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African Americans During The Civil War

Decent Essays
After the Civil War, the United States underwent a period of reconstruction. From the time of 1877 to 1890, the US economy grew exponentially, wealthy business owners like Rockefeller and Vanderbilt built American cities and railroads, and immigrants from all over the world flooded into the country. However, during this period America also faced great amount of poverty, terrible working conditions, mass political corruptions, and a destruction of civil rights for African Americans, women, and immigrants. Mark Twain marked this period as the “Gilded Age” because everything seemed to be going well for the United States, but behind all the accomplishments made, there was more misfortune for many Americans during this time. The greatest…show more content…
In response to this injustice, African American leaders like Booker T. Washington and W.E.B DuBois both offered solutions for the community to overcome the South, but they conflicted with each other and neither side was able to gain equality. Inequality in the South and across America was apparent with Plessy v Ferguson ruling from the Supreme Court that stated “if one race be inferior to the other socially, the Constitution of the United States cannot put them upon the same plane” (246). The lack of equality for African Americans throughout the South reflects the neglect of civil rights during this period. The United States was founded by the principle that “all men are created equal” but as we struggled for the fight of equality for African Americans, we forgot about the fight for equality for women. It is not until thirty years after the Gilded Age when the 19th Amendment was passed, giving women the right to vote. A major advocate for women’s suffrage was Elizabeth Cady Stanton who believed that “that the isolation of every human soul… must give each individual the right to choose her own surroundings” (188). Even though women were able to come together during this period, they could not fully unite as African American women were left out of the movement, as illustrated in Live Pryor’s plea for help from Susan B. Anthony, another strong advocate for women’s rights. Ultimately
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