S. Supreme Court. As to religion, slaves were allowed to worship in segregated sections of white churches, but with the advent of Reconstruction around 1867, freed slaves left the white churches and formed their own Baptist and Methodist congregations.
The governments which were set up by the North during the Reconstruction period often mandated that segregation remain in place which affected the ability of freed slaves to attend and seek assistance in many local and state-level social institutions, such as colleges, hospitals and welfare facilities. For example, in the state of Georgia, there was no existing system for the care of disenfranchised former slaves and those who suffered from diseases and many physical ailments until the early 1880's. Also during this time, former slaves were forced to live in very inadequate housing, especially in southern cities like Atlanta, Richmond and Charleston. Before the Civil War, black American slaves had it even worse, for they usually lived in squalor in ramshackle houses behind the magnificent mansions of the white slave masters.
The black slave family was also greatly affected by the horrible living conditions forced upon them by white society and the plantation owners who lived in opulence and splendor while their slave "property"...
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now