...The African Americans: The Birth of Equality after 1865 Leonard Stinson HIS204: American History Since 1865 Instructor John Durr December 5th, 2011 The African Americans: The Birth of Equality after 1865 This was a time when America was trying to find herself. These were the years known as the Reconstruction Period from 1865-1877. During this time period, the African-American people became free from slavery but one can only imagine what free really is. While the nation search for ways to establish true meaning of equality, African-American people continued to struggle to find out just what equality means and to have the same rights and freedom as the white people in the nation. Whether as slaves or free people, the political and social status of African Americans has always been to obtain the ability to participate in the nation’s economy. While many historians believe that slavery and politics can be attributed to the Civil War, more than 600,000 Americans died and with the help of the Emancipation Proclamation to start the motion to free the slaves, America became even more a divided country in 1865 than the previous earlier years (Bowles, 2011). Although freedom in the post-Civil War years did not guarantee equality, African Americans continued to struggle from racism, segregation and discrimination for many years, but the birth of equality is beginning to grow and show that all men and women are created equal. The effort to integrate...
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...Civil War Essay Prompts Reconstruction Historian Synopses: • Dunning School (Traditional): Dunning and Moore. It is a Tragic Era. The Southerners were tortured. The two underlying foundations: (1) the South should have been readmitted quickly after its defeat (2) there should have been no discussion of racial equality for the freedmen. He is accused of being racist and pro-southern. The Republicans were divided between leniency (conservatives) and punishment (scalawags and carpetbaggers – radicals). The freedmen are not to be blamed because they were pawns and were used by the Republicans. Once a freedman voted for a Republican, he was not paid back for his loyalty. Corrupt and incompetent Reconstruction governments that were eventually overthrown when Democrats regained control and the Tragic Era could come to an end. Bitterness and hatred between the races resulted. South was converted into a colonial appendage. What the Radicals were trying to do was dominate the South as though it were a colony. Moore emphasizes the punishment of North on South. This is the very negative Traditional school • Revisionist School: Simpkins & Woody. In spite of the Traditional charges of incompetence, the Reconstruction governments achieved a lot. Most wrote new constitutions that introduced long-needed laws about school, administration, civil and judicial rights, etc. They were successful. The Reconstruction governments were not controlled by blacks. In no Southern...
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...Why was the South segregated in 1950 After the civil war the South introduced laws, which were called Jim Crow laws. These laws forced segregation of the blacks in the South. With the start of segregation of blacks the civil right movement started. The peak of segregation was during 1950s. The South promoted segregation with saying that the segregate but the facilities, which the blacks had to use were equal. This was a big lie. In this essay I try to explain the major reasons why there was segregation in the South during the 1950s. Before the American Civil War the South had a big plantation economy, where they planted rice, sugar, cotton, tabacco and the major plantation economy in the South, sugar. The plantation economy was the biggest economy in the South due to the climate and it was the closest point to Africa from the New World called USA. The short distance to Africa pushed Slavery in the USA. All the owners of the plantation had African slaves who worked for them. This changed after the Civil War when Slavery got abolished and therefore the plantation economy ended. The plantation economy ended because the whites believed that this was only a job for blacks. As I mentioned earlier was the plantation economy the biggest economy in the South but when Slavery ended the South got poor, farming rural area. Moreover the South believed in the supremacy of the white race and they were in fear when slavery ended that this system could get mixed up therefor the South...
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...Tretheway’s Native Guard that take the reader through the heart of the south and the heart of the family. This essay will examine the contradictions of (African) American life, especially concerning themes of history and memory. “Southern History”, “Incident”, and “South” will demonstrate these contradictions of (African) American history and memory. Serving as a scribe, Tretheway writes these poems for those people history has muted and closed the veil on. Southern History, Incident, and South; poems from section two of her book, depict racism during slavery and the Civil War, which is a part of forgotten history in the eyes of “Americans.” These historic experiences have not been given the proper examination, discussion, or acknowledgement. Tretheway refuses to allow African American history to remain as footnotes and brings out the real “American” history in her collection of poems. Tretheway’s personal experience growing up as a mulatto in the South is seen in her poem “Southern History”. This poem shows that even after more than a hundred years after the Civil War, history is still tainted. History is imperfect and at times intentionally false as textbooks in this time period were used to misinform students; keeping them bound and restricted from the real history of America. As Tretheway’s teacher presents his lesson to the class, he quotes the text saying “Before the war, they were happy…./The slaves were clothed, fed, / and better off under a master’s care”(Line 1-4) Using...
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...An Essay on Richard Gibney’s “The Whipping Boy” Slavery has always been a debated subject among Americans, and numerous artists, authors, directors etc. have through American history given their take on ‘slavery’ before and after the abolishment. However in recent years the subject of slavery has appeared in several books and films (12 Years a Slave, Django etc.), where most of them describe the brutality, in which, Afro Americans lived. “The Whipping Boy”, does as the others describe the historic brutality, but it also takes a different view that gives a curious reason for the oncoming racism, in the period. “The Whipping Boy” as many other stories, told during and after the American civil war, takes place in the Confederate States most likely in the South East, where plantations were abundant. The civil war has just ended as a messenger boy from the Union has told the former slaves of their freedom, alas the year is 1865. Our third person narrator, Martha, does not really believe the messenger, as she believes him “too young and underqualified to confer freedom upon anyone…”, though the two brothers Mikey and Tommy believe in the Union boy’s story, whereas their first act as free men is to kill the dogs of their former slaver/master Sterling Gage. This, at first, seems quite brutal, but we quickly learn that “… the slaves treated the dogs better in death than the dogs had treated the slaves in life.” Which leaves the mind open to imagine different...
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...Sam Grudzien The Civil War to Modern America The Searchers Reflection Essay Tom Ford’s The Searchers is a Western film starring John Wayne who plays Ethan Edwards, a Civil War veteran, and spends the film on a search for his niece Debbie who was abducted by a Native American tribe called the Comanche. On his search, Wayne is accompanied by Jeffrey Hunter, who plays as Edwards’ nephew Martin Pawley. The two men search for five years before finding Debbie. Throughout the movie we learn as viewers that Ethan is a racist man and shows no respect towards Native Americans. We also find out that even though he has devoted five years of his life searching for Debbie, his plan is to murder her simply because he would rather see her dead than living as an Indian. John Wayne plays the role of Ethan Edwards in the film The Searchers and his character is a Western hero, but not a typical Western hero. Ethan is a hate-driven, racist outlaw and a loner with no wife or children. In the beginning of the film Ethan rides up to his brother’s home and has no explanation of where he has been or what he has been doing. He does whatever he wants and doesn’t care to let anyone know. Ethan also shows some anti-social behaviors during the funeral scene. While everyone is mourning the deaths of Ethan’s brother Aaron and his family, Ethan is eager to begin the hunt for the Native Americans. He ends the funeral by saying “Put an amen to it. There’s no more time for praying. Amen”. Ethan is not...
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...Running Head: INDUSTRIALIZATION AFTER THE CIVIL WAR Industrialization Report HIS 105 DUE 04/21/2015 Pamela Anderson Professor: INDUSTRIALIZATION AFTER THE CIVIL WAR Introduction In the course of reading this article I explore fundamentals to three major aspect of industrialization between eighteen and nineteen century first I will express concerned of the industry and the conflict it face. While developing factories and farms Second is the economy using various technlogies to motivate growth for rebuilding, farmers income also fails for their price level., however it gives credit to the economy in the form of technology such as sewing machine and firearm also is of great concerned and is it equipped to deal with difficult challenges. E.G Immigrant. Technology expansion, growth of industries and health concerned. This paper will try to explain three aspect of industrialization between 1865 and 1920 the essay will outline Economy, Politics issues and Social systems. INDUSTRIALIZATION AFTER THE CIVIL WAR Industries First of all industries made an enormous demands of the wealthy investors by developing railroads, production of irons, tobacco and cottons utilizing the poor whites, Blacks were bands from been employed. These blacks fought because of the segregation due to racism, Industrial growth has a competition causing American to move from south to north searching for a better life. (Schultz 2013). The railroad increase tracking and inflation...
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...“Essay Question 4” In 1865, the Union declared victory over the Confederate States following their surrender at Appomattox Courthouse, Va. The American Civil War was fought between the Northern states of the Union and the Southern Confederate States of America. The Civil War started April 12, 1861 after the first shot was fired on Fort Sumter in the harbor outside Charleston, S.C. The first major battle did not take place until July 21, 1861, and it was a commonly held belief that the war would be decided during this one battle. It took four years of battle and destruction before the Confederate States surrendered to Union forces in 1865. The Race Relations was one area with great potential for violence, although many black leaders stressed nonviolence. Since the mid- 1950s, King and others had been leading disciplined mass protests of black Americans in the South against segregation, emphasizing appeals to the conscience of the white majority (see civil rights movement). Lastly, the question implies the possibility of a counterfactual answer: The South really won the war. I have heard this argument made, and I am not persuaded. I know the logic: The racism that emerged in the postwar U.S., especially but not only in the South, looked like slavery under a different name; the South won the war of history and memory, securing the honor of the cause and forcing reunion on Southern white supremacist terms. And, indeed at a certain, meta – historical level...
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... James Shahan University of Phoenix February 15th, 2014 Racial Equality There exist different ideas and ideologies that surround the subject of race and racism. Opinions vary as to what racism is and what it is not. Racial equality is one such ideology. By definition, racial equality denotes the uniform or equal treatment of members from different races. The term loosely applies to both biological and social equality (Painter, 2006). Racial equality differs markedly from racial equity which denotes an ideal situation where markets and other systems work equally for all racial and ethnic groups. This essay centers on racial equality as a tool for social justice looking at the activities of various organizations and groups in promoting racial equality. There are many organizations and groups that serve to ensure social justice. These groups and organizations push for racial equality among different racial groups. They target a specific marginalized community or race and fight all aspects of institutional racism that might affect these groups. Most of these groups serve as civil right agents that advocate for the rights of these minority groups. National Urban League (NUL) is a good paradigm of a civil right group that fights for the rights of the minority. National Urban League as a civil right group fights against racial inequality for the African-Americans. This group advocates for equal rights for the African-Americans and provide direct services to the...
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...Exam Essay By: Omar Sneed Given the history of race relations in 20th century America, few voters who were born before the 1970s regardless of their ethnic background or race every expected the election of an African American as President of the United States to occur in their lifetime. Nevertheless, it became a reality and in great part the following events, conditions and situations that took place between 1900 and the year of 2000 created a social political and economic environment that allowed this historical event to take place. First of all, the American people shared the same value system regardless of their race. After the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s, the attitudes of the people evolved from privilege being reserved for whites only to a quest for the survival of humankind. There was a marked growth in the black middle class with the inception of the Harlem Renaissance which brought about the perception that African Americans had value in that they could entertain and were skilled at it. Another factor that was conducive to the outcome was the fact that racism began to decline and younger generations were much less racist than their parents and grandparents were. This evolution of attitudes towards African Americans brought about an awareness and testament to the world to what African Americans had to offer largely in part to the post civil war era whereby African Americans were progressive and they were interested in educating themselves after the end...
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...African American literature is surprising, captivating, and spirited. Once you start reading a story it is easy to get caught up in the tale being told. The descriptive nature of the works makes it easy to relate to them. Throughout my readings thus far in the class I have noticed some common themes that reoccur in many of the stories and poems. Of course slavery was a very common topic but there were others such as inequality between the races and sexes, injustice and resentment, the black identity, and a strong faith and religion. Even though the words can be separated in the end they all come back together. There were many narratives written by fugitive slaves before the Civil War and by former slaves in the postbellum era. These narratives document slave life from the perspective of first-hand experience. The stories they tell are dark and ugly. The authors like Douglas and Jacobs reveal the struggles, sorrows, aspirations, and triumphs of slaves in absorbingly personal story-telling. Harriet Jacobs’s Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl was the first autobiography by a formerly enslaved African American woman. In it she describes her experience of the sexual exploitation that made slavery especially oppressive for black women. She also recounts her life in slavery in the context of family relationships with her escape and her struggle to free her children. Fredrick Douglas who wrote Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglas, an American Slave, Written by Himself...
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...it came to integrating. He understands why someone would take offense to his hat, but says “it was a different time” and that history is “not really relevant to [his] hat”. He doesn’t wear the hat to show he support the actions that team took in the past, but he wears it to show “where [he’s] from” and its for [his] city”. His essay was effective in getting his...
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...Investigate the History of Slavery and Discuss the ways in which this history Impacts Contemporary Society. HUMN: 303N Week 8 Final Essay The history of slavery has majorly impacted contemporary society as well as the ways in which we live. Ever since slavery was abolished in the United States, equality has been spread amongst African Americans throughout the world. This was achieved by the African Americans themselves, with their strong effort in fighting for what they felt was right. Following their strong attempts, “A terrible price had to be paid, in a tragic, calamitous civil war, before the new democracy could be rid of that most undemocratic institution” (G. Loury, 2015). A huge part of this time period was the Civil Rights movement. This movement was led by strong leaders that helped secure equal opportunities and privileges for African Americans. Although slavery was not officially outlawed until the 13th century amendment was passed, at end of the war slaves were set free. In M. Stevens (2015), “Fasts about the Slave Trade and Slavery, The Gider Lehrman Institute of American History,” slave trade and slavery itself has been thoroughly described. Steven starts off by stating that the United States had the highest natural increase in slave population. He then goes into slave trade, and explains what a slave would go through on a normal work day. This ties into the fact of the actual cost of slaves, and how vastly it changed through the years. The...
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...The English colonies promoted liberties and rights as well as slavery and racism. During the revolution, a Constitution was written that contradicted promises of liberties and rights preventing slavery until the Civil War. During the seventeenth century in North America, at the same time that slavery and racism were being engraved in society for Africans, colonies were creating charters to promote and protect the rights of Englishmen. These rights included life, liberty, and property, which were very important to Englishmen as they were denied these basic rights in the Magna Carta. The Magna Carta provided certain important rights such as the ones mentioned before only to nobles. This contradiction saw to the U.S. adopting a Constitution that protected institutionalized slavery. Slaves wanted to know where they fit into all these protections. This essay aims to highlight the protection of rights for Englishmen at a time when African slaves were being denied those same rights. The Portuguese were the first people to go along the coast of Africa from Europe where they encountered more people of darker skin. However, these were Muslims who were literate and numerate. The English on the other hand were horrified when they saw the color black. To them, the ideal woman had blonde hair, blue eyes and fair skin, hence pure and good. To be black on the other hand meant to be evil, vile, disgusting and satanic. Winthrop Jordan, the author of the book “White Over Black”, introduced...
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...Essay 1 The years following the Civil War were laden with political, social, and economic strife, especially in the South. While the events of Reconstruction provided political, social, and economic gains for various groups, Reconstruction can only be described as a minor success due to its many shortcomings and failures. The most notable successes of Reconstruction include reunification of the Union, passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments, and establishment of the Freedmen’s Bureau. Reuniting the Union was Lincoln’s and many other Northerners’ main focus after the Civil War, although the last ex-confederate state was not readmitted until 1870. The passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments officially outlawed slavery, granted freedmen equal protection under the law, and gave black males the right to vote. While these helped equalize blacks and whites politically, the Freedmen’s Bureau was established to help provide economic and social assistance to former slaves. The bureau offered necessities like housing and food, but more importantly built schools and provided education and employment opportunities to blacks following the Civil War. With much southern resistance to the new political rights of former slaves, the...
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