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History

The American Reconstruction era was a period of several political complexities that

resulted to numerous consequences. The period of reconstruction found when the American

history was waged with a sustained debate over the types of rights that all Americans should

enjoy, and those that only specific Americans should possess. Therefore, this enabled Americans

to engage in heated debate concerning equality and nature of freedom. The Freedmen’s Bureau is

a temporary agency that was responsible for assisting freedmen to make the transition to

independence (Gillies and Robert 35). The given to bureau were enormous and were primarily

designed to help freedmen gain an education, settle legal and criminal disputes that occurred

between white and black people, obtain land, and provide medical care and food. The paper will

discuss how a national debate on the definition of “freedom” emerged during the period of

Reconstruction in American history by the Democrats, Feed-people, and Republican.

It has been argued that there is no era in the American history has resulted in a heated

debate as was witnessed in the case of Reconstruction. Nevertheless, the heated national debate

was largely experienced from the definition of “freedom” among citizens. During this period, the

meaning of freedom became a point of conflict in the Reconstruction era. Former slaves were

known as freed-people defined freedom by relishing the opportunity to flaunt their liberation

from the numerous regulations of slavery that they were subjected to when fighting for their

independence from the white control (Balkin 22.). The Democrats decided to define “freedom”

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based on their urge to reunite families that were separated from slavery. The intention was to

help them establish their schools and churches, enable they demand equal political and civil

rights, and they seek economic autonomy. In this case, the meaning of freedom based on the

perspective of the Democrats it that it is a fundamental component in our constitution that

requires the oppressed to be able to reunite with their family at will without any constraints.

The definition of freedom that was given by the freed-people is what marked the primary

conflicts that were witnessed in the history of the Reconstruction era. Therefore, in this case, the

freed-people’s understanding of freedom was shaped by their encounter as slaves and the

observations of a given section of them from the free society that they saw around them. The

ideas of the former slaves concerning freedom were directly contributed to matters related to

land ownership (Gillies and Robert 35). In this case, the majority of them insisted that their

unpaid dues had guaranteed them a right to ownership of land. The freed-people believed that the

newly acquired freedom enabled them to claim their rights as citizens of the United States.

The meaning of “freedom” based on the law that the Republican Congress enacted and

the constitutional amendments that done to empower the federal government. All these were

done to enhance enforcement of the principle of equal rights for all citizens (Balkin 20.). In

addition, the amendment was meant to give black Southerners the rights to hold office and vote.

Through this, it can be stated that the Democrats’ meaning of freedom is that it is a way of

ensuring that all citizens had equal rights, especially, the right to hold office and vote to their

preferred candidates.

I think that the Republican are the ones who ultimately had the power to win the debate

that emerged during the Reconstruction era on the definition of freedom, and this is because they

are enacted laws to ensures that the blacks acquired their rights to vote and hold officers. The

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whites were not facing the kind of humiliation that their counterpart black citizens were

encountering during this period (Harvey 4). The definition of freedom as was stated by the freed-

people to involve. The main aim of the Republican was to achieve equal legal rights from all

Americans because they were the minority group that was primarily oppressed before the

Reconstruction period.

The blacks are the group of citizens who reaped more during the heated debate on the

proper meaning of freedom. The Republican Party from their definition of freedom changed a

remarkable political revolution in the South. The right to vote that the blacks fought for was the

best move they made that marked the beginning of their freedom. Being able to vote means that

the blacks were now able to be part of the general election and make their own choices (Balkin

28.). During this time, the national government ensured that the civil rights of all Americans

were protected. It is through the Republic government that controlled how freedom would be

defined for all citizens regardless of race, social status, and language by ensuring equal

protection of the law. The reason why the Republican Party was successful in controlling how

freedom would be defined by all American citizens because they were in government during that

time under President Andrew Johnson. For the Congress to ensure that the newly-freed Africa-

Americans during the election in the South, they sent Union troops (Harvey 3). Therefore, the

Reconstruction Era that resulted in a heated debate regarding the definition of freedom ended up

in rebuilding of the political, federal union, economic, and social changes that in turn restored to

the nation.

There were some similarities and difference between the “freedom” and “belonging”

differed for African Americans and Native Americans. The attainment of freedom by the African

American and Native Americans marked the beginning of these individuals’ preservation as

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autonomous people to ensure that each person’s belonging was respected and honored by their

fellow citizens. The implication was that no one was to inherit animosity and racism between the

Americans who were now presumed after the revolutionary war as the turning point that reduced

tension in the country. Moreover, the Reconstruction period ended by giving both the Native

Americans and African Americans ample time to find a way through which they can deal with a

regime that does not have interest for their preservation as autonomous people or freedom. The

freedom and belonging for African American and Native Americans are a dynamic concept that

becomes difficult to understand, and they both contributed significantly towards ensuring that

there was harmony in the all citizens without segregation and discrimination.

Even though the fight marked by Reconstruction period on the way freedom and

belonging are different for Native Americans and African American, and this makes the laws

that they have ensured there was equality just starting from the distribution of resources to other

fundamental human rights (Balkin 26). However, despite the fact that people had to fight for

freedom to ensure that there was harmony in the county, belonging is another aspect that I think

no one could not write off as being worthless, but instead, we must accept that every person must

have been sharing something from ordinary. Belonging can as well be viewed regarding wealth

accumulation. In this case, the African America and Native American might be sharing the same

freedom guaranteed by the state or whichever place that they go to. Consequently, even from the

mere observation, anyone can comfortably say that the Native American much belongs to higher

social status compared to their counterparts African America. However, the idea of freedom and

belongings were earlier on being observed to be in favor of whites although the blacks also

acquired that freedom although it was partial to an only specific critical issue like land.

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In conclusion, the Reconstruction era is a period that marked the numerous efforts that

were put in place by the oppressed group that was African American in attempting to secure the

rights of ex-slaves. The initiative marked the thought of freedom that sparked the hottest debate

on whose definition of “freedom” was satisfactory. The freed-people, Democrats, and

Republicans all had their explanation regarding the same, and this was based on their interest.

Former slaves were known as freed people defined freedom by relishing the opportunity to flaunt

their liberation from the numerous regulations of slavery that they were subjected to when

fighting for their independence from the white control. The whites were not facing the kind of

humiliation that their counterpart black citizens were encountering during this period. , the

Reconstruction period ended by giving both the Native Americans and African Americans ample

time to find a way through which they can deal with a regime that does not have interest for their

preservation as autonomous people or freedom.

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Works cited

Gillies, James, and Robert A. Neimeyer. "Loss, grief, and the search for significance: Toward a

model of meaning reconstruction in bereavement." Journal of Constructivist

Psychology 19.1 (2006): 31-65.

Harvey, Paul. Freedom's coming: Religious culture and the shaping of the South from the Civil

War through the civil rights era. UNC Press Books, 2012.

Walton, H., Smith, R. C., & Wallace, S. L. (2017). American politics and the African American

quest for universal freedom. Taylor & Francis.

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