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Lives of African Americans After the Civil War
Racial inequality in america
Racial inequality in america
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More handpicked essays just for you.
Lives of African Americans After the Civil War
Racial inequality in america
Racial inequality in america
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Equality for people was the purpose of America becoming an independent nation, and the constitution disregards that in the case of slavery. The framers of the Constitution refer to slaves as "persons" or "persons held to labor or service. " The language use in the document implies an attempt to mask the actual cruelty/brutality of slavery. Not only were they attempting to hide the true conditions of slavery, they protected slavery by the taxed importation of slaves, as well. The framers of the constituion saw slavery as something positive in the economy, without seeing it as morally wrong.
The United States Civil War is possible one of the most meaningful, bloodstained and controversial war fought in American history. Northern Americans against Southern Americans fought against one another for a variety of motives. These motives aroused from a wide range of ideologies that stirred around the states. In James M. McPherson’s What they fought for: 1861-1865, he analyzes the Union and Confederate soldier’s morale and ideological components through the letters they wrote to love ones while at war. While, John WhiteClay Chambers and G. Kurt Piehler depict Civil War soldiers through their letters detailing the agonizing battles of war in Major Problems in American Military History.
The book I read this month was titled Voices from the Civil War by Milton Meltzer. When the United States defeated Mexico we gained California, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado(Pg.1). In 1850 the Fugitive Slave Law came to power. It stated that all slave found in the North where to be returned to there owner.
If Blacks were allowed a factory job, they were mainly likely to be paid less than the regular white man. This is only one of the many of the ways, black man was segregated. African Americans were not paid normal wages. This hurt the African American families. This made it so that they couldn’t always provide food, shelter, clothes, and the other basic necessities for life.
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
Three constitutional amendments altered the nature of African American rights, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude.., shall exist in the United States…”(Section 1 Document D). “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subjected to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens,”(Section 2 Document D). “The right of citizens of the United states to vote shall not be denied,”(Section 3 Document D). Slavery was abolished, they were becoming citizens, and gained the rights to vote. Although these amendments seem great, the whites still found a way to torment free slaves.
The government provided food, clothing, and even land, in attempts to help the Freedmen who have been recently released from slavery. In the Freedmen’s Bureau, it stated, “...may direct such issues of provisions, clothing, and fuel, as he may deem needful for the immediate and temporary shelter and supply of destitute and suffering refugees and Freedmen and their wives and children...” (Document D). The government put in place a way for Freedmen to everything they need to start a new life after slavery. They were even generous by even giving them fuel which isn’t even a basic need, and in doing all of this, Freedmen were able to live a healthy life due to the federal government.
In this document, James Henry Gooding writes a letter to President Abraham Lincoln in September of 1863, with a complaint regarding his mistreatment and low pay as a soldier. Gooding, as well as his fellow soldiers, believe that they are being underpaid for the work that they are doing, but he first asks forgiveness for addressing the President. “… But the earnest solicitation of my comrades in arms besides the genuine interest felt by myself in the matter is my excuse, for placing before the Executive Head of the Nation our Common Grievance” (Gooding, 221). He continues by explaining that on the 6th of August, a man from the Department of Payment was sent to inform the soldiers that he would pay them $10 per month, but everyone in the regiment knew that he would never keep his word.
This deal could be considered a good thing for the southerners but many people were upset about having to pass the thirteenth amendment, which guaranteed certain freedoms for the African Americans in the south. To retaliate for this seven states passed the “black codes”. The black codes made it so that the African Americans had to work for very little money and ensured that they were landless and an extremely dependent labor force. Section 6 of the Mississippi Black Codes of 1866 are a perfect example of how controlling these codes were, the section states that when African Americans go to work for someone they must have a contract and if the contract isn’t upheld or if the laborer quits before the contract is up then they forfeit their wages for that year up to the time of quitting. Though the codes couldn’t directly block the thirteenth amendment, they could make parts of the amendment illegal, for example African Americans could marry each other but the black codes made it illegal for them to marry people of other races.
Institutional racism has been a problem in our society since this nation was first created, from slavery all the way to our current day. In the book, Fences by August Wilson, gives a story about an African-American man named troy trying to live his life, but hold is back due to the color of his skin. This book represents institutional racism very well and it also relates to our society in the past and how it connects to in our modern day society as a whole and it compares the two timelines. It’s not only the African-American community, but many other ethnic groups are involved in this situation. There are many ways to identify institutional racism.
During the Mid 1800’s marked a crucial period for our country. It will have a big effect on the development of our country. Throughout this time, our country was split, split into two sections, the North and the South. The Civil war was a war fought against the North and the South, the Union and the Confederates, from 1861-1865.
The landowners took advantage of their tenants by overcharging for land and underpaying for the crops. The tenants began falling deeper into debt. They could not leave until they paid off their debt, which was nearly impossible. Although former slaves had been freed, they were still facing many struggles in free life. America’s plan for reconstruction had good intent, but did not give African Americans the equality they deserved.
Before, during, and long after the Civil War blacks were discriminated against in almost every form of life. They had to fight and be patient to be accepted as equals among their white counterparts; this process took form over a long period of time, and after many failures, blacks were truly equal in the eyes of the government. The thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments which were passed in the late 1860’s were supposed to bring political, social, and economic equality for the blacks; however, this was not the case, while in some facets of life blacks obtained more freedoms they had to wait many years after these amendments were passed to be fully equal to whites. The thirteenth amendment abolished slavery in the United States.
African Americans fought in the Civil War on the Union and Confederate side. Most of the slaves were free and run away slaves. The emancipation proclamation helped the slaves be free and get their citizenship. Black soldiers did not receive equal or treatment white soldiers made more money. In June 1864 Congress granted retroactive equal pay meaning blacks and whites made the same pay.
Persecution amongst the rich and the poor had colossal influence in not just The New York Draft Riot of 1863 additionally the Watts uproar of 1992. Bigotry likewise brought on the tragedies that spread all through New York City and Los Angeles. April of 1863, President Lincoln issued a decree calling for 300,000 men, and if your name were called, you were going to battle in the common war unless you had 300 dollars, then you could purchase out of the draft. The Los Angeles uproar was the most noticeably bad mobs in the United States. The uproar was brought about by the absolution of policemen who wrongfully beat an African American man after he was pulled over for speeding.