Even with the Freedmen's Bureau, many blacks were uneducated and considered the equivalent of dumb beasts. However, contrary to popular white belief, many blacks were well-educated and influential. One of these blacks was Henry McNeal Turner, a preacher. He was elected to the Georgia General Assembly along with a few other blacks. They were removed soon after by the mostly Democratic Legislature. The federal government protested and they were reinstated, but these black representatives held little power. Progress like this was frowned upon by many whites but to some it was an outrage, and some people with harsh views towards African Americans formed a secret society called the Klu Klux Klan, or KKK. The KKK's initial goal was to keep blacks from voting but when that failed they attempted to minimize the rights of blacks in the south. Their methods are often violent, in a more famous story the KKK was responsible for the bombing of a church in Birmingham, Alabama. Four young black girls were killed, this action prompted President Johnson to sign the Civil Rights Act. Thankfully, their acts of terror have experienced a severe decline in recent times since the crimes they could formerly commit with no fear of retribution now carry the death penalty.
Bringing the two halves of the nation back together after the war was no small task, especially after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln's plan for reconstruction was simple:
- Execute a quick return to the Union
- Pardon the Southerners if they took an oath of allegiance
- After 10% of voters in a state had taken the oath, the state could rejoin and form a state government.
When Johnson took over the presidency he agreed with Lincoln's plan but he also wanted states to ratify the 13th amendment, making slavery illegal (see full text here), and nullify the ordinances of secession. Congress was unhappy with this "soft" reconstruction and wanted the states under military rule and they wanted them to ratify the 14th amendment as well. This stated that all people born or naturalized on US soil were citizens, regardless of race, also that no state would be allowed to deny the "privileges and immunities" of citizens, deprive a person of life, liberty,or property without "due process of law," or deny a person "equal protection of the laws." The 14th was not the last of the "Reconstruction Amendments," there was a 15th as well. This amendment stated that all men of any race, color, or previous condition of servitude were allowed to vote. Even with these amendments to the constitution, blacks were not equal to whites and many whites treated them as if they were still their servants. They considered blacks violent, dirty, and uneducated. The Freedmen's bureau was founded to help blacks get out of these stereotypes. With the help of Northern schoolteachers the Bureau set up many primary and technical schools for blacks across the nation. It also helped create schools for blacks to learn how to teach. The bureau was the main reason African Americans progressed at all.
Of the more than 10,000 battles that were fought in the Civil war, many were historically insignificant. In fact, only about nine battles are considered "well-known." Among them are the battles of Gettysburg and Chickamauga and the Atlanta Campaign. Gettysburg was the first of these battles, it was also the bloodiest. Actually, it was the bloodiest battle of the Civil war. General Lee, cocky from a recent win, decided to lead an attack into Union territory in order to replenish supplies for his troops. Looking back, this was a very rash decision, the Confederacy's loss crippled their troops, exhausted the remainder of their supplies, and greatly increased Union morale. It also created the platform for the Gettysburg Address, another morale lifter. After the Battle of Gettysburg came Chickamauga. This battle was technically a Confederate victory, but Braggs' refusal to pursue the Union allowed them to escape safely to Chattanooga. The Atlanta campaign - which led to Sherman's March to Sea - was possibly the most significant series of battles in the war. Sherman's siege of Atlanta was a major morale crusher to the south, and it wiped out their supply lines. But this was not nearly as bad as what was about to come: The March to the Sea. This was the first occurrence of "total war." Sherman's army swept through Georgia on a path of destruction from Atlanta to Savannah. In their wake they left farms stripped of their crops and terrified civilians. Word of "Sherman's Devils" swept through the countryside, the entire south was petrified that Sherman was on his way to their farms next. This march and the Union's blockade (A naval wall blocking outside ships from coming to the south's aid with rations, clothes, and weapons) were the final straws. Weeks later, the Confederacy surrendered. However, this war's horrors weren't over yet, the Confederacy's treatment of their prisoners came as the final demonstration of the Civil war's brutality. One prison in particular, Andersonville, stood out. As a prison designed for 10,000 it held 30,000! Prisoners inside were subject to awful treatment, swarms of insects, contaminated water, malnutrition, and diseases. Because of the desperate state of the war the infantry stationed to guard the prisoners were called away and replaced by local militia. The militia's way of controlling the prisoners was the "Dead Line." This was a line they were not allowed to cross. If they did attempt to get to the other side there was a second wall, cannons, guard towers, and packs of dogs. In all, 45000 prisoners died of malnutrition alone.
