ource of labor went undisturbed. Redefining the black labor force could endanger the entire economic system subscribed by the South. The prejudice and commitment to the continuation of a plantation slave labor system limited overall progress in the South. Southern planters would not accept that blacks were free Americans and could leave the area. Blacks however saw things differently. At the initial prospect of being free, they saw themselves as a citizen of the U.S. with the same rights as whites. They wanted to participate in all forms of activity they had been denied because of their color. They wanted to be involved in both business and politics. They genuinely believed in the laws of the United States that indicated they were freedmen and were no longer restricted because of color. They wanted the same opportunities as the whites, desired the same for their children, and coveted the life of the whites that now nothing prevented them from earning. They wanted the chance to work for themselves. They wanted to own their own piece of property, grow a crop, and harvest for themselves. I can only imagine the heartache and internal suffering felt when they realized that even though they had been declared free, limitations and barriers were still placed upon them. Quickly, blacks recognized that education was the key to their social mobility. Education began to take precedent in the freed black community. Many black soldiers began their quest for literacy while serving in the Union army. "Before the civil war, most southern states prohibited the instruction of slaves"(p.43). After the war, it seemed as if blacks were willing to do anything to learn. This applied to both the young and old. They set up their own schools, holding classes anywhere they could, in abandoned warehouses, billiard rooms, or churches (p.43). Children taught parents and parents taught their children. Over lunch breaks laborers would challenge each other, ...
