18 Nov How were former slaves able to construct better lives for themselves?
Order Instructions
Materials:
Hahn, S., Miller, S., O’Donovan, S., Rodrigue, J., Rowland, L., eds. (2017). Selected documents from Freedom: A documentary history of emancipation, 1861-1867, series 3, volume 1: Land and labor, 1865. (http://www.freedmen.umd.edu/LL65pg.htm ) Freedmen and Southern Society Project
Activity Instructions/Details
The emancipation of slaves after the Civil War required an overhaul of the entire operation of the Southern economy. On one side, newly freed slaves had expectations of what their labor would look like now that it was free. On the other side, begrudging Southern whites attempted to preserve the old labor system as much as possible. Primary sources from this time document this struggle very clearly.
For this discussion post, you will read and reference at least two of the primary sources found in “Selections from Land and Labor, 1865 (http://www.freedmen.umd.edu/LL65pg.htm ).” You may need to slow down and really think about the sources; it’s not as easy as when things are already laid out for you in secondary sources.
Your Initial Post:
Then you will discuss the state of black labor in the Reconstruction South in an initial post. You may address these questions or observations of your own, using specific evidence from the two primary sources you chose:
How were former slaves able to construct better lives for themselves?
What obstacles did former slaves encounter as they attempted to establish their freedom?
What issues do you see freedmen struggling with and prioritizing?
