For this essay please examine and discuss the political and legal measures taken to bring freed African-American slaves and their descendants into the American social and political milieu as "free people" during the Reconstruction era.
In the essay please detail political policies, institutions, key figures, dates, and efforts (including education) to this end. After your summary please critique these efforts and argue what kind of impact they had on the formation of African communities advocating for rights as US citizens in the years to come.