African Americans did not have it easy when first arriving to the U. They faced many years of pain and humiliation. For many years, they didn't know what life was like outside of slavery. When the 13th amendment was passed, they were finally called freemen. However, this momentous event soon turned out to be not so glorious. The lives of freedmen changed socially, economically, and politically during 1865-1896, because freedmen now had civil rights, sharecropping became popular in the South, and segregation occurred throughout the country.
First, Freedmen's lives changed politically, because they were granted the right to vote. As shown in Document E, the 15th amendment grants the power for Freedmen men to vote. Document A also shows a Freedman voting. Not only was voting a big leap for Freedmen, but, as show in Document B, Freedmen could also now run for Congress. The reason these two things changed the Freedmen's lives politically, is because the government could now represent the Freedmen appropriately. These freedmen in office could possibly pass laws that would benefit the Freedmen, and make things more equal when it comes to law. In the article, Reconstruction and Its Aftermath, it states, ".the newly-enfranchised voters were able to send so many African American representatives to the state assembly worked to rewrite the state Constitution and pass laws ensuring.civil rights for all" (pg. 1). .
Next, Freedmen's lives changed economically, because sharecropping was popular in the South. The idea of sharecropping (a landowner sectioning-out their land for farmers, in exchange for their crops) was great, but was not executed well. The landowners acted oblivious, and tricked poor Freedmen into being in a lot of debt. The landowners purposely made it impossible for the worker to get out of debt, essentially making them work with no pay. This was the closest thing Southern whites could have to slavery.
