EOTO: Reflection and Reaction

Positive and Negative EOTO: REFLECTION

BLACK CODES

NEGATIVE:

Within the negative EOTO presentation, the group analyzed how legal systems attempted to control and exploit African Americans.

Certain pieces of legislation directly restricted the rights of African Americans, specifically seen through the Black Codes. With the application of these regulations, the liberties of newly freed slaves were completely removed. This includes the right to assemble, testify against whites, carry arms, or even preach freely. 

More prominently, the term "freedom" was considered conditional and fragile... 

EMMETT TILL

After the presentation's conclusion, I was surprised by the prominence of lynching. Florida had the highest rate of these killings. I believe that this act of violence is completely disgraceful and simply immoral. The brutal murders of Emmett Till and Mary Turner were shameful. Turner was murdered with the use of gasoline, and Till was shot. 

POSITIVE:

Regarding the positive impacts of the Reconstruction Era, the group discussed the Freedmen's Bureau, Reconstruction Amendments, African American education, and prominent black political figures. 

(1) The Freedmen's Bureau provides practical aid to African Americans. The organization built hospitals without sufficient funding and despite deliberate violent action from oppressors. The Freedmen's Bureau was an incredible advancement, but hated by white Southerners. 

THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU

(2) The Reconstruction Amendments are known as the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. These Constitutional alterations prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, color, and/or previous conditions of servitude. Similarly, the Three-fifths Compromise was outlawed, with slaves formally recognized as citizens. 

(3) Additionally, several African Americans entered politics and made a prominent impact on history. One notable figure is Hiram Revels. In 1870, he was named the first African American U.S. Senator, acting as a voice for Civil Rights expansion and school desegregation.

Comprehensively, I became more knowledgeable about the first African American Senators and Representatives. Joseph Rainey was the first African American House Representative (1870), voicing the views of South Carolina. Blanche Bruce was the first to serve a full Senate term (1875-1881). He was a former slave from Mississippi. These individuals paved the way for future generations of African American politicians. 

Overall, the positive and negative effects of the Reconstruction Era provided valuable insights into America's development.