Why Did the Civil War Start in 1865

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In 1865 following the American Civil War, President Lincoln declared that the slaves were no longer slaves. That they were sleeves meaning they could choose what to do and when to do it. Most African Americans thought that this was a new start to their lives. In reality it took much longer than expected for real freedom to come about after the Civil War. Why did it take so long? African Americans wanted many things after being freed in 1865. They wanted better housing, better education for their children, they wanted to be equal members of the community, they wanted jobs, they wanted the vote and one of them most important issues was that they did not want to be judged by the colour of their skin. After the civil war there were several initiatives set up to help the African Americans. The freedman’s bureau was one of them, it was set up to provide emergency food and housing and jobs to former slaves. It was also used to reunite family’s that had been separated during the war. This was a big help for African Americans as it gave them the basic living conditions for free something they couldn’t afford as they were slaves. Although President Lincoln thought this bureau would only last a year it continued for another five. Sharecropping was another initiative set up designated to help. It was a system where a plantation owner rented or shared some of his land for farming in return for some of the crops they cultivated. A downside of this initiative that it would not be a stable home as they could get kicked of the land at any time of their crops did not grow. Another downside was that it still tied them to the land. However most African Americans live did not improve as there were several organisations set up to restrict African Americans lives from improving. The Black codes were laws that affected the opportunities of all the African Americans. A reason that they
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