Reconstruction!

In today's news,
"Slavery is not abolished until the black man has the ballot," (551).
Fredrick Douglas delivered this quote in hopes of helping with freedom of blacks. As soon as the civil war concluded, free blacks were reported coming together in conventions, parades, and petition drives to demand the right to vote. Some even on occasion organized their own "freedom ballots," (552).
Here in the South, prior slave owners are taking negro freedom hard. They do not quite seem to get the concept of it. Journalist Sidney Andrews reports, "The whites seem wholly unable to comprehend that freedom for the negro means the same thing as freedom for them. They readily enough admit that the government has made him free, but appear to believe that they have the right to exercise the same old control," (553). The south seems to be having trouble forgiving the war brutalities and destructions.
An interview from a former slave led to this statement, "Only land would enable the poor class to enjoy the sweet boon of freedom," (552). Former slaves' ideas of freedom are directly related to land and ownership. At a black convention in Alabama, this quote was obtained, "The property which they hold, was nearly all earned by the sweat of our brows," (552). Freed slaves feel that the property they were forced to pour their blood and sweat into belonged to them, or at least a portion of the property was.
Reconstruction might seem to be going as planned but is there any rational suggestions that the great people of our nation would like to make? If so, feel free to write a letter to: 2000 Whitley Way, Hiram, GA, 30157. We would love to hear your suggestions and maybe put them in our weekly issue.