Personal Narrative: The Reconstruction Era

Our world can never be perfect. The government tries to put titles on every person and situation in our world. Every person and thing in this world that we have created over the past 83 years has his or her life predetermined. The way one can tell how their live will turn out is by the color of their skin. The Civil War has just ended, and down in Virginia, where I live, my fellow blacks and I are being freed from their slaves. After initial celebration, I realized that this might not be so easy. For years it has been stress-free, all I had to do was work for the family that owned me and nothing else. Word around Virginia is that they are calling this period “The Reconstruction Era.” Now, after being born into slavery 23 years ago, I will have …show more content…
As this new situation starts to become my reality, I realize that I have to figure out what to do. The ceaseless changing of our nation has caused such confusion and constant pressure for me. Of course I have been treated fairly by the family I was with, but now this is my chance to come into contact with what I have waited 23 years for. Wonders of how I will make money and shelter myself from weather and hate circulate through my uneducated and inexperienced mind. It does not matter how I will do it, but I will experience many new things along my journey of survival. I am optimistic to find family and live a life where people will finally realize the abilities and potential of all people despite the color of their skin. One would be obtuse to ignore the ways we can all shape our nation. All we need is a few believers, and time to see if we will get our chance in this cruel world. I, Andre Jamison, will try to succeed at any cost because that is what I am all about.
For years prior to The Reconstruction Era, there were major events occurring in Virginia. For five long years, the Civil War was occurring. During the time of the …show more content…
Everyone was thrilled that the slave codes had come to an end, but no one thought that it could get worse. Unfortunately, these Black Codes would limit all “African-Americans’ rights to own land, carry weapons, or marry outside our race” (U.S. History in Context). These laws took all possible freedoms from us. Also the codes only let us have jobs on farms, we could be rounded up, charged with vagrancy, and the worst was carry passes (Gale Encyclopedia). I was forced to obtain a job, so I worked labor on a farm for very little money. The year was 1866 and I felt like I had nothing left. I started to ponder if it was easier and better to be a slave. After all, slaves did not have to worry about money or social issues. After thinking about this for a while I started to remember what I used to think when I was younger. I always waited and imagined this moment and I told myself to preserve. As time passed slowly, people started to realize how poorly these harsh laws treated the African Americans. “The Republican-controlled Congress overcame two presidential vetoes to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which guaranteed equal rights to all Americans regardless of color or race” (Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History). And later in 1868, things started to look even better when the Fourteenth Amendment was passed, which garneted my citizenship and protection. (Gale Encyclopedia

Show More

Intergenerational Trauma In Toni Morrison's Beloved

Of Isabel Wilkerson's Caste, The Origins Of Our Discontents

DW Griffith's Birth Of A Nation

Protestant Liberalism Movement Research Paper

Essay Mr Rennie

The Wages Of Whiteness

White Supremacy Research Paper

course notes Essay

Gp Essay Mainpoints

The Birth of Civilization Essay