Civil War and Reconstruction Changes the Lives of African Americans

Paper instructions:
How did the Civil War and Reconstruction change the lives of African Americans in the United States? What were their lives like before, during, and after the Civil War? Finally, what did freedom mean for ex-slaves, and was that freedom achieved with Reconstruction? Was the Reconstruction a success or failure? My argument is that the Reconstruction was both a success and a failure. Acknowledge/address both sides than separate and list the most successes and list the failures. Must have a thesis statement.
Need to use these two resources:
Eric Foner, Give Me Liberty!, Seagull Third Edition, Vol. I
Eric Foner, Voices of Freedom, Third Edition, Vol. I