...African American History Michele Matthews HIS 204 American History Since 1865 Instructor: Mark Hoffman November 13, 2013 African American History To earn their place in America’s Society, African Americans fought many battles that brought them a very long way from 1865. African Americans went through a whole lot of hardship to get where they are today. Yes it is not perfect now but every actions made a big different through history. There are many achievements African American has made since the ending of slavery. Many sat, spoke, marched, cried, fought, died, and dreamed to make footprint in history. In this paper I will discuss some very important event in African American history like our 44th President Obama back to when slavery was ended. It all started in 1865 when the Civil war ended. The African American felt their freedom was a great turning point. Once slavery ended African American made plan to expand their culture. In our textbook, it states “They had a clear vision of what freedom meant. It was not just freedom from white control, but also the opportunity to expand the institutions and autonomous culture that they made while they endured slavery” (Bowles, 2011). As they develop a new society and beliefs, the laws started to change as while. The Plessy v. Ferguson case was the birth of the Jim Crow law. In David Bishop journal, he stated “Bernstein concluded that the “Supreme Court was compelled to distort cases before it could pollute the stream...
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...Historical Report on Race African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans or less commonly Afro-Americans, and formerly as American Negroes) are citizens or residents of the United States who have total or partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa. The term is not usually used for black residents of other countries in the Americas. African Americans make up the single largest racial minority in the United States (Russell 2011). Most African Americans are of West and Central African descent and are descendants of enslaved blacks within the boundaries of the present United States. However, some immigrants from African, Caribbean, Central American and South American nations, and their descendants, may be identified or self-identify with the term. African-American history starts in the 16th century with black Africans forcibly taken to Spanish and English colonies in America as slaves (Russell 2011). After the United States came into being, black people continued to be enslaved and treated as much inferior. These circumstances were changed by Reconstruction, development of the black community, participation in the great military conflicts of the United States, racial segregation, and the Civil Rights Movement. In 2008, Barack Obama was the first African-American to be elected president of the United States (Russell 2011). The geographical-origin-based term "African American" is commonly used interchangeably with "black American", although skin-color-based...
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...The New Negro Despite all the adversities faced by African Americans, one was still proud to be labeled a Negro. During the 1900’s African Americans had gained courage to fight back against those oppressors who attacked and proclaimed pride in his race. This great boldness stems from previous achievements made by African Americans throughout history. Such events lead Blacks to continue prosper by participating in the First World War and migrating to different parts of the North and Midwest, bringing with them a new sense of culture that would leave an everlasting impact. The “New Negro’s”, during and after the First World War, was considered self-confident as they no longer accepted black inferiority. Blacks’ participation in the Civil War, lasting from 1861-1865, resulted in African Americans having a sense of pride that one has never felt before. Now seemingly having an identity, they carried that courage to fight in the First World War. Blacks’ participated by “…distinguishing themselves as soldiers in France and as members of an international community of people of African descent, or African Diaspora. Blacks’ were skeptic about this war as it was proclaimed to be “a war to make the world safe for democracy”. African Americans were divided on whether to fight and support a war effort to assure equality for a nation while they still faced undemocratic experiences of segregation, disfranchisement, and lynching. Blacks’ looked for anti-lynching legislation, an end to...
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...African American History Since 1865 Alishia Colella HIS 204 American History Since 1865 Instructor Thomas Roka March 11, 2013 African American History Since 1865 Most individuals are probably familiar with the well-documented information regarding African American history, such as the Civil Rights Movement and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., but there are also many little known facts about their history that are of equal importance. African Americans have been present in the United States ever since the early 1600s and their presents plays an important role in American history not only because of the Civil Rights Movement, but because of the strength and courage that they had struggling to try and live a good life in America. History is rife with records of decades of untold torture and harrowing experiences that African American slaves suffered from at the hands of their captors and masters; they were even denied all natural rights as human beings and forced to live like animals. In all actuality, a slave was viewed as one-third of a person and the property of their owner(s), treated as an object instead of a person. Therefore, one could assume that after their emancipation, life would have become significantly better because the slavers were free to move away from the torturous hands of their masters. However, most of them faced incredible opposition and discrimination even after emancipation. Thus by and large, did not truly free them nor did it directly lead...
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...African American History: "Heritage, not Hate" When exploring African-American history, the most important things to focus on are that because of the times, black people were enslaved and treated poorly. They endured it all and worked hard to rise above the boundaries of slavery and prejudice. However, the most portentous aspect of African-American history is that it's heritage; it's history; and it's over. Jane Minor was born as Gensey Snow around the late 1700's or early 1800's. She was born into slavery and freed around 1825 when she changed her name. During her slavery, she faced the hardships of being a black female slave in the 1800's. Despite that, she earned a living after her emancipation by caring for the sick. With what money she had, she bought the freedoms of other women and children. She was an admirable woman. Sally Hemmings was born in 1773 as a slave of Thomas Jefferson. However, historians found that she was much more than that. Later, it was discovered that she bore one of Jefferson's children. This perhaps could have been the reason she was given special treatment and was allowed to go to Paris with Mary Jefferson. Although, it has not been proven so. Sally's accomplishments included learning French and playing the harpsichord. Her freedom came in 1826 when Jefferson died. Nat Turner was born on October 2, 1800 in Southampton County, VA to enslaved parents. He ran away from his master at 21 years old for religious reasons. Then, he traveled as a...
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...against each other on strategies for black economic and social advancement. Their opposing ideas or arguments can be analyzed in discussions over the ways to end class and racial injustice and the roles of black leadership. Nevertheless, whose philosophy is more convincing? Both W. E. B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington are significant and inspirational African American leaders on the matter of education for black people in the history. Their two African American leadership tactics for racial equality were divided into economic strategy and political strategy near the turn of the century. The most intense controversy in African American leadership at that time erupted between two remarkable black leaders: W. E. B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington. Du Bois was the major spokesman for gradualist political strategy. On the other side, Washington was the dominant advocate of the gradualist economic strategy. In the speech, The Talented Tenth, the author, W. E. B. Du Bois, argued for the higher education of black people. The term, The Talented Tenth, was created by Du Bois to depict the likeliness of one out ten African Americans turning into leaders of their race worldwide, through writing and publishing books, carrying on their academic trainings, or involving in social changes directly. He declares “to attempt to establish any sort of a system of common and industrial school training, without first (and I say first advisedly) without first providing for the higher training of...
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...Booker T. Washington entered the scene shortly after the Atlanta Riot, giving a speech at the Cotton States and International Exhibition. Through this speech many could see Washington’s beliefs for fighting white supremacy. One of the more evident beliefs of Washington was the idea of integrating with the whites. He stated during the speech, “the importance of cultivating friendly relations with the Southern white man” (Major Problems 160). This was somewhat an unusual stance to take at this time, because the south was segregated. On top of this much of the black community was irritated from this statement, because of the violence the white enforced on the black community. Further on in his speech he also declared another unparticular method for a black leader. He issues the belief that “no race can prosper till it learns that there is as much dignity in tilling a field as writing a poem” (Tuck 103). This seemed outrageous to many, because it appeared as if he was disrespecting his own race. Contextually he was saying to prosper, blacks must work under whites first, before going on to jobs of their own. This idea of working up the totem pole seemed eerie to must blacks, because instead of participating in practices of glory, they would be forced to do hard work that no one else wanted once again. And while many blacks might have felt this way, Washington tells the mostly white crowd, to trust the blacks for they have the, “devotion that no foreigner can match” (Tuck 103). As...
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...A thorough look at Africans in America would not be complete without considering African-American dance. From plantation dances that enslaved Africans used to express their tragedy and triumph, to the ever-changing slick motions of modern hand dancing, black rhythmic movements are an integral weave in the fabric of American culture. Dance grew out of hardship but became entertainment. African dance has contributed a plethora of qualities to dance in America; and we can see proof of this through the dance of today. Being such a diverse country, America has the gift of consolidating unique moves from various societies to acquire an outstanding dance collection. American dance as we know it would be totally different if not for African Americans....
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...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...
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...Researching Cone for a more profound understanding of his ideas and position, I came across another fascinating, yet terrifying practice central to African-American history. I came across lynching and its “ugly truth”. Not that I was not aware of its existence, or usage by the White community as a means of oppression of African-Americans, however, I was offered a distinct picture of it and an unprecedented explanation of its application. Maturing in the U.S. for almost three years now, I surely learned not to be surprised by anything in regards to this country’s historical facts or internal, as well as, external affairs. However, learning about the symbolism of lynching from Cone’s perspective, left me speechless and reflective for more than just a couple hours, most likely for forever....
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...acadamia.com, studymode.com, Franklin, J., & Moss Jr., A. (2000). From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans. Eighth Edition. New York, NY: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Lawson, Steven F. “Segregation.” Freedom’s Story, Teacher Serve©. National Humanities Center. Retrieved on July 7, 2012. http://www.history.com/topics/slavery. NAACP: 100 Years of History. Retrieved from http://www.naacp.org/pages/naacp-history My Dearest Friend Charlotte, It is nice to hear from you after all these years that we have been apart and gotten so busy in our lives to keep in regular contact. I am glad to hear that things are going so very well for you and your family. In your last letter I read that you would like to knowmore about my race and would like to use some of it for your paper for your class. I would be very happy to share some insight on my race and give you some background information on African Americans. The African decent has shaped the course of American history for over 500 years, such as the fight against slavery to the March on Washington. In the early 17th century white European settlers turned and went from indentured servants, which were mostly poorer Europeans to a cheaper labor source: the African slaves (History, 2009). In 1619 a Dutch ship brought 10 Africans to the British colony on Jamestown, Virginia. From that time on slavery spread quickly throughout the American colonies. The Stono Uprising in September of 1739 in South Carolina was the most serious...
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...Essay on African American History Introduction In the essay “On the Evolution of Scholarship in Afro- American History” the eminent historian John Hope Franklin declared “Every generation has the opportunity to write its own history, and indeed it is obliged to do so.”1 The social and political revolutions of 1960s have made fulfilling such a responsibility less daunting than ever. Invaluable references, including Darlene Clark Hine, ed. Black Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia 2nd ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004); Evelyn Brooks Higgingbotham, ed., Harvard Guide to African American History (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2001); Arvarh E. Strickland and Robert E. Weems, Jr., eds., The African American Experience: An Historiographical and Bibliographical Guide (Westport: Greenwood Press, 2001); and Randall M. Miller and John David Smith, eds., Dictionary of Afro- American Slavery (Westport: Greenwood Press, 1988), provide informative narratives along with expansive bibliographies. General texts covering major historical events with attention to chronology include John Hope Franklin and Alfred A. Moss, Jr., From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans (Boston: McGraw Hill, 2000), considered a classic; along with Joe William Trotter, Jr., The African American 1  Experience (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001); and, Darlene Clark Hine, William C. Hine, and Stanley Harrold, The African American...
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...Slavery to Freedom – African American History Nimra Jilani Los Angles Harbor College History 012 Professor KJ Hitt April 28th 2012 [pic] Slavery to Freedom – African American History The first African American arrived in the North America as servants and worked under contract from sixteenth to nineteenth century. They were brought from Africa by European Traders. In the past they were known by many names such as Negroes, Blacks and Coloureds. The term Nigger was also used for the African Americans mostly in south. More than half of the population of the African American lived in the Southern States of the America. Slavery first began in the late 16th century When African Americans were brought to American Colonies, they were bought by white masters and they had to work on tobacco and cotton farms in the South. They were not paid anything for all their hard work and living conditions were terrible for them. Slave work was very difficult. Most African American women cooked, cleaned the house and raised the children of their white owners, where as the men were trained to become carpenter or masons but most of them remained to be farmers. Most of the African Americans lived in the South where the percentage of the slavery was at its extreme. The racism towards the African Americans was at its extreme. A very famous historian Karl Marx stated In Wage Labor and Capital, Written twelve years before the civil war that: “What is a negro slave...
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...reading Pero Dagbovie’s What is African American History? has been an eye-opener regarding the historiographical struggles and the methodological and conceptual aspects of doing African American history properly. While I have come across some of Dagbovie’s work before, and covered parts of the historical fight to integrate the history curriculum in primary and secondary schools during the mid-twentieth century in my M.A. thesis, I gained a lot of new insight by reading Dagbovie’s illustration of the coming of age of the field and the various debates along the way. His work made me think harder about what African American history is, and what it is not. This has helped me a lot in developing and redirecting my own research focus over the last couple of months. I think that sometimes the scarcity of Black sources or the difficulties to access them, compared to white official and public records, can increase the danger to fall back into narrating the story...
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...The American Civil War, simply know as the Civil War throughout the United States was fought from 1861 to 1865. It was a fight between the north and the south, formally referred to as the Confederacy and the Union. The origin of the war revolved around the pressing issue of slavery, especially the expansion of slavery into the western territories. In 1865, after four years of bloodshed that left over 600,000 Confederate and Union soldiers dead, the Confederacy collapsed and much of the south’s infrastructure had been destroyed. The Civil War had come to an end. Slavery was abolished and the difficult process of restoring national unity and guaranteeing civil rights to the freed slaves began. This period is noted in history as the Reconstruction Era. Working towards a progressive tomorrow, the American Civil War marked the start of a dramatic shift in America’s thinking. At the start of the Reconstruction Era (post Civil War), the South was left torn apart. Roads and houses needed to be rebuilt and the people needed assistance. From 1863 to 1865, presidents Andrew Johnson and Abraham Lincoln took adequate steps designed solely for the purpose of bringing the South back to a level of economic stability. Radical Republicans consisted of American politicians within the Republican Party. They supported the rights of African Americans to vote, hold political office, and have the same economic and legal freedoms and opportunities as the whites. During the whole of the Reconstruction...
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