There is no doubt that the period from 1865 to 1896 was one of the most significant in American history. The Civil War divided the country over the issue of slavery, but in many ways slavery was not the primary issue of the war. The primary goal of the war, from President Abraham Lincoln's perspective, was to preserve the Union. The Emancipation Proclamation and freeing of slaves were a secondary achievement. In any case, after the war the country managed to free about 4 million people from slavery. Policies regarding their rights and liberties became the dominant political controversy of the Reconstruction period. Individuals such as Ida B. Wells, Booker T. Washington, and Frederick Douglas spoke out against society and the government for prejudice against freed slaves. They also believed that the elimination of slavery alone was not enough to deem former slaves free. During the Reconstruction era the meaning and experience of freedmen was in some ways the same as when they were enslaved, but in other ways it was much worse than before their freedom. Lack of opportunity, institutional racism, and violence in society limited freedmen's freedoms which essentially gave them nothing more than freedom from slavery. For many freedmen, the only thing they had after gaining freedom was freedom itself. For the most part they had no work, no money and no home. Former slaves also had little or no formal skills, were mostly illiterate, and therefore had difficulty improving their situation. Countless freedmen returned to work on their former masters' plantations for low wages and essentially remained slaves. While there were successes for freedmen during the Reconstruction era such as the Civil R... at the center of the paper... the institutional racism and unspeakable violence that African American slaves were subjected to. Of course, the country made great strides against racism and granted civil rights to African Americans after the Civil War. Yet there was still a time when freed slaves were in many ways not free at all. The experience of former slaves was in some ways the same as when they were slaves and in others much worse. There was widespread racism and despicable crimes committed against them. The government was unable or unwilling to give freedmen land and equal opportunities in society, and even when they were granted rights, they were often weakened or nullified. It is fair to say that the history of slavery in America is complicated, and its effects were felt long after the Emancipation Proclamation. Freedmen essentially had nothing but their own freedom.