A Time to Kill

A Time to Kill

Are things the same now in your life than 5 years ago? Everything in our life is based on change. We would not be where we were today without changes. We have to deal with these changes in our everyday life whether they are bad or good. People do not like some changes that occur and revolt against them to slow down the changing process. We are still not over some of the issues in the Civil War when it's been 140 years since it ended. We can only presume that changing takes time. As seen in the movie "A Time To Kill," issues from our Reconstruction Period after the Civil War, are still being dealt with today. Three of these issues are: Ku Klux Klan, Lack of Payment, and African Americans in Politics.

The Ku Klux Klan has been around since the end of the Civil War. They killed thousands of people because of racism. No one can get rid of them because they are guaranteed rights as stated in the Constitution. One of the Enforcement Acts of 1870 made it possible for the President to send troops to where the Ku Klux Klan was. This was shown in the movie when angry African Americans and Klan members voiced their opinions outside.

When free slaves had a chance to start a new life back in the 1860's, they had many problems. What were they to do? They had no jobs, no home, no money, and few skills. They were often forced to receive low payment and long hours just to get some money. They didn't have the luxuries that the white man had. Children had to attend special black schools that weren't funded very well. Today, some of that is still shown. In the movie, homes of the white people had everything decorated nice and was well kept up. The homes of the African Americans people were often ragged and old looking.

After the war, African Americans took an active role in the political process. Not only did they vote; they held political office in local, state, and federal government. African American legislators worked to pass laws against segregation. The NAACP was shown in the movie taking an active role and trying to make a difference in the freedom of Carl Lee.

All of these changes have happened right here in America. Each change leads to another one. If we didn't have the Revolutionary War, we wouldn't have had the Civil War. If we didn't have the Civil War,