In 1862 the U.S. Congress passed the Confiscation Act. After this act was passed, thousands of Southern slaves became "freedmen." Though they had eagerly awaited their liberators, freedom was accompanied by frightening uncertainties. Not all freedmen trusted white people professing friendship. Abuses of slavery was still fresh in their minds, and many suffered injustices from white soldiers. Knowing the war was not over and not sure of what to believe, many preferred to stay with their masters, who would have power over them until the Union forces moved on. Others joined the Federal army after 1863 because they didn't know what else to do.

In the summer of 1866, Congress passed two bills over the president's veto. One of the bills was the Freed men's Bureau Bill, and it extended the powers of a government agency that had been established in 1865 for the purpose of providing medical, educational, and financial assistance for the millions of impoverished southern blacks. Congress also passed the Civil Rights Bill, which gave full citizenship to blacks, along with all the rights of other Americans. President Johnson's supporters, Democrats and conservative Republicans, got together in the summer of 1866 to stop the movement for black rights. In June 1866, Congress passed the Fourteenth Amendment, which was to ensure that rights guaranteed earlier to blacks under the Civil Rights Bill were protected by the Constitution.

Black voters came out strongly for the Republicans in the 1868 elections. This definitely helped Grant win the presidency. When Grant came into office, the Fifteenth Amendment was passed through Congress and was submitted to the states for ratification. The state ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment was passed on March 30, 1870. President Grant declared that the amendment had been adopted. Blacks also won seats in Congress, with Hiram Revels of Mississippi becoming the first black senator and Joseph Rainey of South Carolina being the first black to enter the House of Representatives.

There are still a lot of racial problems in the world today, though they might not be as talked about or as bad as they used to be they are still here. For example, in our presidential election going on right now. We have a black man running to be our President and a lot of our Southern states, that were once part of the confederacy aren't going to be voting for him. In most states Obama has pulled ahead, but in the Southern states McCain is winning by a landslide. The racial issues may not be seen as clearly today, but they are still slightly there.

In my opinion everyone is the same, and I don't feel as if anyone should get treated different. I have plenty black friends, and family members and life would be very different without them. The issues are still here, not as strong, but hopefully over time they will slowly disappear. Its disappointing to me that slaves endured all those hardships and still people don't appreciate what they have. My hope is over time racial issues will really not exist.