The Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 declared slaves in the United States as free. This newly free status marked an end to chattel slavery in the United States. Despite this remarkable win for humanity the sudden change brought forth a multitude of issues that the United States was not ready to address. African Americans were the main sufferers of the United States unpreparedness. The timing of emancipation combined with the prominent ideological beliefs of that time resulted in negative health outcomes that set the foundation for health inequalities among African Americans that are still prominent today. The emancipation of slaves occurred in the midst of the United States civil war and these newly freed people were not equipped to combat the lack of basic necessities like food, shelter …show more content…
The medical division of the Freedmen’s Bureau provided hospitals and doctors for newly freed people but their racist ideologies followed them, “... many Bureau physicians seemed to harbor beliefs that black people were inherently inferior and susceptible to certain illnesses…”(19). The medical professionals that were meant to aid emancipated slaves took a bias approach that made them incapable of actually helping them. These beliefs continued and the wide spread disease and illness that plagued newly freed slaves led some to believe that African Americans were ill-equipped to handle freedom (Roberts 633 of 4234). Despite the inaccuracy of this belief, it goes to show how the ideology of the United States was not prepared for the emancipation of slaves. This resulted in unequal services, segregated housing and inequalities in political representation which contributed to overall health inequities but more importantly it contributed to the foundation of the problems that Americans face