The issue of slavery appeared in National politics from the start of the nation. The Missouri Compromise was an act to prohibit slavery north of Missouri. IN the 1850's the issue further divided the nation along regional lines. But both proslavery and antislavery included antiblack attitudes. Besides Abolitionists, Northern opinions were that slavery posed a danger to free labor than the moral issue. The South seceded because the dangers to slavery they saw and the North said secession was the reason for civil war. Lincoln supported a slavery protection amendment,however,to bring back slaves who had escaped to the North back to their owners by federal troops early in the war. When the price for men and materials grew, Lincoln shifted his position. In 1862 his Emancipation Proclamation declared slaves free whose owner's area was still in revolt by January 1, 1863. Slaves within the Union's control,however, were excluded from provisions by the proclamation. This was none more than military propaganda, but the proclamation presented a point of no return on the issue of slavery. As fighting neared, many slaves rebelled. In 1862, provisions were made on enlisting blacks in the Union army. They were organized in all black units called the U.S. Colored Troops. Of these 209,000, 93,000 came from the Confederacy. The Confederacy at first refused to recognize blacks as soldiers. Black soldiers were not allowed to surrender to the Union. Many were shot. The most infamous of the occurrences was at Fort Pillow, which fell to confederate general Nathan B. Forrest(founder of the Ku Klux Klan). Blacks took part in more than 200 battles and skirmishes. More than 68,178 blacks died in the war. Lower pay in discrimination towards blacks was not uncommon.
During the period of reconstruction after the war, the 13th amendment of the constitution provided total abolition of slavery(1865). The 14th and 15th amendments provided for equal rights for slaves(1868). Blacks took an active part in everyday life during reconstruction. They voted in large numbers and were active in conventions. They held political offices and pushed for education. Only a small number of blacks were allowed to puchase land, however.
The major attack on black rights was made by southern whites. They claimed blacks controlled the government. They wanted to restore conditions before the war with blacks having little or no rights. It finally wound to the point of physical attacks on blacks by the Ku Klux Klan in the late 1860's. Then the troops withdrawled form the South and reconstruction ended. Whites once again ruled the South and black rights were again in jeopardy. A very difficult period began for blacks. The government began to support less black rights and more southern whites. Illegal violence and harassment towards blacks continued. Many tests were given to black citizens to keep them from voting. A law similar to this was passed in Alabama reducing black voters by 178,000. Blacks were isolated from whites in bathrooms and drinking fountains. They were excluded from juries and not allowed to work in hotels,restaurants,or amusement parks. Seperate education,transportation,and meeting places were provided to isolate blacks. The Jim Crow Laws legalized segregation in many states. Most of the black only facilities were poor-quality and old,worn-down,and used. Lynching of blacks was commonly used in this period legally(1882-1938). Many groups, including the NAACP,sought advancement of black rights.
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