By 1870 how had the situation of those states changed

explanation: we can only guess at how our actions may be perceived in the future. doing something really big like killing lots of people, saving lots of people, affecting the lives of lots of people is a sure fire way of being remembered in historical records. we can also make a difference in the history records by being a small influence on something bigger, whether that is as a civil servant, scientist or artist.

of course you could argue that we all affect history just as tiny cogs in a   bigger machine.

if you mean how do people influence our opinions of things which have already happened, then simply by writing a book which looks at things form a different perspective and trying to convince people that this perspective is more accurate or truthful. people do it all the time i.e. richard the third was a terrible or was he? plenty would disagree, it's just that their views aren't the most widely known.n:

booker t. washington was an educator who established the tuskegee institute. washington argued that african americans should learn trades that would offer them the opportunity to be progressive citizens. instead of fighting against discrimination, washington argued that african americans should use their education and knowledge to become self-sufficient in american society and not in competition with white americans.

w.e.b du bois was the founder of the niagara movement and later the naacp, du bois disagreed with washington. he argued that african americans should consistently fight for racial equality.

ida b. wells was a journalist who wrote about the horrors of lynching in the south. wells work could be considered muckraking as it led to the development of the anti-lynching campaign.