What was life like for freed slaves in the north after the civil war?

Answer 1

Life for Freed Slaves

The slaves weren't treated like real people until about 20 years after they were freed. Have you ever heard of the Ku Klux Klan? They were a terrorist group that had their height during the reconstruction era. They were openly violent about African-American's freedom. They were very violent against abolitionists as well as blacks.

AnswerOnce Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves (thinking he had resolved the problem) it just created a more massive problem because the South was divided on this issue. Papers were given to the freed slaves, but, certain people in the South and the KKK refused to accept President Lincoln's new law. The blacks were hung, violently, flogged, hunted down like rabid dogs or beaten beyond recognition with their penis cut off and put in their mouth (to send a clear message to other blacks). Many slaves simply decided to stay with the Master of the plantation because they didn't know any other way of life. Some were lucky enough to come to Canada by Canada's Underground Railway. That's the reality of it and this continued even past the 1950s although it was more random. For many years blacks weren't accepted in the deep South and even now there are those that cannot tolerate that decision President Lincoln made well over 100 years ago. Thank heavens for progress because blacks have more variety to improve themselves, but even in today's world in certain cities in the States it can still be rough on the blacks because many live in poor neighborhoods. You see on the news all the time that if there is a crime it's usually a black person hunted down. A mother who drowned her own children for a lover blamed a black man that had nothing to do with it and ruined his life. Police have been known to beat some blacks half to death because the stigmatism that all blacks are lazy, uneducated and criminals.

I saw a great movie (true story) called "Redwood" and I would highly recommend it. The basis of the story was that in Redwood the blacks and whites basically got along until something happened (don't want to give the story away) and all hell broke loose. It divided both blacks and whites, caused pain and death and ruined the town of Redwood.

One bad effectThey now had to provide for their own health care and retirement. As slaves it was the master's responsibility (and in his own financial interests) to provide at least minimal health care and there were laws requiring him to continue providing them with food and shelter after they were too old to work.