After the Civil War ended in 1865, enforcement of equal rights for freed slaves was thwarted in a multitude of ways by ex-Confederates in the South, who refused to accept Reconstruction. Although Constitutional amendments gave “freedmen” citizenship, voting rights and “equal protection under the law”, complex oppression schemes against Southern blacks continued virtually unchallenged for another 100 years. Using specific examples from this week’s readings, discuss some of the challenges that African-Americans in the South faced at the end of the 19th century. Read: http://www.americanyawp.com/text/15-reconstruction/Links to an external site.
New immigrants to America confronted many difficulties as they struggled to survive in the inner cities. Describe the experiences of new immigrants coming to the United States in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, and rise of the modern city. How did this influx of immigrants change American culture?
The white settlement from the East drastically affected the lives of the Native Americans living in the West by the 1880. How would you describe the changes in the American West after Reconstruction? What obstacles confronted independent Native Americans after Reconstruction?
