Reconstruction video reaction

In the reconstruction video it brought to light some things and events that most people probably don't know about. It showed us what life was like for Black people after the Civil War. From what the video told us life was very hard and violent for people in New Orleans.

Black communities in New Orleans were frequently attacked by white mops, and at least 48 people died from these attack attacks. 

Luckily some actions were taken to try to right these wrongs, the survivors of these attacks like Lucy Tibbs  testified to Congress despite the risk of future violence against black people. 

During the 1800s specifically June 1866 the 14th Amendment became very important, establishing a birthright to citizenship in the country. It goes like this, if you were born in the country then the state cannot deny any person due process or equal protection of any laws.

The 14th amendment also forced southern states to allow black men to vote in the country and hold office.

It's also important to know that a year later in 1867 congress divided the former confederacy  into five military districts, which were then overseen by US generals. 

But this wasn't the only important thing that happened in 1867, during this year activists and army officers registered black voters across the south. The share of black men nationwide who could vote, rose from being under 1% at the start of the year to more than 80% by the end of the year. 

Although a lot of people were against black people in the aftermath of the Civil War, some people were actually fighting with them in a way. For instance, poor farmers sided with them because they both wanted the same thing, better conditions for farmers and both races. 

Personally, I think this video is a very good look to see how history treats change in the country. Obviously not everybody likes change, but either way change is usually for the best and in this case, it is definitely for the best.

AI was uses to in this but only as a guide to form the outline

The Rise of The KKK

The Ku Klux Klan, or better known as the KKK, was a white supremacist organization that developed in the American South after the Civil War. The original Klan was organized by former Confederate veterans in Pulaski, Tennessee, in 1866. It began as a social club but soon became a way for white Southerners to resist Reconstruction and attempt to restore white supremacy. 

The KKK and Reconstruction

After the Civil War, the United States entered the period known as Reconstruction. Formerly enslaved African Americans were gaining freedoms and political rights that they had previously been denied. The KKK strongly opposed these changes. 

The organization used intimidation and violence against Black Americans and white supporters of Reconstruction. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, Klan members carried out nighttime raids in which they whipped and killed formerly enslaved people and their white supporters. Their goal was to restore white supremacy and resist the political changes taking place in the South. 

Violence and Voting

One important part of Reconstruction was the expansion of political rights for African Americans. The KKK attempted to prevent Black Americans from exercising these rights through threats and violence.

The violence became especially serious around elections. History describes Klan attacks against Black Americans and white Republicans that included intimidation, destruction of property, assault, and murder. These actions were used in an effort to influence elections and resist the political changes of Reconstruction. 

The Government Responds

The federal government eventually took stronger steps to stop Klan violence. In 1871, Congress passed the Ku Klux Klan Act. The law made it a federal crime to deny people constitutional rights and gave President Ulysses S. Grant additional powers to combat organizations using violence and intimidation. 

Federal authorities used these powers against the Klan. In South Carolina, troops made arrests, and trials resulted in hundreds of convictions or guilty pleas. These actions helped weaken the organization. 

Why the First KKK is important in this matter 

The original KKK declined during the 1870s, but its history shows how violently some Americans resisted the expansion of rights for African Americans after slavery. 

Studying the first KKK is important because it helps explain the challenges of Reconstruction. African Americans gained new freedoms and political rights following the Civil War, but organizations such as the KKK attempted to take those rights away through fear, intimidation, and violence.

AI Disclosure: Artificial intelligence was used to assist with the organization, wording, and summarization of this blog post. Microsoft Copilot helped turn information from the listed sources into a clear format for this assignment.

Reflection of Gone with The Wind Movie

Gone with the wind has quite the interesting take on the time the civil war took place. The story itself follows a very wealthy young women named Scarlett O'Hara. In the story we see how differently the 1800s are compared to things now a days. 

How different the culture is, how the state are with each other, how black people are treated, what technology they had back then, what the country looked like and so much more. 

One thing I thing the movie could improve on is it's take on slavery. In the 3 hour long movie it has a weird take on slavery, it shows slaves as being part of the family and for the most part shows them equal to everyone else. 

In my humble opinion I feel like the movie does a really bad job at depicting slavery. It is showing slavery like it is a fantasy or something, basically it really only shows how racists people view slavery. It by no means shows the reality of slavery. 

For the most part the movie is focused around the main character Scarlett O'Hara trying to find love/husband. She does eventually find a partner but he dies half way into the movie. Then she becomes interested in someone else. His name is Rhett at first he is shown as a humble and mysterious character, but later in the story he becomes a great help to her. 

Scarlet and Rhett first meet at Scarlett's house during a big party. Their first real interaction was a little rocky to say at least. She almost injured him with a glass, the reason why she did that is because she just had an argument, and she was letting out her anger by throwing a class at the wall. 

But even after that, Rocky start between the two of them, they still got along. Which surprised me at first because I thought this would've had a bad impression on Rhett. Even though that Scarlett apologized to him.

Because he is the main reason she and her friends survive. Right before Rhett helps her she is trying to deliver Melanie's baby amidst a burning city, thanks to the civil war happing of course. 

However, even emits the chaos of the Civil War and the town burning down around them they were still able to escape the chaos, and then they began to make their way back to Tara. But before they get back to Tara Rhett decides to leave them on their own. He says goodbye to them as he walks away to join the army for the war.

After that, finally after a long and enduring trip Scarlet comes home to her family's plantation and finds out that her mother has died and the house and land around it are in ruins. But luckily, her father is still alive, but he is very traumatized from the events that took place there; and that is how the story ends with her home destroyed. 

If I'm being honest, I don't think this is my favorite movie, but I do see where it succeeded in some areas. Speaking about succeeding I personally think the reason why this movie was such a hit was because it came out not too long after the second world war and since this is about the Civil War, I think it hit the audience pretty good.