Opportunity to thrive in American was available however. Many blacks sought their refuge in the northern states, which provided economic opportunity in the thriving industrial industry of the time. However, segregation existed there as well, as many blacks were not allowed jobs, given menial roles and minimal payment. Many others found that their only option would be to take to working on the fields as laborers and workers in a system known as sharecropping. This was an economics strategy to keep blacks financially and lawfully dependent on their employers, with binding contracts, exuberant fees and delayed or nonexistent pay. One other option that was available to the blacks at the time was to build their own communities, free from the laws, authority and persecution of the state. Many …show more content…
Paul Community Church was the center and main hub of the society, where many records of the land could be found. This church was built in 1893, bought along with the rest of the land for the town by three men; William Taylor, Patrick Hebron, Jr. and John H. Diggs from former slave owner George W. Dawson for a sum of $25. The church stands as a symbol of heritage for the founding families of Sugarland. The church symbolized the lands connection to religious faith in God, values in community, maintaining ties with neighbors, raising children, maintaining the home, providing for the family and many other core Christian values. The church acted as a place of community, where everyone could worship, sing and rejoice in their beliefs in peace. This church covered many issues which are comparable to some white preachers of the time, such as the place of blacks in a white world, and who would be better for the black man to follow. It acted as a court, where disputes could be handled by the people, and where judgment could be given justly. This included a dispute where a woman was removed from her grandmother’s home due to her behavior, and left to a presumably unmarried man to stay
Although slavery was declared over after the passing of the thirteenth amendment, African Americans were not being treated with the respect or equality they deserved. Socially, politically and economically, African American people were not being given equal opportunities as white people. They had certain laws directed at them, which held them back from being equal to their white peers. They also had certain requirements, making it difficult for many African Americans to participate in the opportunity to vote for government leaders. Although they were freed from slavery, there was still a long way to go for equality through America’s reconstruction plan.
Not stating that they were completely free from harsh conditions, but they were free from slavery, allowing Southern African Americans to join tenant and sharecropping. “The sharecropping system arose in the years immediately following the civil war, apparently as a compromise between freedmen who wanted land and cash-starved planters who found it difficult to pay wages” (Whayne 50). African Americans did not like this idea because these actions would remind them of their past of being slaves, they had just gained their freedom and wanted complete power and control to own their own land. Even though many African Americans did not agree with the sharecropping system, this tend to be the only choice that allowed the men in the south that had to support their families to continue working. By surprise Lee Wilson joined in the tenant and sharecropping union, but he treated his men a lot better than majority of the tenants did.
To work, the freed slaves were forced to sign contracts with their employer. The Mississippi and South Carolina Black Codes of 1865 required blacks to sign contracts of employment and if they left before it ended then they would be forced to pay earlier wages. Freed blacks’ status in the postwar South
African Americans were finally recognized as free citizens and we given the right to work, marry, and vote. However, the new hopes of the aspiring black community quickly diminished when reality came upon, and they were to be thought of again as slaves. Due to the implication of black codes and forced sharecropping, black citizens were technically forced to return the farms with restricted freedoms and a very slight income. Although it seemed to be a busted scheme to liberate the black community, numerous services, such as the Freedmen's Bureau, assisted to the improvement of black citizens. In Robert Butchart’s “ Freedmen's Education during Reconstruction,” he states that “the bureau assisted the aid societies in meeting the burgeoning African American demand for education.”
More job opportunities began to open up therefore, there was an increased need for skilled workers. Companies thought it was a great idea to hire African Americans who would be more than willing to work, grant them a smaller pay and have their business continue to thrive in the prosperous decade. The white leaders of the industry often took advantage of policies to ensure that African Americans would be confined to the least desirable jobs with the lowest wages (Phillips 33). Within the jobs, workers would also be faced with discrimination. The African Americans would receive death threats in their place of work almost daily and were made to feel as if they were only there to benefit the economy (Phillips 39) For many years in American History, African Americans only received training to be skilled workers, as it didn 't seem necessary for them to receive any further education (Blanton 1).
Worse than Slavery, by David Oshinsky, is a novel about post-Civil War America, and the life it gave free African Americans in Mississippi and other parts of the South. Oshinsky writes about the strict laws and corrupt criminal justice system blacks faced after they were freed, and while the contents of the book are not typically read about in history textbooks, it is important to understand what life was like for the freedman. Anyone interested in reading his book would profit from it. With the end of the Civil War came the destruction of the old system of slavery. Many white Southerner’s were outraged, but were forced to accept the newly freed blacks.
The process of black slavery taking route in colonial Virginia was slow. Black slavery mostly became dominant in the 1680s. Slaves became the main labor system on plantations. The amount of white indentured servants declined so the demand for black slaves became necessary in the mid-1660s. The number of white indentured servants that Virginia had up until the mid 1660s, was enough to meet white peoples labor needs.
The first African American leaders in the South Came from the ranks of antebellum free blacks who were joint by norther blacks to support Reconstruction. Blanche K Bruce an ex slave established a school for freedmen and in 1874 he became Mississippi’s second black U.S. senator. African American speakers who were financed by the Republican Party, spread out into the plantation districts and recruited former slaves to take part in politics. In South Carolina, African Americans constituted a majority in the lower house of legislature in 1868. Over the reconstruction twenty African Americans served in state administrations as Governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, or lesser offices.
The treatment of slaves between the North and the South was drastically different. Slaves in the North typically lived in the same house as their master and worked by themselves, or in small groups (pg. 94). Slaves in the South tended to live in large plantations in which they were housed in plantation outbuildings (pg. 104). The difference between the North and the South in housing and working environment had a direct effect on the integration of African Americans into their new American society. When they were housed in the North with their masters and had limited exposure to other slaves, they tended to adopt the ways of their masters.
To keep this from happening farmers made the sharecroppers indebted to them keeping the sharecroppers from having any money to support themselves. As stated, sharecropping had drastic effects on the relationship between black people and white people. Examples of this are shown when the article states: “Well, I’ve had so much trouble with these black people, I’m going to employ white people” (Painter para. 13) Additionally, the overall actions between black and white people rose wages (Painter para.
The blacks had the same rights as whites but they were not treated the same. A lot of time they really had no rights. The blacks basically stayed in their own community so they would not be bothered. Which leads us to the next topic Social Stratification.
It is known that for southern whites, the reunification was the last step toward bringing the church into the nation’s
Pertaining to the rights of African Americans a new south did not appear after the reconstruction. While they were “free” they were often treated harshly and kept in a version of economic slavery by either their former masters or other white people in power. Sharecropping and the crop-lien system often had a negative impact on both the black and white tenants keeping them in debt with the owner. Jim Crow laws, vigilantes and various means of disfranchisement became the normal way of life in the South. It was believed that white people were superior to black people and when they moved up in politics or socially they were harassed and threatened.
While some of them worked for wages, others felt that it was best for them to rent out the land. During the congressional Reconstruction phase, sharecropping became a system to move the economy forward after the war in the south. This system of labor appeared in tobacco and cotton regions where most freed people lived (Of the people, 465). This term of
As I stepped out of my car, I acknowledge that the church was surrounded by trees, which gave it a calming and peaceful sensation, the building was long with a triangular shaped form, with burgundy bricks surroundings and a bit of white in the front entrance and some at the very top and sides with a dark beige roofing to give the church some color, the windows seemed to be a tinted crystal glass that was designed with blues and a beige color. As I made my way into the church their was an entry room where a man and a women and what seemed to be their two children greeted me and handed me a pamphlet that described what was going to take place in that days Sunday school and mass, then I made my way to another pair of doors where I could hear the choir singing, as I opened the doors the inside of the church was a tan wood looking color all around and had matching tan benches with burgundy red bedding to match the carpet, the thing that stood out most to me when I walked in was the large cross that was in the very front that shined very bright as if the sun was hitting it to give the whole church light, when I looked below the cross, the choir was singing and beside it was a women playing a piano with so much passion and in front of them was a the pastors book stand also a matching tan color with his bible. The people were very kind as I sat down next to a friend that attends that church, they welcomed me with open arms and talked a bit about them self’s and the amount of time