Unequal Power Relationships During Reconstruction

          After four long years, the American Civil War officially ended in 1865. The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified on December 6, 1865, abolished slavery in the United States. The only reason someone could be forced to provide free labor is if they were convicted of a crime. The main parts of the Fourteenth Amendment, passes in 1868, were as follows: (1) Anyone born or who came to the United States became citizens of the United States as well as a citizen of the state which they reside. States are forbidden to deprive any citizen of privileges or immunities and provide equal protection for all citizens under the law. (2) There would be representatives based on a census of all people living in each area, that would not count Indians that are not taxed. If any male over age 21 was denied the right to vote, the count used for representing that area is reduced by the same number.  Citizens not allowed to vote due to support or participation in the Civil War on the side of the Confederacy or those convicted of crime would not go against the total count of population for representatives; (3) No one that supported the Confederacy in any way can serve in office in any way or in the military; and (4) All debts from the war on the Union side are valid while any debt incurred by the Confederacy are invalid, including any loss from emancipation of slaves. The Fifteenth Amendment says that the right to vote can’t be denied by race, color or because the person was previously a slave or indentured servant.

            Several questions and crises of liberty emerge from this time period. The definition of liberty had different meanings for the different people that lived in the United States. White southern slave owners felt liberty meant their control over and rights to their slave property. Slaves equated liberty with freedom. Women felt they were denied liberty because they didn’t have the same rights as men. Native American Indians were denied their liberty due to whites consistently encroaching on their land. Slavery was abolished by the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865: slaves were free from the shackles of slavery and slave owners no longer held control over their slave property. The Fourteenth Amendment gave slaves citizenship and equal protection under the law and the Fifteenth Amendment gave former male slaves over 21 the right to vote. While the issue of slavery and freedom for former slaves was technically resolved, conflicts between the white and black populations were exacerbated by former slave owners’ feeling of loss of liberty about their loss of slave property.  Many whites continued to find loopholes in order to keep former slaves from experiencing all of their freedoms afforded to them by the Reconstruction Amendments. The rights of women were brought to the attention of the general public by the Seneca Falls Convention and the release of the “Declaration of Sentiments.”  The issues of women’s rights and equality was not resolved nor exacerbated by the 1870’s.  This was merely the spark that put into motion the very idea that women should have equal rights and opportunities. Native American issues over the takeover of their land by Europeans was exacerbated by the 1870’s. White American’s greedy need for more land continually forced the Native American Indian population westward. The best interests of the Native Americans was not a concern for the United States citizens or government. Native American Indians were mostly seen as a road block to land that was needed.

The questions and crises of unequal power relationships also abounded in different ways for different groups of people. The slave master was in a powerful position over his slave. The male dominated society and family life over women. Whites held a power of position over that of Native American Indians and the land and culture they strived to protect. After slavery was abolished, whites continued to have dominance over government and society as a whole. Even though all blacks were emancipated, the powerful nature of the dynamic between slaves and slave owners was still in place.  Whites still felt superior and that of African Americans were inferior.  Former slaves were in a vulnerable position of still being under the power and control of whites. Men were still in a position of power and still had more legal rights than women.  The Fifteenth Amendment which gave voting rights to freed slaves, still didn’t allow women of any race to vote. From the male perspective, the issue of women’s rights would seem to be exacerbated, but for the women, their struggle for equal power to men had just begun. The power dynamic whites held over Native American Indians was made worse due to new territories and states continually being added to the nation. Whites continued to violently take land and freedoms from Native Americans.