Chapter 15 Reflection

A cartoon about Negro Rule, from 1900.

Before studying the Civil War in class, I did not know that much about the Post-Civil War South. Many new topics such as the "Lost Cause", the Freedman's Bureau and Negro Rule I had never heard of. Studying this allowed me to learn more about that era of our country, as most of what I have heard of was just about how great the South was. I knew a lot about slavery and the mistreatment of blacks, but I had no clue about the specifics of what went on during those years. While I do not condone a lot of what the South did back in those days, I am still a proud Southerner and I will not let the past change my opinion of the present South.

A major thing that stands out to me that I have learned was that even thought the 15th Amendment was passed and allowed all to vote, the Southern states still figured out ways to go about getting around them. Specifically with Literacy Tests and the Grandfather Clauses. I never thought that the South would be that prejudice towards blacks. In a way this goes against the Constitution, however the loopholes found made it legal to perform illegal laws. Most of the time, there were two versions of the test; a harder test for African Americans and an easier test for whites, who were not yet grandfathered into the system. It was extremely difficult for blacks to vote, which made their voice not heard in our government.

It is important and beneficial for people to know about the history of the region they live in, is because that in many cases, history can repeat itself and might happen sometime in the future. It also lets people think about the many sacrifices and hardships that people in the past might have had to deal with, while we are privileged not to. History is a very powerful subject that invokes lots of emotions for many people. Specifically for blacks, while the pre-Civil War to around 1965 was many years of devastation and sorrow, in the present, blacks are proud that they have come so far. Seeing monuments in small rural Southern towns lets the residents as well as random people have a glimpse into the past without having to live in it. Statues dedicated and replicated after Generals commends their work in fighting for a cause that is only understood in the past.