Exploring the Impact of Reconstruction Amendments

The video explores the concept of freedom and its implications during the Reconstruction era. It discusses the challenges faced by African Americans and the US government in redefining freedom, citizenship, and democracy. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were pivotal in this transformation, although their impact was limited in the short term. The video examines the continuity and change in these areas and highlights the long-term significance of these amendments in laying the groundwork for the civil rights movement.

What is a core aspect of US national identity?

• Military strength

• Freedom

• Technological innovation

• Economic prosperity

What did the 13th Amendment achieve?

• Ended the system of slavery

• Granted citizenship to all born in the US

• Allowed black men to vote

• Gave women the right to vote

What was the primary belief of white Southerners about freedom after the Civil War?

• Freedom included political power for African Americans

• Freedom meant economic self-sufficiency

• Freedom was synonymous with land ownership

• Freedom was the absence of slavery

What did the Reconstruction era attempt to negotiate?

• The division of land to all citizens

• A new social and political order for the South

• The abolition of all state governments

• A new economic system for the entire country

What was the status of African Americans in the South before the 13th Amendment?

• They had unrestricted freedom of movement

• They had full civic participation

• They were the majority of landowners

• They were considered personal property

What was a major expectation of African Americans from freedom?

• Immediate wealth

• Unlimited travel

• Political dominance

• Land ownership

How did sharecropping affect African Americans economically?

• It was abolished quickly

• It had no effect

• It kept them in debt

• It made them wealthy

What was a consequence of the Black Codes?

• Limited physical freedom for African Americans

• More political power for African Americans

• Increased economic freedom

• Immediate abolition of segregation

What was the effect of the Black Codes?

• They abolished slavery in all forms

• They provided African Americans with land

• They attempted to restrict African Americans' freedoms

• They expanded voting rights to all races

What did the 14th Amendment guarantee?

• Freedom of movement

• Equal pay for all races

• Citizenship to all born or naturalized in the US

• The right to vote for all men