Reading the American Past: Printed Page 307

Documents from Reading the American Past

Chapter 16

Introduction to the Documents

D uring the turbulent years of Reconstruction, the character of freedom for former slaves was the subject of intense debate within the South and across the nation. Most southern whites sought the most limited form of freedom for African Americans. Most former slaves strove to exercise their liberty to the fullest, as they sought to reunite families and claim their independence from their former masters as much as possible. White vigilantes resorted to murder, lynching, and other acts of brutality to force blacks to limit their horizons. In the end, most northern white Republicans concluded that once former slaves had the vote, the South — not the North or the federal government — should determine how best to define freedom and preserve order.