History on the freedmen

A detailed Summary of History on the freedmen

1. After the Civil War, the United States had to deal with the question on what to do about the status of the Freedmen of the South. Many people had different views and opinions on what should have been done. One of the extreme alternatives which could have occurred, is the Freedmen should be given full political, economic and social rights. People such as Frederick Douglas, radical republicans and obviously the Freedmen themselves hoped that this would occur. If this were to happen, the Freedmen would finally have the status as the White majority of Americans. This, of course did not happen. Two other alternatives that might have occurred is that the Freedmen would be allowed the right to vote and to hold office, which people such as Charles Sumner believed in, and the other, granted full economic freedom. Thaddeus Stevens and Booker T. Washington believed in the latter. Both of these groups believed that if at least one of these rights were achieved, the others would surely follow. The other extreme alternative that might have also happened is to keep the Freedmen segregated. Obviously the majority of the southerners were the ones that wished to see this followed through. The final alternative a

2. There was different reasoning behind these alternatives the people believed should be enacted. The first alternative mentioned, giving Freedmen full rights, was sought after due to the fact that some felt as though the Freedmen were just as equal as the 'WASP's. These people also pointed to the constitution for back up, saying that all men are created equal. The next two alternatives pretty much tie into one when it comes to the reasoning behind them. Giving the Freedmen the right to vote and hold office or giving them economic freedom, was thought, by some, to be what every person should be entitled to. If a person is living in their country and abiding by the countries rules, then they at least should have a say in what affects them. As mentioned before, these people thought that if these basic rules were implemented, then all other rights would be sure to follow in time. Segregation was the solution according to the majority of the southerners. According to the latest philosophy on the creation on man, Darwinism, the white man was an inferior race and the blacks, not as high up the developmental ladder as them. Another main reason behind this alternative is history. Since as far back as, the people of this time period, could remember, blacks had always been the inferior race. It would be unethical to even slightly compare them to the all mighty white race. As history has shown, however, as strong as these previous arguments might have been, these alternatives were not enacted.

4. In conclusion, one must evaluate the alternat

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Approximate Word count = 1047
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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