The Reconstruction Era was believed to be a new beginning for the United States. Although, it didn't achieve what was expected. Not everyone benefited the resembling of the country for example the African American who were now free due to the thirteenth amendment.
The Reconstruction for African Americans consisted of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendment. The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery with the condition that if an African American committed a crime then they would be sentenced to jail. Since the Thirteenth amendment abolished slavery that essentially destroyed the economy of the South. The loophole that the Thirteenth Amendment allowed for the South to incarcerate a majority of the African community in order to reestablish the cotton production. The Fourteenth Amendment allowed the African community to be citizens of the United States which essentially protected them from laws that discriminated against them. The Fifteenth Amendment allowed for the African community to vote.