Discussion 

Review the text and images athttp://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/aopart5.html.  Describe how northerners and southerners viewed and treated blacks during Reconstruction.  What conclusions can you draw regarding race relations in America?  Include a brief discussion on how blacks responded to their former masters after the Civil War ended.

Classmate response:

Although African Americans were considered to be free from slavery by the time of Reconstruction, it was still a time that was marred by a deep chasms between the white population and the newly-freed black population — a reality that was true for the South as well as the North. While the South could arguably be described as more notably and openly racist and discriminatory (easily explained by the great resentment that existed there following the conclusion of the American Civil War), many white individuals in the North also worked to oppress or otherwise discriminate against the black population. With regards to the newly-freed slaves of the South, there were some instances in which previously-enslaved people maintained relationships with there former owners and continued to provide them with labor. However, this was also a period marked by great migrations of black populations to other parts of the country. Thus, many newly-freed slaves from the South ended up experiencing the sentiment that existed in other areas of the country — much of that sentiment being overtly anti-black. And while American society has certainly made strides since that time in American history, discrimination and racism remains very much a problem throughout the country to this day.