Montgomery in Montgomery County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
Emancipation / Reconstruction
Photographed By Mark Hilton, September 26, 2021
1. Emancipation Marker
Inscription.
Emancipation, also, Reconstruction. .
Emancipation. The end of the Civil War in April 1865 and ratification of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution meant the end of enslavement for approximately four hundred thousand black Alabamians. Freedmen embraced emancipation by seeking separated kin, forming black religious and social institutions, and asserting their rights as citizens., Creating opportunities for education was a priority. Before the end of 1865, former slaves established a school that would later become Talladega College. Similar institutions appeared across the state in the following decades, producing a robust network of schools and colleges serving the African American community., Freedom also brought uncertainty over how to make a living and the relationships of African Americans to their former owners. Some sought new homes and new opportunities by relocating, but many remained on the land they had worked prior to the war. The federal Freedmen’s Bureau helped black farmers negotiate new labor agreements with white landowners. ,
Reconstruction. After the war, Alabama faced two monumental tasks: adjusting to the end of slavery and rebuilding a destroyed economy. Freedmen sought to exercise their new rights of citizenship, but many whites sought to regain their former economic and political control. The Ku Klux Klan backed these efforts with widespread violence against blacks and their white allies., State government, integrated for the first time, attempted to diversify the economy by promoting railroads and the iron industry, but mounting state debt and a national financial crisis hindered recovery., In 1874, white conservatives won state elections. They soon wrote a new constitution reducing the size of government and centralizing power in Montgomery., On April 24, 1867, African Americans in Florence nominated John Rapier to serve as voting registrar for an upcoming statewide vote, the first to include black men. Reflecting the magnitude of the moment, the group expressed "a solemn sense of the great responsibilities now resting upon us as enfranchised citizens." . This historical marker was erected in 2019 by the Alabama Bicentennial Commission.. It is in Montgomery in Montgomery County Alabama
Emancipation
The end of the Civil War in April 1865 and ratification of the
13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution meant the end of
enslavement for approximately four hundred thousand black
Alabamians. Freedmen embraced emancipation by seeking
separated kin, forming black religious and social institutions,
and asserting their rights as citizens.
Creating opportunities for education was a priority. Before
the end of 1865, former slaves established a school that
would later become Talladega College. Similar institutions
appeared across the state in the following decades, producing
a robust network of schools and colleges serving the
African American community.
Freedom also brought uncertainty over how to make a living
and the relationships of African Americans to their former
owners. Some sought new homes and new opportunities
by relocating, but many remained on the land they had
worked prior to the war. The federal Freedmen’s Bureau
helped black farmers negotiate new labor agreements with
white landowners.
Reconstruction
After the war, Alabama
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faced two monumental tasks:
adjusting to the end of slavery and rebuilding a destroyed
economy. Freedmen sought to exercise their new rights of
citizenship, but many whites sought to regain their former
economic and political control. The Ku Klux Klan backed
these efforts with widespread violence against blacks and
their white allies.
State government, integrated for the first time, attempted
to diversify the economy by promoting railroads and the iron
industry, but mounting state debt and a national financial
crisis hindered recovery.
In 1874, white conservatives won state elections. They soon
wrote a new constitution reducing the size of government
and centralizing power in Montgomery.
On April 24, 1867, African Americans in Florence nominated
John Rapier to serve as voting registrar for an upcoming
statewide vote, the first to include black men. Reflecting the
magnitude of the moment, the group expressed "a solemn
sense of the great responsibilities now resting upon us as
enfranchised citizens."
Erected 2019 by the Alabama Bicentennial Commission.
N, 86° 18.117′ W. Marker is in Montgomery, Alabama, in Montgomery County. Marker can be reached from Dexter Avenue west of North Bainbridge Street. Located in Alabama Bicentennial Park in front of the Lurleen B. Wallace Office Building. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 500 Dexter Avenue, Montgomery AL 36130, United States of America. Touch for directions.
3. Emancipation / Reconstruction Marker with Alabama State Capitol in background.
Photographed By Mark Hilton, September 26, 2021
4. Closeup of bronze relief sculpture on the granite stone.
Credits. This page was last revised on September 26, 2021. It was originally submitted on September 26, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 161 times since then and 36 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on September 26, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.
