Rogers Williams was a Puritan minister who believed in religious freedom, the seperation of church and state, as well as dealing fairly with the Native Americans.
The Great Awakening notably altered the religious climate in the American colonies. Ordinary people were encouraged to make a personal connection with God, instead of relying on a minister. Newer denominations, such as Methodists and Baptists, grew quickly.
The Freedmen's Bureau, was an organization established by the US Congress during the Reconstruction period in order to help former black slaves and poor whites in the South.
This organization provided free slaves with food, clothing, medicine, labor contracts and education.
The Bureau also allowed the building of thousands of schools for blacks, and helped to found colleges such as Howard University, Fisk University and Hampton University.
However, the Freedmen’s Bureau enhanced racial tension in the south since poor blacks and whites fought for resources and jobs places provided by the Bureau.
The Freedmen’s Bureau helped former slaves to legalize marriages and locate lost relatives.
Nevertheless, the US Congress which had been put under pressure from with white Southerners had to shut the Freedmen's Bureau down in 1872.
The Ku Klux Klan was an organization whose primary goal was the reestablishment of white supremacy.
The KKK carried out campaigns of intimidation and violence directed at white and black Republican leaders.
The KKK spread in almost every southern state during the Reconstruction era.
The KKK used scare tactics, terror methods, violence, and murder to intimidate blacks, Republicans, members of the Freedmen’s Bureau. They also burned crosses as a way of demostrating their Christian faith.
