At the end of the 19th century, African Americans were no longer slaves, but they were certainly not free. When we think of freedom today, we think of something totally different than what they had to endure in the late 19th century and early 20th century. For approximately 80 years, Southern blacks have faced these changes and difficult times. Most would say that for those 80 years it was worse than blacks being actual slaves. There are so many things that held African Americans back during this time. Some examples of this would be the involvement of Jim Crow laws, which did not provide the right to vote, and lynching and slavery among African Americans. When they became free, blacks desired independence more. They wanted two freedoms: freedom from whites and freedom to move wherever they wanted. They persevered in having their own schools and churches, despite not suffering the consequences of these actions. Although blacks thought these actions were possible, Southern whites had other ideas. During this time period, most of the South's population lived in poverty and approximately one-third were illiterate. When blacks became free, whites felt threatened by black slaves. The blacks who worked in the mud and had nothing to their name, now try to get what the white man has. Because of this, southern whites formed gangs to attack and intimidate blacks, but the violence spread widely. This is the case of what we have called radical reconstruction. Radical Reconstruction sought to subjugate the South while protecting blacks. This brought forward the 14th Amendment which stated that all citizens born or naturalized in the United States are citizens of the United States. Then came the Fifteenth Amendment which stated that the black… middle of the paper… what was wrong was that it was illegal. It was a corruption of the slavery laws. Slavery or debt peonage was outlawed by the federal government after the Civil War, as it applied to peasants from Mexico. When dealing with slavery, blacks were falsely accused and quickly convicted, they were convicted and charged fines and court costs, which they might not pay. Blacks could do nothing as local whites paid for the courts and took control of them. They would be purchased from the courts by local whites and then traded away for profit. African Americans sold for profit would most likely sign a contract that would set a certain period of time during which they would be free from their debts. What was so wrong with these contracts was that within them they would give the owner the right to whip them, confine them, and even trade them, if the debt was not paid.