So after the civil war ended what happened to the slaves in the South? My best guess would be that most of them carried on doing the jobs they had been doing before but getting paid for it(but low pay) or were most of them freed and it's not our problem now approach taken?
Most stayed, but there was also the Great Migration. Many slaves traveled north, to states like Pennsylvania or Ohio. Many were not welcomed. For example, branches of the KKK formed throughout the North as a reaction to the influx of laborers.
Those that stayed in the South continued working and living as if nothing had changed. They were paid, albeit very poorly. Conditions did not improve for most freed slaves. In fact, it became worse for many former slaves. There is a great book by David Oshinsky called “Worse than Slavery” that chronicles how freedmen found themselves in worse conditions after the Civil War.
For one, they were no longer protected by their slave owners. It sounds counterintuitive, but as “property,” the slaves were worth a lot of money. It was uncommon to harm someone else’s slave because he was worth so much. But once freed, African Americans had to fend for themselves.
Moreover, Southerners found loopholes to continue slave labor legally. They created ridiculous laws, such as vagrancy codes. These laws were used as an excuse to place African Americans in prison and put them to work without pay.
How was the emancipation of the slaves in America actually implemented? has links to answers by /u/SisterChenoeh, /u/TRB1783 and others that may be of interest to you.