Reconstruction changed the lives of former slaves for ever. Laws were passed to make their lives better but that doesn't mean that they quit working on plantations. For some slaves the plantations was all they had. Some of the land owners allowed the slaves to continue to work so they could earn money to buy themselves into freedom.
The thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth amendments, and the Emancipation Proclamation were all passed during the time of reconstruction so that slaves weren't treated as property. These were supposed to end slavery, but slavery still sort of existed because work still had to be done in the fields on these huge plantations.
Life for some slaves was better off. Some slaves could leave and be free and now that they were granted citizenship and could vote and be elected, some black exercised these freedoms. Others continued to work on plantations for money to technically, it was not slavery if they were paid. These law were intended to make life better off for the slaves but african americans were still looked down upon. Laws do not stop the judgement and attitude that people have toward other people.
In conclusion, the time of Reconstruction changed the lives for blacks in the south but not much. The laws that were passed were intended to do so much more but the south was stubborn. Some african americans exercised their rights, while others never left the plantations.
