecting indivuals from authority. The second is to make choices freely without anyone concerned about you. This part was important because no one was use to this concept so it took time to get this in their head. As these different kinds of freedom were put into people’s heads, their revisions were spurred on by social conditions. The exclusions of freedom are central to defining who is able to enjoy it, no matter of class, race, and gender. Expanding freedom was a big part of what was going on during this time; people just couldn’t watch the news and tell what is going on. The black codes tried to restrict their freedom as long as possible. Today every man is created equal because of these standards that were set long ago. The union winning the war was a major role in defining freedom. By the union winning it expanded the power of the federal government. Giving them more control to enforce freedom among enslaved African Americans. The south wanted to keep slavery as long as they possibly could. The women were happy that the blacks were now considered citizens and were free and able to vote, but now they felt left out and believed that they should have their own rights too. Women did not have the right to vote until 1920. Blacks were allowed to vote in 1870, so it took a while for women to have the right to vote. During the reading it reviews the constantly changing view on the subject of the Reconstruction. The postwar Reconstruction period has been viewed in many different lights throughout history but one fact remains true, that it was one of the most violent, dramatic and controversial times in US's history. Eric Foner talks about the way the Reconstruction was a period of intense, corruption and