By 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 entirely different from what they endured in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. For approximately 80 years, black Southerners faced these changes and difficult times. Most would say that during those 80 years it was worse than actual slaves for black people. 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, disenfranchisement, and lynching and peonage among African Americans. Upon becoming free, blacks most desired independence. They wanted two freedoms: the freedom to be from white people, as well as the freedom to move wherever they wanted. They persevered in having their own schools and churches, without suffering the consequences of their actions. Although blacks thought these actions were possible, southern whites had other ideas. During this period, most of the population of the South lived in poverty and about a third were illiterate. When blacks became free, whites felt threatened by the formerly black slaves. Black people who worked in the mud and had nothing to their credit, are now trying to get what the white man has. Because of this, white Southerners formed groups to attack and intimidate black people, but the violence became widespread. This is what we call radical reconstruction. Radical Reconstruction attempted to subjugate the South while protecting blacks. This brought about the 14th Amendment which states that all citizens born or naturalized in the United States are citizens of the United States. Then came the 15th Amendment which said that black paper... middle of paper ... what was wrong with it was that it was illegal. This was a corruption of the peonage laws. Peonage or debt bondage was banned by the federal government after the Civil War, i.e. peasantry coming from Mexico. When dealing with peonage, blacks were falsely accused and quickly convicted, convicted, and charged fines and court costs, which they could not pay. I don't pay. Blacks could do nothing since local whites were paying for the courts and taking control of them. They would be purchased from the courts by local whites and then resold for profit. African Americans sold for profit would most likely sign a contract setting a certain time frame during which they would then be released from their debts. What was wrong with these contracts was that they gave the owner the right to whip them, confine them and even exchange them, if the debt was not paid..