Premium Essay

The African-American's History in America

In: Historical Events

Submitted By Aqeelah
Words 2842
Pages 12
The African American’s History in the United States
1865-Present

Gina R. Carter
Hist:204
Instructor Ronnie Peacock
April 8, 2013

The African American’s struggles have been many as well as continuous throughout the centuries. However, this race despite the trials and tribulations thrown at them, stood fast when faced with adversity, discrimination, oppression and segregation. They are a people once condemned by the country that stole their heritage and identity, forced them into slavery and labeled then subhuman. After imprisonments, the loss of lives, much sacrifice and an undeniable refusal of contentment, they are now America’s doctors, lawyers, priests, educators, judges and Secretary of State. From slavery to the White House, the African American took control over its fate and today continues to orchestrate its own destiny. After many years of involuntary servitude, beating, rapes and hangings, the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified on December 6, 1865, stating, "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States.", the African American slave finally had a taste of freedom, so he thought. Even though the Thirteenth amendment was the Constitutional end of slavery in the United States, this was not the end of slavery. Instead the American southern states introduced slavery by another name. American History 1865-Present | End of Isolation states; “Neither military leaders nor politicians can change the ingrained cultural beliefs of a people.” (Bowles, 2011, 1:1) They were too many people that opposed freeing the Negro for many reasons that they felt were justifiable to them. One of the reasons was the free labor provided by the slave in the fields as well as in the homes of the southern whites. The loss of these workers would change

Similar Documents

Free Essay

A Minority Group Within a Minority Group

...A minority group within a minority group. This is the black Jewish person here in the United States. One can only imagine the prejudices and discrimination they have gone through, even by their own religious group. Many think a “black” person could not be Jewish and some even consider the practice of Judaism strictly a “white” person’s religion. Some have gone so far to think that being Jewish is a race or nationality and not a religion. First let’s explore what Judaism is and how it is different from other religions. Judaism (n.d.) according to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, is a religion developed among ancient Hebrews that believes in one God who revealed himself to Abraham, Moses and the Hebrew prophets, and a religious life according to scriptures and rabbinic traditions. Where Judaism really differs from other religions is that to be Jewish, you can either be born into it through matrilineal lines or you can be converted into Judaism (Rich, 2011). A person who has a Jewish mother, according to Orthodox Jews would be considered Jewish no matter who the father is or whether or not you believe in or practice Judaism. Accordingly, if you do not have a Jewish mother, but a Jewish father, you would not be considered Jewish even if you practice Judaism. One would have to be converted into Judaism in order to be considered Jewish if you do not have the matrilineal lines. Additionally, as opposed to Christians, practicing Jews believe that the Messiah has not yet come...

Words: 1054 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Historical Report on Race

...Historical Report on Race Steven Pope-Coney ETH/125 July-Sunday 08, 2012 Pauline Little Historical Report on Race Based on Gerald Horne the experience of the African Americans throughout US history has been neutral. (Horne, 2011) African Americans in the beginning were dragged across the Atlantic to North America as Europe reached a certain stage in socio economic revolution. African Americans have been sold, and traded as live stock for money and other things. African Americans were also beaten if they did not listen to the Europeans orders. Some African Americans tried to escape to get away from the abuse but were killed if founded trying to escape. African Americans were not afforded the same opportunities as whites, whites has access to top educational schools, voting rights, and were allowed to sit at the front of the bus. African Americans had to go to poor graded schools, could not share the same restaurants, bathrooms, and etc. Whites have felt like the African Americans do not belong and that their rights were being threatened. African Americans have come a long way from George Washington Carver inventing the peanuts, and President Obama becoming the First black president of the United States. Some of the concerns have been that African Americans were forced in to low poverty neighborhoods and were not able to live in the upper class neighborhoods like whites did. (Horne, 2011) According to Gerald Horne In 2010 one of the big political cases involving...

Words: 787 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

African Americans In The Civil War Essay

...History of African Americans in the American Civil War The civil war which lasted from 1861 until 1865, was a time of tragic loss of life in America; although, the outcome could have been much worse. In consideration of African Americans during the war, we must determine how big of a role they played in the outcome and how much worse it could have been had they not participated. It is clear that they played a major role in the civil war because without them there would not have been enough men to fight. Additionally, they practiced medicine in the war although this fact often doesn’t get a lot of attention in history. Clearly African American persons’ contributions were important in the war; however because of the politics of the time, they...

Words: 972 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Kara Walker Installation Artist

...When Africans first touched down on American soil, the majority were used for one reason. To be slaves on plantations throughout the United States of America. They would soon be known as African-Americans as time wore on and their time spent in the United States increased. A multitude of changes occurred over their time in this country from when they were slaves until modern day America. An Installation Artist by the name of Kara Walker has tried to document these changes in her artwork, which will be seen later on throughout the piece. Something unlike the images that you have seen to describe African-American culture through the years, her images contain a sense of brutally honest ethnically charged art that is famous worldwide. Kara Walker...

Words: 1006 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Aids Responses

...In the first article: AIDS brings out best, worst in us I thought that is was a great example of the way America looks out for its own. Although, I can’t say that I’m surprised by this (considering that the majority of American’s that are affected by this disease are African American) it still makes me upset. Being an African American it bothers me that throughout all of American history, my race has been overlooked, disrespected, murdered, raped, and just about every other bad thing you could think of has happened and yet people don’t care until it affects people like them. It’s a terrible thing in this day and age that this is still a major topic in America, but it is and we as a country need to seriously make a change. We invest a lot in our military, refuse to tax the wealthiest 1%, and deny money/health care to those who need it for no other reason than it doesn’t affect the majority of those in power (the wealthiest whites). Don’t get me wrong, we (African American’s) have a big role to play in this as well, with our outrageous priorities and callous attitude toward our own. It just seems like the attitude is the same as when the syphilis test were going on and, slavery was the thing to do. The second article: Why Brazil’s response to AIDS worked again doesn’t surprise me. As I stated earlier America is the country that just doesn’t seem to care. We are behind other nations, when it comes to education and health care but is the leader in spending on the military...

Words: 330 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

History of Civil War

...There have been so many events that have happened within our history that it has lead to current events in today’s society. Our federal government played a pivotal role in those drastic changes beginning with the Civil War on April 12, 1861 to the end of the Civil Right era in 1968. Within our history, there have been so many changes to the authority of how the political, social, and economic structures were crucial in developing our federal government in the United States. The first of the four examples that I will talk about in this paper is the Civil War and the freeing of the slaves. The Civil War was one of the most unpleasant disagreements recorded in our history. The Civil War began after Abraham Lincoln was elected to be our sixteenth president of United States. He was against slavery, and formed the Confederate States of America that consisted over fifty major battles and five thousand minor battles. When President Lincoln designed the Emancipation Proclamation, it was to help see slaves be free and have their freedom to work throughout the world. John Hope Franklin stated, “If it was a humanitarian document, it gave hope to millions of Negroes that a better day lay ahead, and it renewed the faith of thousands of crusaders who had fought long to win freedom in America." It was a social change, as the African American’s believed it could encourage full citizenship and inclusion into their country of birth as well. This was an understanding of the social issues of slavery...

Words: 986 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Jesse Jackson Accomplishments

...Many very significant people who have made a mark in history most likely have their own holiday. So it wouldn’t be right if this wonderful man, Jesse Jackson, didn’t have one of his own. Jesse Jackson should have a National Holiday of his own. Secondly, Jesse Jackson has accomplished so much. Many of Jesse Jackson’s accomplishments came from his contribution in the civil rights movement, while others were from being a politician. Jesse’s biggest accomplishment was in 1968, when he was declared the last person to speak to Martin Luther King Jr. Moreover, in 1970, Jesse appeared on the cover of Time magazine because of his accomplishments with Martin Luther King Jr. He has also won over 20 impressive awards. In 1989, his most important award...

Words: 368 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

African American Violence in History

...extremism, however the gathering that quite gets the main part of this contempt is the African American group. There are numerous shocking generalizations that individuals place upon them, from they are inalienably savage to they are inept. Considering how dynamic, different, and tolerating the United States cases to be we too are liable of this appalling conduct. Despite the fact that roughness toward African Americans has declined generously since the foundation of this nation regardless it has yet to totally stop, which is astonishing. African Americans did not do anything to dispense this savagery upon themselves, they didn't do anything to launch any kind of question. So these individuals don't merit this treatment. Truth be told, we ought to be saying thanks to African Americans for their commitments to society. The main reason they are singled out is a direct result of the shading of their skin, and the way that others wish to create their predominance. It is sickening. African Americans have been the casualties of savagery originated from antagonistic vibe from their entry to the New World, their subjugation, the social equality development, and even until today. Christopher Columbus still gets acknowledgment for being the author of the New World, actually when there is a plenty of proof demonstrating that there were different people groups that had been possessing the area; African Americans included. At the point when Columbus and his men arrived they realized that there...

Words: 1685 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

Appendix D

...Ethnic group People of the same race or nationality who share a distinctive culture Anti-Semitism: Hostility toward Jews dates to ancient times, perhaps to the beginning of Jewish history. Islamophobia: Refers to unfounded fear of and hostility toward Islam. Xenophobia: Fear and hatred of strangers, or foreigners. Also anything that is strange or foreign. Persecution: The act or practice of persecuting on the basis of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or beliefs that differ from those of the persecutor. Religious group: A number of people who set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices some form of warship. Part II Select at least 1 religious and 1 ethnic/racial group not your own from the list below. • Religious groups (based on http://religions.pewforum.org/pdf/affiliations-all-traditions.pdf) o Christianity • Evangelical Protestant • Mainline Protestant • Historically Black Churches • Roman Catholic • Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) • Jehovah’s Witnesses • Orthodox (Greek, Eastern) o Judaism (Orthodox, Conservative, or Reform) o Buddhism (Theravada or Mahayana) o Islam (Sunni, Shia, Sufism) o Hinduism • Racial/Ethnic groups (based on divisions in U.S. Census Bureau documents) o Asian (Asian descent) o Black (African descent) o Hispanic and Latino (South or Central American descent) o Pacific Islander (Polynesian descent) o White (European descent) Part III Answer the following questions...

Words: 2883 - Pages: 12

Premium Essay

Preserving Cultural Heritage- Only the Truth Can Set Them Free

...connect to all the factors that have shaped how they are living today. The next generation learns from the last and ancestral stories are repeated, passed down and incorporated into the fabric of the uniqueness of individuals within a culture. Within the vast boundaries of our nation there are unique and geographical cultures that have succeeded in surviving despite the odds and then there are the stories of those who didn’t succeed. Both cultures build upon bonding born from the hardship of working the soil in rural America, but only one of these cultures has found a way to liberate its people and share the truths associated with those struggles. Maya Angelou speaks to the African American Culture in her work “Reclaiming our Home Place”. She captures the tragic yet rich history of the America’s south and how celebrating this history as a culture has set the once enslaved African American free. (Angelou) Further to the northwest, based in the rural by-ways of America is the story of the people who claimed the plains as their heritage as told by Kathleen Norris in “Can you Tell the Truth in a Small Town?”  The plains and her people’s culture faced very different struggles and remain bound to secret societies of shame and shared silent failures which challenge and threaten the loss of their historical heritage. (Norris) Slavery has existed, in one form or...

Words: 2306 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

History

...decide to learn from our mistakes or not. Even for a powerful country like America, the lesson here is still true. As we have known, America, one of the most powerful and influent countries over the world, experienced a long historical journey before it had climb to the position.  However, during the heroic history, they also stumbled into some mistakes that made America faced with the humiliation. As Herbert Croly, a political philosopher stated “American history contains much matter for pride and congratulation, and much matter for regret and humiliation”. And I think this statement is totally right but not enough. To begin with, one of the highlights of US’s economy is, basically, that they know how to grab the enrichment opportunity at a right time, in right place. This expressed clearly throughout the wars. America somehow used the smart tactics that could help them remain their economic benefits. In World War I, at the beginning, America chose to follow “neutrality policy”, when they have no reason to attend in a battle that was not their. However, there were many reasons that forced US to join into the war that they undesired. In 1915, the Lusitania's sinking with the death of innocent Americans was seen that the main external reason that affected strongly US’s decision to enter the war. Undeniably, the “act of aggression” of Germany, when they tried to ignite the fight between Mexico and America, also consolidated the decision. Moreover, the internal reason, as the safety...

Words: 2652 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

The Civil Rights Movement: American Declaration of Independence

...only declare independence of America from British colonial power but less than 200 years later, become the backbone of a new established America where the walls of discrimination and segregation would finally begin to deteriorate. The Declaration of Independence is a powerful document that has led to the development of equal rights and social justice within societies on a world context. More specifically, principles in this document were instrumental when argued by African American Civil Rights leaders in achieving equality and abolishing racial segregation and discrimination against African- Americans in the United States, during the African American Civil Rights Movement (1954-1968). Before the American Civil Rights Movement, laws known as Jim Crow laws had forced racial segregation of facilities and the prohibition of intermarriage. These laws were similar to the apartheid legislation and it became the law mainly in the south of America. Where there is inequality and injustice within a government, the people of the nation demand change. Since the Jim Crow laws were enacted, the laws that mandated racial segregation in public areas and the prohibition of intermarriage in the Southern United States were socially and morally unjust and this fuelled the American civil rights movement as the African-American’s were seeking to achieve equality and be entitled to equal opportunities. This is an explicit pattern in the timeline of events in history where a disempowered group in...

Words: 2034 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Slavery In African-American Society

...Slavery is one of the worst things that has come about in American history. Throughout North American history Blacks have been mistreated, and although negative attitudes towards African-Americans has decreased they are still seen as unequal to their white counterpart. African-Americans have survived slavery, segregation and the threat of being black in America. There is still a long ways to go before true equality, but we as a society have far progressed past national racism. Africans were brought to North America as indentured servants and slaves. Europeans made trades with Africans for slaves, but the Europeans had a more brutal take on slavery that Africans were unaware of. There was slavery in Africa, but the slaves were able to marry, own land and they only served for a set period of time. Also, the work was not passed down through generations, and there was no mindset of master and slave. Slavery in the Americas on the other hand was harsh and inhumane. Slaves were treated like possessions that were only for profit instead of like a person. The masters forced the slaves to work unreasonable long hours for no...

Words: 565 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Afericna American

...African American's Journey Essay Below is a free essay on "African American's Journey" from Anti Essays, your source for free research papers, essays, and term paper examples. “African American’s Journey to Freedom” Charity Johnson HIS204: American History since 1865 Instructor: Leslie Ruff February 11, 2013 “African American’s Journey to Freedom” To some African Americans it may seem ironic that The United States of America is known as “the land of the free” considering that majority of their ancestors entered the US as slaves. African Americans were brought to North America via the middle passage which originated during the fifteenth century.   They were enslaved for approximately 400 hundred years until the end of the Civil War in 1865. Although African Americans were enslaved in America, they were determine to survive and one day be freed in this great country. During The African American’s journey to freedom several significant events took place which was inclusive of but not limited to: The Civil Rights Movement of 1865-1877, Separate but Equal Legislation (Plessy vs. Ferguson court case) in 1896, The Harlem Renaissance of 1920, Brown vs. Board of Education in 1954, The March on Washington Movement of 1963, and The Black Power Movement of the late 1960s and 1970. I will discuss the significance of these events in relation to the African American journey to freedom and how they have help shape American society today. THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT OF 1865-1877 Frequently when...

Words: 5251 - Pages: 22

Premium Essay

Sociological Portrait: Milestone 1

...Political Economy of African American Music." Teaching the Journal of American History Vol. 90, No. 4.March 2004 (2004): 1295-1324. Web. 1 Mar. 2004. African American owned Record Company, which produced records for African American consumers, was faced with attempts by a large record corporation to force them into bankruptcy. Why would a large company do this for such a small African American owned company? How would it merit attention from African American people in this medium when you have more important subjects like voting rights and lynching? Moreover, why would it merit any attention at all, not to mention, selling records to black consumers. This article answers these questions and investigates the rise and fall of the small record company and explores the political economy in which it operated. Black Swan Records created by Henry H. Pace, who saw a way to respond to a hostile environment that African American people faced with, both in the entertainment industry and in American society. The protégé of W.E.B Du Bois, also saw that African Americans were not equally even when they were freed from slavery. Access to material goods that cultivate and motivate African Americans creative spirits were denied by America. The fear of African Americans, by White America, to support one another and encourage each other to develop business, and economic self-sufficiency was racially evident. African American growth and prosperity would shape the landscape for African Americans....

Words: 1774 - Pages: 8