Reconstruction by B. M.

1 The documentary we watched was about the reconstruction of America after the civil war. The south wanted America to be returned to its “former glory”. While now freed slaves wanted, what had promised them in the constitution.  We learned about Mr. Campbell and his term as president on a South Carolina costal island, and the importance of education for freed slaves. We learned about land freed slaves were given and how President Jackson took it all back.  All this information was from documents written in first hand by the men that experienced these situations. There was no real argument made here but more education and information regarding what happened.
2   The purpose of this documentary was to educate. There was no hidden agenda. All the information was provided was done so in a fair manner. We heard from freed slaves, from former slave owners, betrayed freed slaves, angry confederate supporters. The voices missing were those of the women that lived in these times. What their perspectives were.

3. In class all of this was brought together through images some even graphic images that let us know how freed slaves felt and what confederate supporters thought. We learned about the struggles freed slaves faces in terms of racism and discrimination, and a divided country between how we conducted ourselves and how we should have conducted ourselves in relation to how we treated freed slaves in a post-civil war country.
4. One of the conclusions we drew was that for most freed slaves they had a rougher and more anxiety ridden life as free men. As freed men, they now had to be leery of all white men retaliating because the freedom slaves now had. They had to endure physical violence along with verbal abuse. There were lynching and murders across the south with virtually no repercussions to White men.

5.A question I had was what happened to the freed slaves after they were displaced from their island off the South Carolina coast? What did white and black women think and feel about what was going on?