Question

How close did african americans come to gaining full civil rights during reconstruction?

Answer 1

Following the Civil War, the Thirteenth Amendment emancipated all US slaves regardless of where they lived in the country. However, even after the defeat of the Confederacy and the Emancipation Proclamation, the nation was unsure of providing full citizenship for the newly freed slaves. The Reconstruction aimed at reorganizing the Southern states following the Civil War and provided the means to readmit them into the Union where white and black people could co-exist in a non-slave society. African Americans took full advantage of this new change and used it as an opportunity to become literate, attend school, participate in the political process, acquire land and seek their own employment and vote.