America failed in its lofty attempt at Reconstruction. There were many unfulfilled promises during that time, notoriously including Union General William T. Sherman's Special Orders No. 15 of January 16, 1865. As part of Special Orders No. 15, General Sherman was ordered to allot forty acres of land, and later a mule, to individuals in the properties where they had worked as slaves. Special Order No. 15 stated that slaves had earned the right to own the land they had worked as slaves and to live with freedom, liberty, and justice for all, Abraham Lincoln's successor, Andrew Johnson, swiftly put a halt to Special Orders and Freedmen's Bureau bills by simply annulling such proclamations.

• Summarize the political and social constructs America imposed on former slaves and the environment that produced the blues.
• Describe the melodic and harmonic structure of the blues.
• Recall and list specific elements of the African American folksong.