SURVIVAL AND SUBVERSION
In the immediate aftermath of the Civil War, the Federal government enacted the 13th Amendment freeing the slaves and the 14th Amendment, which granted African Americans citizenship. In 1870, the 15th Amendment was passed, which gave black males the right to vote. In a few short years after Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, African-American enfranchisement was the law of the land. And yet, in a vast region that had been conquered in a long and bloody war, social change was superficial. In practical terms, there was little difference between slavery and the world in which former slaves lived. Segregation was an absolute ...
