...The U. S. Civil War and Civil Right Era Abstract This paper will contain information dated during the Civil War through the Civil Rights Era. Throughout this paper you will hear about the expansion of the U.S Federal government and the events of the Civil War, The Reconstruction Period, The Progressive Era, The Great Depression and The Civil Rights Era. The U. S. Civil War and Civil Right Era The Civil War is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic or less commonly between two countries created from a united nation. The Civil Right Era began in 1955. Another important factor of this particular era was the great depression. Throughout this paper you will hear about the events, trials and tribulations that transpired throughout this time frame. Through the expansion of the U.S Federal government are the events of the Civil War, the Reconstruction period, the Progressive Era, The Great Depression and the Civil Rights Era, which will also be discussed. The Civil War officially began on April 12, 1861, when confederate troops attacked Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. The bloodiest battle of the Civil War took place in Maryland on September 17, 1862, which was called the Battle of Antietam. This event caused Abraham Lincoln to announce abolish to slavery in the South, which became official in 1863. More men died in the Civil War than any other American conflict, and two-thirds of the dead perished from disease. (Facts, 2011)...
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...American Civil Rights Background Timeline of events / Personalities 1860: Abraham Lincoln elected US president. * Made the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, a law which would see the release of all slaves in America. * Belief that the slaves should be freed was a key factor in sparking the American civil war. 1861: The American Civil War begins at fort Sumter. * Fought between the United States of America, who opposed slavery, and the Confederate States of America, a new nation established by seven slave states in the south. * Not the only reason for the civil war, slavery was a key issue being fought over. 1865: The 13th amendment is passed, permanently outlawing slavery. * Shortly after the surrender of all confederate forces, ending the civil war. 1866: The civil rights act is passed by Congress. * The first to define US citizenship as well as state that all citizens were protected by the law. * It is expected that the act was passed, despite being vetoed repeatedly by President Andrew Johnson, in order to protect the rights of African-Americans. 1870: The 15th amendment is passed, giving the black man the right to vote. 1875: A bi-racial senate and House of Representatives passes the civil rights act. * Designed to protect all Americans in their access to accommodations and facilities such as restaurants. * Never enforced and was deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme court in 1883 1896: The Supreme Court introduces...
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...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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...Equality After the Civil War and the reorganizing of the Southern states, Black Americans inaugurated a crusade and difficult journey for sanctioned racial equality. Members of the Radical G.O.P. assisted Blacks by bringing forth legislations such as the Civil Rights Act of 1866, the Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendment; however, White anti-Black supremacists in the Southern States ignored these laws and made certain that Blacks remained fearful, and away from the voting booths. Several strategies employed by the Whites hindered and kept Black Americans from acting upon their newfound Civil Rights laws. Some of these tactics included: poll taxes, testing Blacks for their ability to read, and write and that also familiar, public lynching’s were employed by the Black Codes. Even though the Civil War ended, racial disapproval, and destruction in the Southern States continued (Bowles, 2011). The Compromise of 1877 ruined the chances of Blacks to depart from a life of farmers and inferior citizenship. Along with many injustices Black Americans faced following the Civil War, only strengthen their efforts, and never once consider giving up the fight for equality. After Black Americans battled in the war between the North and South, the social and racial environment was very crucial in America, and insisted upon immediate attention. Blacks were thought of as contraband of war before they were authorized to contribute to the war effort; however, Black soldiers attained the legal right to take...
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...social, and economical ways. The role of the federal government was defined by these major events and assisted in shaping the U.S. in the way it is today, whether good or bad. The Civil War, The Progressive Era, The Great Depression, and the Civil Rights Era all helped to shape and define the United States of America into the way it is today. Let’s start off first by taking a look at a war that defined the United States of America into being a united nation. The Civil War was a war that was fought between the northern and southern states within the U.S. The confederacy states, which were the southern states, supported slavery. Among other things, this was one of the biggest issues which the war was started and fought over. The Union States, which were the northern states, supported the union which was against slavery and unequal right of all people. So, in essence the civil war was fought and won so that all people regardless of race, economical status, gender, etc…could have equal rights all over the United States and not just in the north. The Civil War was the first major expansion of federal power. The next expansion period was the Progressive Era or the Reconstruction Era in the United States. The transformation of the U.S. after the civil war was known as this era. After the civil war there were several uncertainties as to how these once divided and unequal...
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...The Civil Rights Movement is popularly known to have started in the mid 1950’s—but I do agree with Jacquelyn Dowd Hall’s article “The Long Civil Rights Movement and the Political Uses of the Past” that the Civil Rights movement did not begin so late. Structurally, culturally, and ideologically the Civil Rights movement began decades before the nation became aware of it. The work of civil rights activists such as A Philip Randolph, beginning in the mid 1920’s, affected change in the structure of government by pushing for anti-discriminatory legislation for Black workers. Further affecting structural institutions was the effect that World War II had on Black Americans, who were disillusioned by the hypocrisy of the United States fighting for...
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...The American Civil War Jill Ayala HIS/115 February 19, 2012 Jody Ault The American Civil War “In the course of four years, more than 2% of the population of the United State lost their lives in the American Civil War, between 618,000 and 700,000 people” (American Civil War, 2012). Never before or since has there been such a tragic event occur. There are many different opinions regarding the American Civil, why it occurred, and what the actual reasons for the War were. A Nation Divided In 1861 the American Civil War erupted after many years of conflicts between the North (the Union) and the South (the Confederacy). These conflicts included western expansion, States rights versus federal authority, and slavery. With the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 seven Southern states (South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama) declared their succession from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America. Four more states (Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, and Arkansas) joined the Confederation after start of the Civil War. The Confederates wanted to remain slave State. The Union wanted to bring the country back together as one single, unified nation. Why the North Won the Civil War In 1860 he South’s population was 1/3 slaves. The South relied heavily on the slave trade and not only wanted but needed the slave trade to continue for economic purposes. They wanted to become and independent nation...
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...Reconstruction: The Post War Era Lindsay Pone Professor Goldstein History 105 Strayer University 01/30/2013 Reconstruction: The Post Civil War Era Friday April 12, 1861, America embarked into war with its biggest adversary; America! The American Civil War broke out, and what was believed to be a quick battle by the North, turned out to be a long bloody four years and left the country devastated. President Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, successfully lead this country through its greatest constitutional, military and moral crisis. Everything he did was in the best interest in preserving this nation to what it is today. If President Lincoln task of preserving the union would have failed, our nation would be a split nation today. All the events of the Civil War are what truly shaped the face of America today. The President knew that if he wanted to preserve this nation as a whole, not only would he have to win the war, but he would have to have a plan in place to immediately fix the nation to help it move forward from war. During his time in the white house and towards the end of the war, when it was evident the North would prevail, he worked on a reconstruction plan to get the South up and moving. During the war, the northern armies had gone through the South destroying everything that would help the south to prevail in the war. The agricultural belt that was the strength of the was nothing more than ashes as...
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...Civil War Tressa Caudell HIS/115 U.S. History to 1865 March 31, 2012 Marek McKenna Civil War The Civil War was one of the biggest “black eyes” in American history. This war put Americans on each side of a line and forced them to try and outwit each other. The Civil War lasted for four long years. “The Civil War proved to be the costliest war ever fought on American soil, with some 620,000 soldiers killed, millions more injured, and the population and territory of the South devastated.” (American Civil War, 2012). The United States is the country that it is today because of the Civil War. We are after all considered to be the “Land of the Free.” the United States is free because the North won the war and slavery was abolished. I believe that Foote was trying to convey that in order to understand how the United States became what it is, we first need to understand where we started. To understand how the United States became considered the “Land of the Free” we must acknowledge the steps that were taken that led to the American Civil War. I believe that the first step taken on our way to civil war was in 1820 with the passing of the Missouri Compromise. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 set a boundary between the North and South that stated any states or territories north of this boundary would remain free and any south of the boundary could maintain slavery. (Schultz, 2012, pg. 174). I believe that by setting a specific boundary between the North and South the government...
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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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...of the Civil War Through the 1970s History 1312 The University of Texas at Arlington December 16, 2011 Improving Social Justice for Minorities and Women From the End of the Civil War Through the 1970s I. At the end of the Civil War in 1865, most African American slaves held a renewed hope that with President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 would come economic opportunity and social mobility. There was the expectation that they would have political representation and the assurance of at least the beginning of attaining equality1. After the end of the war in 1865, there were enough states to ratify the 13th Amendment which outlawed slavery. However, it did not provide any equal rights or citizenship. As time passed and minorities began to assert themselves into American society, social justice movements that were led by blacks and whites alike began to become more commonplace. However, the struggle to become fully recognized as equal members of American society has been a battle that was fought through the 1970s—and in some measure, continues today. Like minorities, women have struggled with inequality and social injustice. However, their decision to fight for equality began before the start of the Civil War. The Seneca Falls Convention in New York was held in July of 1848, and can be referred to as the starting point of feminism. The inspiration for the first ever women’s rights convention...
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...The Civil War and Reconstruction period, Gilded Age, Imperialism, and World War I all brought challenges, expansion, and transformation to this nation and it’s people. These periods would change the nation, “In the years following the Civil War, formed and their white allies, North and South, would seek to redefine the meaning and boundaries of American freedom” (Give Me Liberty 555). The Civil War split apart the nation due to slavery difference between the North and South. The historical narrative from 1865 through World War I involves the challenges faced by inequality and violence resulting in the transformation of geographical space, cultural landscape, and political institutions. The Civil War exacerbated existing racial discrimination...
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...The reconstruction period was a time when American waged a sustained debate over who was an American, what rights should all American s enjoy, and what rights would only some Americans possess. During this time many African Americans were released from slavery. They had to find a way to survive on their own. During the reconstruction period, America had to adjust back to the way of life before slavery and the Civil War. Throughout the article “Reconstructions and the Formerly Enslaved,” it discussed the dispute between the north and the south, the civil war, freeing of the slaves, citizenship, and economy in the south. While slave were trying to be freed, there was a huge dispute between the north and the south. White Americans in the north believed the slaves should be freed. They supported the idea of allowing the slave Americans to have a free and prosperous life. The white Americans in the south totally disagreed with the idea of freeing the slaves. Whites in the south did not agree because they would lose their biggest source of income and the productivity of their crops. They thought that it would hurt them economically because they would not have the free labor...
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...up and have more authority depending on the circumstance. The events that happened between the beginning of the Civil War and the Civil Rights Era forced our government to step up and make decisions that would further shape the future development of our country. The United States Government was set in place to maintain a certain measure of control for the country. The Government regulates schools, businesses, utilities and modes of transportation and is necessary to maintain a certain standard of living. Since the formation of this country, there have been many changes to our Government to aid in our growth. Although, there have been incidences where the Government had to be more autonomous based on certain situations that arose. The Civil War, the acts that were passed, the reconstruction period after the war and the Civil Rights Movement for total equality were very important incidents that shaped the way the United States is today. The American Civil War had occurred because of different views and opinions between Americans. The U.S. Federal Government was supported by twenty mostly Northern free states where slavery had already been abolished and by five states that had become known as the Border States. It had taken four years but the Confederacy had surrendered and slavery was abolished everywhere in the nation. In the events leading up to the war, during the presidential election of 1860, the Republican Party, led by Abraham Lincoln, had campaigned against the...
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...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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