Under the previous system in the South, the wealthier citizens controlled the economy and the were at the top of the social system. The result was that poor whites could not access some social amnesties such as education. Enslaved people were barred from education altogether to discourage discontent.
Reconstruction efforts after the Civil War led to expanded access to public schools and some state legislatures passed laws for their citizens to get a public education and the many schools built by Federal agencies such as the Freedman's Bureau ensured that many more people had access to public schools.
