Reconstruction Video

 When I watched Reconstruction: America After the Civil War, I was really thinking about what life was like for Black Americans when slavery eventually ended. I already knew that slavery was abolished after the Civil War, but I never really thought much about what happened afterward. To me, sometimes we focus so much on how slavery ended, but we never talk enough about what came next and what people had to go through afterward. This was my first time watching this documentary, and it helped me understand that being free was just the beginning. It didn't mean everything was okay. A lot of Black Americans still had to fight for plenty of things, and that is one of the most important things to understand about Reconstruction.

I can say that a part of the documentary that really caught my attention was 40 Acres and a Mule. After the Civil War, formerly enslaved Black Americans had hoped to receive land and finally have something of their own. General William T. Sherman issued Special Field Orders No. 15 in January 1865, which basically set aside land for formerly enslaved families. When Andrew Johnson became president, most of the land wasn't given to the formerly enslaved families. Instead, it was given back to former Confederate landowners. I absolutely think this was unfair because Black Americans were under the impression that they would receive land. It would have given them a chance to support themselves and build something for their children and future generations. It really made me think about how different things could have been if those families had gotten to keep the land they were promised.

Another thing I learned about was the Freedmen's Bureau. It was created to help formerly enslaved people adjust to their new lives. It helped provide food, housing, education, and employment. I thought the education part was especially important because many enslaved people were not allowed to learn how to read or write. Being able to attend school and get an education gave people opportunities they had never been able to experience before.

This documentary talked about the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. The 13th Amendment ended slavery, the 14th Amendment gave citizenship and equal protection under the law, and the 15th Amendment protected Black men's right to vote. These were very important changes. Something I found very interesting was that even after these rights were put into place, it seemed like nobody cared about the rights of Black Americans. People still found ways to discriminate against them.

While I was watching, the Black Codes and the violence during this era also really stood out to me. The Southern states created laws that restricted Black people's freedom. Some groups, like the Ku Klux Klan, used fear and violence to stop Black Americans from voting and gaining some type of power. For me, it is hard to think about how white people were trying to control others even after slavery was abolished. Something that also stood out to me was that Black Americans began getting elected to important political positions, and they finally had a chance to have a voice and be part of decisions that affected their communities.

I think this documentary really helped me look at Reconstruction differently. It was not just about putting the country back together after the Civil War. It was also about millions of Black Americans trying to figure out what freedom would actually look like for them. The biggest thing I took away from watching was that being free and having equal rights are two different things. Even though slavery ended, Black Americans still had to fight for equality. A lot of these struggles continued to affect generations of Black Americans.