You might like to look at Skytrax; www.airlinequality.com which rates airlines with one to five stars. Most US based carriers get three stars, as does American. The site will also allow you to view passenger's comments bout their experiences. Again, many people only comment when things go wrong, so bear that in mind.
Reconstruction and Its Aftermath. The Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 freed African Americans in rebel states, and after the Civil War, the Thirteenth Amendment emancipated all U.S. slaves wherever they were. As a result, the mass of Southern blacks now faced the difficulty Northern blacks had confronted--that of a free people surrounded by many hostile whites.
O. Lincoln's Final Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863 specifically listed those areas where slaves were to be free. Slave owners who were loyal to the Union were exempt and allowed to keep their slaves. Based on the 1860 census, this meant that over 800,000 slaves or 21% of slaves were to remain in bondage.