The Ku Klux Klan

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The Ku Klux Klan, commonly referred to as the KKK, was created in attempt to maintain white supremacy and encourage discrimination against blacks. Created in 1866, this organization gathered to intimidate African Americans. However, blacks were not the only ones affected by this group; any person who tried to help a victim or threatened the Klan's power was threatened with death. Common acts of punishments were mobbing, hangings, and shootings. This racist group extended into most southern states by 1870, and hundreds of men were committing these murders without any legal punishment. In the past, the KKK is a similar situation to the Nazi group during the Holocaust. Both were made up of men committing genocide out of a place of spite and create dark periods in history.

Reconstruction

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After the Civil War the United States of America had lots of cleaning up to do especially in the south. Now that slaves were free, citizens were having to change a lot of their daily routines and slaves were having to find work to build up their own families. Many ex slaves began to become sharecroppers or tenant farmers. Sharecroppers were people who farmed other people's land and gives usually half of their crops to the landowner. Sharecroppers were very poor and rarely had any chance of saving money. Tenant farmers had a little bit of a better chance of making it rather than sharecroppers. Tenant farmers supplied their own equipment or they had their own animals but farmed on someone else's land. Tenant farmers also had to pay back the landowners through cash or portions of their crops. There also were organizations that tried to help and support the black people such as The Freedman's Bureau. The Freedman's Bureau was formed by the Radical Republicans and served to help protect the black people's rights and encouraged them to get educations. Sometimes though they had to get the Federal Government to step in and help. For example, Henry McNal Turner and other black legislators tried to be a part of the Georgia General Assembly but were rejected by the Democrats. The Democrats thought that since they were black they didnt have the right to hold office, but the Federal Government protested and made the Democrats let the black legislators return to their seats.
The main plans for reconstruction was:

1. Return to Union
2. Get the South to take an oath of allegiance
3. Approve 13th, and 14th amendments
4. Nullify the option of secession
5. Place states under military rule

There ended up being three new amendments added: the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth. The thirteenth amendment forbid slavery; the fourteenth amendment granted citizenship to all blacks and promised protection under the law, and the fifteenth amendment granted the right to vote for all men no matter what.

Andersonville

During the war the South needed a place to keep all the Union soldiers that the captured and chose to put their prison in Andersonville, Georgia. Andersonville was ideal because it was inland, it had had a large freshwater pond, and it was a safe distance away from all the fighting. Prisoners lived a very hard life in the camp and had many struggles concerning health issues. Water was very unsanitary so the prisoners got very little of it. Also, the rations were small and sometimes given to them raw.

Prisoners lived in shelters made of various materials commonly known as shebangs. Sometimes, to show compassion, prisoners shared their shebangs with each other. The chances of escape for a typical prisoner was little to no chance at all. The only chance they really had was if they were taken outside but even then they were weak and couldn't run very fast so were easily shot down. Today, Andersonville is a large cemetery and averages over 150 burials a year.

Sherman's March to the Sea

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In May of 1864, Sherman made a plan to capture Atlanta. This capture would be beneficial for the North because it insured Lincoln's reelection and would increase the Northern support for the war. Also, it would mean that they could take destroy all the South's major railroad lines which would make it harder for the South to get supplies. His plan was to burn Atlanta then march all the way from there to Savannah, destroying everything in his path. This march was risky because the soldiers would have little to no supplies and no communication with other Union commanders. Historians look at his method of war as "total war" and very personal, because Sherman and his soldiers would raid people's houses and steal all of their crops and anything worth value, right in front of their faces. This march ended up being very successful and on April 26, 1865, Joseph Johnston surrendered to William Sherman.

Union Blockade

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The Union Blockade was when the Union army blocked Georgia's coast. It was set up sort of like the game "Red Rover" where the whole side is blocked and no one can enter. It was mainly focused on Savannah, the South's largest port. This was a very strategic move on the Union's side because they blocked all trade. Now, the South couldn't export or import goods from Europe and began having many food shortages. In 1864, every one in three ships were being intercepted by either Union ships or Union soldiers. Battles also occured along coastlines because of this. One of the bigger ones was at Fort Pulaski, but it only had 365 casualties total. The Union Blockade wasnt very bloody, but very challenging for the South's economy and they suffered horribly.

Two Major Battles

Two of the major battles that happened during the civil war were Gettysburg and Chickamauga. At Gettysburg, the South was winning until the Union kept coming and ended up winning. Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle of the civil war. At Gettysburg, 51,112 casualties occurred overall. This was a Union victory.

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The battle of Chickmauga was pretty even at first but then the South found a hole in the Union's battle line and pushed them back all the way to Chattanooga. This battle showed how strategic the Confederate army was. Chickamauga ended up being a Confederate victory. The battle of Chickamauga ended up leading to Sherman's March across Georgia.