By 1877 there had been little to no advancement for women or blacks. There were many attempts after the Civil War, to enact policies that would help give under represented citizens’ rights. During the reconstruction period congress created The Freedman’s Bureau which introduced many initiatives to aid the conversion from slavery to freedom. Many southerners thwarted blacks attempt at gaining financial and physical security. In 1866 congress passed the first Civil Rights Act which acknowledged that blacks were citizens and allowed the government to intervene in individual states to protect those civil rights. After the failure of reconstruction, southern states began to pass racist laws designed to keep the economic and social structure of slavery
