A response on whether the civil war and reconstruction smashed the system of enslaved labor

A response on whether the civil war and reconstruction smashed the system of enslaved labor

I would have to say yes that I agree with the historians that these events were revolutionary in terms of the system of enslaved labor and such. Although after the war, it was said that there were plenty of people that faced hardships such as “poverty, unemployment, and an economic downturn waiting for them” (PSU WC, 2018) the lesson does allude to the fact that these people had some semblance of choice. Of course that does not mean much due to their hardships at the time, but in thinking of factors that occurred down the line, e.g., after the war and a good amount of years after the recovery period, it did end up being a net positive overall.

Although the reading Home on the Range: Richard Philips demonstrates the hardships of ‘cowboys’ during that time-frame, it shows that even in that economic climate there is choice. This is apparent when Philips quit because that type of work did not appeal to him, and so he left to pursue something else. The choice of words Philips used when describing the other cowpunchers was interesting as well because he made mention that some were black, and he also labeled them as being ex-slaves.

The second reading “Are We Nothing But Living Machines?” which took place during the war demonstrated that these women that were oppressed by the factory owners that they had worked for, were slowly starting to stand their ground in regards to work. This being a protest of “working conditions and wages” (Are We Nothing But Living Machines, 1863) it gives us a sneak peek at the changes occurring at that time and place, things were changing and it did not take the end of the war for that to happen, it started much earlier.

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Do you agree with some historians that the Civil War, which also was a slave rebellion in disguise, and Reconstruction were revolutionary moments that smashed the system of enslaved labor and elevated the system of free wage labor?

Remember, your Response is your evaluation of whether the Commentary is a critical analysis of the selected primary sources.

Just need a 100 word (or more) response to the response at the top which was someones answer to the bolded question. Need incorporate the attached source (and only that source) within the response.