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NAME:

1. Use the Oshinsky chapter and the "Red Handed Murder" piece to list two ways black

people were kept in slave-like conditions and denied economic and social justice. (You

could think about violence, police practices, etc. explain how each of your choices ensured

that blacks would not prosper.)

Black people were kept in slave-like conditions and denied social and economic justice through

underpayment of their labor (Anonymous, 1887). The blacks were forced to work in plantations,

and they were underpaid. They demanded a wage of 1.25 dollars per day, but their demands were

not met. Their wages barely met their needs, so they didn't have enough funds to start or invest in

a business. The whites believed that black people were destined to be their slaves, so they

underpaid and overworked them to ensure they did not prosper (Anonymous, 1887).

Black people were kept in slave-like conditions and denied social and economic justice through

being subjected to extreme violence and torture. Because their demands of increasing the wage

were not met, the blacks would strike, but the governor would deploy militia who would brutally

torture and even kill the blacks (Oshinsky, 1996). This instilled in the blacks fear that they

wouldn't stand against the injustices done to them by the whites, which ensured that the blacks

could not prosper.

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2. Tell me why President Johnson didn't allow the "40 Acres and a Mule" policy to happen.

Do not explain what 40 acres were; focus on why Johnson didn't let it happen.

President Andrew Johnson didn't allow the "40 Acres and a Mule" policy to happen because he

was a white supremacist; therefore, he shared the white supremacists' beliefs that blacks should

not be given the right to own land. He also enslaved Black people working for him; therefore, he

would not provide them with the right to own land since they would seize being his slaves

(Packman, 2020).

3. Finally, briefly note what each Reconstruction amendment was designed to do.

The 13th Reconstruction Amendment was intended to end slavery in the US and pass legislation

prohibiting slavery (Ron, 2022). The 14th Reconstruction Amendment was designed to ensure

equality of rights in America, regardless of race (Ron, 2022). The 15th Reconstruction

Amendment was intended to grant voting rights to all black people (Ron, 2022).

References
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Ron, P. (2022). Study.com. https://study.com/learn/lesson/the-reconstruction-amendments-the-

13th-14th-and-15th-amendments.html

Packman, H. (2020, June 19). Juneteenth and the Broken Promise of "40 Acres and a Mule."

National Farmers Union. https://nfu.org/2020/06/19/juneteenth-and-the-broken-promise-

of-40-acres-and-a-mule/

Oshinsky, D. (1996) WashingtonPost.com: "Worse Than Slavery": Parchman Farm and the

Ordeal of Jim Crow Justice. Www.washingtonpost.com.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/books/chap1/worsethanslavery.h

tm

Anonymous. (1887, November 26). "Red-Handed Murder: Negroes Wantonly Killed at

Thibodaux, La." Www.historyisaweapon.com.

https://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/redhandedmurder.html