Black Reconstruction in the South - The Freedpeople and the Economics of Land and Labor

Explore a 51-minute lecture from Yale University's "The Civil War and Reconstruction" course focusing on Black Reconstruction in the South. Delve into the passage of the first Reconstruction Act by Congressional Republicans and its radical impact on Reconstruction's direction. Examine the invalidation of reconstituted Southern legislatures, the establishment of military districts, and the insistence on black suffrage for readmission. Investigate the tumultuous events of 1868, including President Andrew Johnson's impeachment and Ulysses S. Grant's election. Analyze the struggles of Southern African Americans in their pursuit of freedom amidst economic disempowerment and white supremacist violence. Learn about the implications of the Reconstruction Acts, the impeachment process, the rise of the Ku Klux Klan, and the Second Reconstruction's impact on freed slaves.