...Running head: AMERICA’S POST-CIVIL WAR GROWING 1 America’s Post-Civil War Growing Pains Zarick L. Robinson Professor Peacock Contemporary U.S. History – Assignment #1 Strayer University July 18, 2013 AMERICA’S POST-CIVIL WAR GROWING PAINS 2 The United States experienced many growing pains during the time period of 1865 to 1900 but I’d like to focus on two major historical points that impacted my family and certain Asian friends. African-Americans were not the only ones to experience prejudice as I brought out above, however, they were the main ones targeted when it comes to slavery. Slavery and prejudice was rampant during this time period. An old family friend Jonathan, a Chinese-American, was a victim of racial prejudice as a child. As he grew up, he searched for a place where people would not prejudge him based on his facial features or racial background. He became a medical doctor in a town in northern Alaska, where his appearance was similar to that of many of his patients. He hoped that perhaps there, amid the cold winds of the Arctic Circle, he had finally escaped the even colder winds of prejudice that he experienced in California. Any such hope was shattered when he provided medical assistance to a young woman. As the patient came out of a coma, she looked at Jonathan’s face and uttered a taunt with an expletive, revealing her deep-seated...
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... Tiffany R. Sims African American Art Dr. Akua McDaniel 11/20/12 Struggle. Hope. Change. Since the colonial period, and even many years before this time period, African-American people struggled with inequality, lack of rights, and racial injustice. This struggle came to a historical high during The Civil War in the 1860’s. With much effort and persistence, the war ended and slavery was abolished in the nation. The result brought hope to black people in the United States. This newfound faith amongst black people was captured in many different forms, such as propaganda, literature, and most importantly, art. Two black, female artists portrayed this spirit in the forms of sculptures. During the Post-Civil War era, Edmonia Lewis and Meta Warrick Fuller created works that symbolized the struggle for freedom, hope for the future, and a need for change for African-American people. The American Civil War was arguably one of the most deadliest and important events in the nation’s history. Political tensions came to an all-time high and caused a split and war amongst the States from 1861-1865. Slavery was a root cause of the war. The North, also known as the Union, was fighting for the abolishment of slavery while the South, also known as the Confederacy, was fighting to preserve slavery laws in the nation. In the end, the North prevailed and laws were made to end slavery and give black people the rights and privileges they deserved. The end of the war brought about a new...
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...The Fruit of the Human Eye Throughout the United States of America, during the 1800’s slavery reigned as a form of control whites exerted over blacks. This form of control was brutal and inhuman, as African Americans were forced from their home lands in Africa onto a boat, where many of them would die, only to be brought to a foreign land to be sold as servants for the white man. This time in American history is one of the most brutal and inmoral portions of American history, and although the great American Civil War, brought an end to slavery, it failed to end the pretentious, and discrimination placed on African Americans. In fact following the slavery of the 1800’s many African Americans faced harsher lives, as they were thrown into an American society, unable to read, or write; making...
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...America’s Post-Civil War Growing Pains Alyssa Harpster Dr. James Allen History 105 January 27, 2013 There were three major turning points during the period of 1865 -1900. (Schultz, 2012) states that reconstruction is the federal government’s attempt to resolve the issues resulting from the end of the Civil War. Lincoln (Schultz 2012) says issued a ten-percent plan offered amnesty to any southerner who proclaimed loyalty to the Union and support the emancipation of slaves. Once 10 percent of voters signed the oath in the election 1860, it could create a new state government and reenter the Union according to (Schultz 2012). Another major turning point was industrialization. (Schultz 2012) states that the Civil War stimulated the industrial development, with the expansion of the railroad and numerous scientific breakthroughs. The third major turning point during this period was the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. (Schultz 2012) Lincoln was shot while watching a play at Ford’s Theater in Washington D.C. With the death of Lincoln, Andrew Johnson became the next President, and he had no concern for the future of the black people in America according to (Schultz 2012). Two major historical turning points on America’s current society are the adoption of the Fifteenth Amendment and advertising. (Schultz 2012) says the Fifteenth Amendment prohibited any state from denying citizens the right to...
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...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 African-Americans in areas of housing, employment, social welfare, education, health, consumer rights and business developments. NUL ensures that none of its members is discriminated against because of their skin color and by so doing ensure the maintenance and promotion of social justice (National Urban League, 2012). African Americans are...
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...The Radical Reconstruction period from1868 to1877 provided suffrage to the African American community in tremendous ways. This Reconstruction period provided new prospects for the African American community for example, voting, labor, ownership of property, education and restoration of family life. In addition, to providing many opportunities the Radical Reconstruction made it very challenging for African American’s to take advantage of their “freedom”. In this paper my aim is to prove that African American women were relentless individuals, who controlled voting in southern African American communities through the use of their counterparts. Furthermore, African American women overcame the challenges that came along with the opportunities’ that were given during the reconstruction period, they utilized many strategies particularly violent ones. Elsa Barkley Brown article The Labor of Politics, substantially supports my argument. Brown provides numerous testimonies and examples of how African American women manipulated the vote through African American men. Throughout the article Brown uses African American women to emphasize her argument that ex-slaves developed their politics differently from their white Republicans allies. After the Civil War African American’s reconceptualizatize their role to vote in politics and one may wonder how can a group of people who have been recently emancipated do such a thing? Well Brown argues that the Black Richmonders, operated in two different...
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...Confederates reunion in New Orleans, 1903The Civil War is one of the central events in America's collective memory. There are innumerable statues, commemorations, books and archival collections. The memory includes the home front, military affairs, the treatment of soldiers, both living and dead, in the war's aftermath, depictions of the war in literature and art, evaluations of heroes and villains, and considerations of the moral and political lessons of the war.[247] The last theme includes moral evaluations of racism and slavery, heroism in combat and behind the lines, and the issues of democracy and minority rights, as well as the notion of an "Empire of Liberty" influencing the world.[248] Memory of the war in the white South crystallized in the myth of the "Lost Cause", which shaped regional identity and race relations for generations.[249] 150th anniversary2011 marked the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the American Civil War. Many in the American South attempted to incorporate both black history and white perspectives. A Harris Poll given in March 2011 suggested that Americans were still uniquely divided over the results and appropriate memorials to acknowledge the occasion.[250] While traditionally American films of the Civil War feature "brother versus brother" themes[251] film treatments of the war are evolving to include African American characters. Benard Simelton, president of the Alabama NAACP, said celebrating the Civil War is like celebrating the "Holocaust"....
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...America’s Post-Civil War Growing Pains The Reconstruction Era was the time period from 1865-1877 after the Civil War ended. The South was severely damaged from the war. Farms, railroads and bridges were destroyed and The South had tremendous hurdles to overcome to get back on track. The North entered a time where politicians took the opportunity to pass laws that southerners in Congress had resisted before. Businesses started to boom and take shape. The Reconstruction Era was the time period where the government attempts to resolve the issues resulting from the end of the Civil War. One turning point was The Freedman’s Bureau was established by Congress in 1865 to build schools, food and medical care to needy southern black and white people and to ensure equal access to the judicial system for southerners both black and white. It also urged former slave owners and former slaves to work as employers and employees rather than master and slaves. The Bureau was managed by Union Army General Oliver O. Howard, in which the historical black college Howard University is named after. The biggest achievement by the bureau was in education. Before the Civil War, there were no state-supported public education which still in effect today. The ex-slaves long to learn to read and write, and this was a major priority for the bureau and by 1870 more than 1,000 schools had be established. The Freedman’s Bureau was only suppose last for a year, but Congress renewed its charter bill extended...
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...black people’s position in American society had progressed drastically from newly freed slaves to, in the eyes of the law, equal citizens of America and politically and legally integrated within the country. War had a monumental impact on the progression in this period, as it provided African-Americans with an opportunity to prove their worthiness of American citizenship, experience life and racial tolerance outside of the America and resulted in gaining mass international exposure. The international opinion that arose from this publicity, the change in white attitudes towards Civil Rights and legality during 1877-1981 all also respectively impacted the advancement, and in some cases, the hindrance, of Civil Rights. America’s declaration of war on Germany in 1917 to ensure political liberty and the...
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...Assignment 1.2: Industrialization after the Civil War History 105: Contemporary U.S. History The Post Civil War marked an economic transformation of the United States. With the unprecedented surge in immigration and urbanization, American society was now in transition. A transition that included the most influential third political party movement ever. Major aspects of industrialization during 1865 and 1920 that influenced U.S. society, economy, and politics One key to the rite of the industrial economy was the expansion of railroads. The First Transcontinental Railroad in the United States was built in the 1860’s. Linking the well-developed railway network of the eastern coast with rapidly growing California. Construction on the first transcontinental railroad began after President Abraham Lincoln approved the Pacific Railway Act of 1862, a landmark that authorized the federal government to financially back the construction of a transcontinental railroad. Lincoln felt the transcontinental railroad was a necessity, an idea whose time had come (HUL 2014). With the development of the transcontinental railroad spurred a major economic growth. The true economic impact of the railroad may never be known, but one thing is for certain: It was dramatic. The flow of goods over the line after the first full year of operation was around $50 million in 1869 dollars (Friedman 2010). Individuals felt the joining of America...
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...Riveter: Class, Gender and Propaganda during World War II, Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1984 2) “World War II and the American Home Front” National Parks Service. Ed. Marilyn Harper. National Parks Service. 15 March 2012. Changing America during World War II America had gone through a vast amount of changes during its short time as a nation. We had seen civil war, global war, industrial advancements, and economic depression. But by the mid 20th century, the United States was emerging as a multi-cultural powerhouse. The US saw an influx of immigrants from Italy, Ireland and Eastern Europe, all coming with hopes of opportunities and a better life. Those that toughed it out saw their chances come to life when World War II began. Although the war began in 1939, the US remained neutral on account of not wanting to participate in another war that could push our nation into debt and despair. FDR revised the Neutrality Acts that Congress passed in 1935 so that we could aid our allies for a profit. Our labor forces began working to supply our overseas comrades in Britain and France. Once the U.S was forced to join the war in 1941 because of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the demand for industrial labor greatly increased so that we could now arm and support our own troops. Production increased on all fronts, from shipbuilding and aircrafts to textiles and medicine. Because of our involvement in the war and deployment of our troops, the United States...
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...“The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man” which was first published in 1912, written by James Weldon Johnson which deals with the life of African-American people after the civil war. In this book, Johnson picks an unnamed character who narrates the story of his life which he lived, in a first person point of view and the history of the American people. The narrator in this story is a bi-racial person who thought himself to be a white person until the school president made him realize he was not white, but he experiences the life of both colored and white man during his lifetime. He narrated about the difference between the life of colored and white...
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...African Americans Dawn Burnside HIS204: American History Since 1865 Patrick Williams July 9, 2013 Throughout history African Americans have had a wicked, harsh, trouble, struggling life. During the period of the 1800s to 1900s African Americans were treated as if they were nothing, force to work over their own free will, they were force to work without getting paid. African Americans were not just slaves in the south there were many northern states that had slaves as well. Most African Americans were slaves to White families, but there were many who slaves to other work forces. Slavery continued until the reconstruction era, the period of change. But as a period of change came white still were not acceptance of African Americans. So they made the Black Codes, so they can still have control over African Americans. To get full freedom African Americans started the Black Civil Right Movement, and the New Nergo Movement, which led to the Harlem Renaissance. While reading this paper you will find why the Black Codes, African American Civil War soldiers, the Reconstruction era, the Civil Right Movement, New Nergo Movement and Harlem Renaissance are all important parts of African American history. African American Civil War Soldiers were believed to be unintelligence and didn’t have the courage to be a soldier, they were also treated unfairly. Like years and wars before many African Americans your volunteer or forced to protect their country. Which they used to try and gain...
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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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...How promising was the period of reconstruction for African Americans? (50 marks) After the end of the civil war in 1865 and the abolition of slavery, a period of reconstruction followed where by the government hoped to seize control of the south and rebuild America. Some historians argue this was a promising period for the newly freed slaves where as others would argue it was a crisis and thus a negative period for the African Americans. When looking at reconstruction one must consider the economic, legal, social and political impacts it had on the African Americans. One argument that suggests that reconstruction was promising for the African Americans was the passing of the 14th amendment. This stated that all persons born or naturalized in America were citizens. Not only did this overturn the black codes but also meant that states could not limit the right of citizenship for African Americans, resulting in them having the full protection of the law. Moreover the passing of this law secured the rights for black children (from two freed slaves) as well as securing the rights for black Americans in the future. Therefore providing strong evidence to why reconstruction was promising for AA’s. Furthermore, the 15th amendment was also passed during the period of reconstructions which intended to secure the voting rights for AA’s. As a result of this 700,000 AA’s registered to vote, not only was this a success for AA’s, some historians argue that it was also a big success for the...
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