Why did Reconstruction fail to bring social and economic equality of opportunity to the former slaves? Why did Reconstruction fail to bring social and...

failed to
bring social and economic equality to the former slaves. Many white southerners never supported
Reconstruction. They were resentful that Reconstruction was being forced upon them. They
believed the former slaves were inferior to them, and when they had the opportunity to retake
control in the South, they made changes that had been instituted by the Reconstruction
process.

Reconstruction ended with the Compromise of 1877. Once
Reconstruction ended, white southerners returned to power in the South. Laws were passed to
segregate blacks and whites. These laws, known as the Jim Crow Laws, kept black people and white
people separate in schools as well as in public accommodations. This prevented the former slaves
from achieving social equality.

With educational opportunities being limited
and often being inferior to those of whites, the former slaves had more difficulty getting a
good education and good jobs. With African Americans facing discrimination in the workplace,
they also had fewer opportunities to achieve economic equality. Throughout the country, little
was done to try to change these conditions in the South. As a result, the former slaves did not
achieve social and economic equality as a result of Reconstruction.

href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/freedom-riders-jim-crow-laws/">http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/freed...
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