How did life for black people in America improve in the late 18th century?

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How did the life for black people in America improve in the late 18th century?

American attitudes toward black people living in America had always been tainted to some degree; even the passing of the civil rights bill was backed in 1886 by Radical Republicans. This bill entitled blacks in America to the most basic of human rights, and freed them from Southern Black Codes, which were laws placing restrictions on free slaves' right to vote, testify against whites, as well as carry weaponry in public places.

President Andrew Johnson vetoed this bill in 1866, saying: "This is a country for white men, and by God, as long as I am President it shall be a government for white men."

Attempts to improve the situation for slaves continued with Lincoln's Reconstruction Plan, which, although did not itself improve the situation, forced states to declare their views on the subject of slavery, and make oaths to the Constitution. Radical Republicans opposed it, as it did not manage to ensure equal civil rights for freed slaves.

The Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution was then passed by Congress in 1867. The amendment was designed to