African Americans In The Antebellum South

Many people will tell you that African Americans were free during the reconstruction after the civil war, which on paper may be the case. Life during this time was getting better, however, it still wasn’t good. African Americans faced multiple different forms of oppression that would make it seem that they were in prison. A few of these were the black codes, and the government's reaction to the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. However the amendments were not meant to have the states to poke holes in them, they were made to give freed African Americans the same right as everyone else.

The Abolitionist movement during the Antebellum period, was a critical time in American history. The goal of this movement was to emancipate all slaves immediately, and end discrimination, as well as segregation. The brave men and women involved in this movement were called abolitionists and antislavery advocates. The antislavery advocates stood for freeing slaves gradually, and abolitionists wanted slavery gone immediately. No matter how fast, these people all wanted to spread opposition against slavery across the United States. Northern churches started liking this whole idea of abolishing slavery, which started conflict between the North and South. These arguments led up to the Civil War.

In 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation freed all African Americans that lived in rebel states. For years, only the rebel states had free African Americans, however, after the Civil War, the Thirteenth Amendment freed all slaves, no matter where they were. Of course, after years of slavery, whites were not used to having free African Americans around them, creating a hostile environment. One former slave, Houston Holloway wrote, “For we colored people did not know how to be free and the white people did not know how to have a free colored person about them” (African American Odyssey 1).

African Americans have fought a great battle to become a part of society in America. Since being taken from African as slaves in the 1600’s there has been a continuous battle for equality since. Since the end of slavery Black Americans have had many accomplishments along with hardships. In this paper I will discuss some of the Major events in African American history beginning with the end of slavery which has lead to the America we know today.

Lynchings were a real threat to African Americans in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. They created a lot of fear in the African American community especially in this time period. Between 1882 and 1969, 4,743 people lynchings occurred. In 1882, African Americans accounted for forty-six percent of lynchings. Yet from 1900 to 1910, African Americans represented eighty-nine percent of lynchings.

African Americans were free during the Reconstruction time. During the Reconstruction time from 1865 to 1877, When the nation tried to build itself after the Civil War, Congress passed three Amendments called the Reconstruction Documents.Which were the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments passed to the US Constitution. These documents were created to give fair and equal rights to all races, ethnicities, man, and woman. In the 13th Amendment it states, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction” (para. 1). Furthermore Amendment 14 states,

African Americans were not free after the Civil War ended.They were still treated like they were slaves. There are many specific details throughout the reconstruction phase proving this.

In the 19th and 20th centuries Europe was thriving and wealthy while most of their colonies in Africa were suffering under their rule. The Europeans all wanted a piece of Africa’s land with its plentiful resources and free labor. Around this time, Europe was going through the industrial revolution and because business was booming the European countries need more resources than they already had. The Africans had the land the Europeans wanted to use to continue having booming businesses, they also had African slaves and workers that they can use so they don’t have to pay for labor. In the 19th century leader of the Europeans countries want to discuss how they will divide Africa without the leaders of Africa knowing. The Europeans then started to invade Africa and take control over the citizens. As the Europeans got more powerful, the Africans become more miserable. Unable to match the guns Europe had, African countries began getting claimed, one by one with the exception of two. The Europeans ruled in a cruel way that left many Africans dead or suffering. Many countries tried and successfully broke away from Europeans after many years under colonization. The Europeans had a negative impact on the lives of many Africans in the 19th and 20th centuries, especially with racism and assimilation. People were taught to be a human they had to be like a European which led to many racist views on African people and culture and is why some nations like France used assimilation to make

Whites have always considered themselves superior to blacks, no matter if they were slave owners or not. Blacks were considered lower than humans, making them a main target of oppression of whites. So even when a small group of blacks were given their freedom, they weren’t truly liberated from the chains of slavery and oppression. Blacks were freed in the early 1800s, giving a limited amount of blacks the freedom they deserved. These blacks were usually rural, uneducated, and unskilled domestic servants who had to work hard to survive in the society that shunned them. Free blacks were still given restrictions and laws because of their status in society. In the early 1830s, a law in Virginia was made to prohibit all blacks from getting their education. They even took it to the level where free blacks who went out of state to educate themselves were not able to come back and return to their own state. The worst restriction was that blacks could not testify in court. When a slave owner claimed that a free black was their slave, they could not defend themselves, and would have to conform back to their slavery. Despite the terrible treatment given to blacks, some rose above the oppression and became successful, therefore achieving their goals and potentials of being a free black man, leaving a huge impact on society in the 1800s.

Could you imagine the life as a Jew or African American when everything was against you? Certain races face inequality every day, but it was worse in the 1800s and 1900s. Many things can change the way we see or feel about someone. There are many different similarities and differences in the periods of oppression among African-Americans and Jews. Slavery began in the early 17th century, slaves were to do whatever their master told them.

African Americans were confronted with a practically unconquerable number of obstructions in 1900. Any way you take a gander at it, as far as the instructive framework, especially considering the way that the greater part of them, the expansive lion's share are still in the South. What's more, to the extent instruction is concerned, African Americans are given no road of training on the lower level, which makes it troublesome for them to seek to advanced education since they don't have the basics to get to that point. State funded schools are interested in African Americans just in little groups.

This cannot be furthest from the truth, they were considered free in word, but not deed (p. 506). To this day, many African Americans along with other ethnic groups that were oppressed are still tainted by slavery and its historical trauma. With this so called reconstruction of the new America, people of African descent demanded to be treated equal. The reconstruction period was a hopeful time for women who made a mark for themselves as far as acquiring financing and political independent (Gates & Smith, 2014). Can you imagine, personal freedom after coming from an era in which you had no options? After the Civil War supposedly broke slavery’s band, African Americans felt that this new nation shall be color blind, respect, and value women and men on their character rather than the color of their

In 1800 over 1 million settlers lived between the Mississippi River and the Appalachian Mountains. Most of these settlers were farmers and merchants, looking to ship their products to the New Orleans port. The United States and Spain signed the Pinckney Treaty to give Americans the right to sell their products. But in 1801, a Spanish governor had given New Orleans and the Louisiana Territory to Napoleon Bonaparte. Then in 1802, the Spanish Governor of New Orleans withdrew from the Pinckney Treaty, outraging Americans. Jefferson figured the best option was to buy the port of New Orleans.

African Americans were a very important addition to the American Civil War such as fighting and spying for both the north and the south sides. The American Civil War was a war fought in the United States between the North and South states. The war was from 1861-1865 and was because the South wanted to establish itself as a separate nation. The northern states were called the Union and the southern states were called the Confederate. Between the north and south states were the Border States, which did not belong to either of the sides. The Border States included Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, Kentucky and Missouri. In the north, slavery did not exist but the south was the opposite. In the war, the north and south states fought against each other while the Border States were neutral. Before the war and during the war, African Americans were treated very unfairly compared to white people. This essay will examine how African Americans were treated before, during and after the Civil War.

The life of African Americans in the 19th and 20th centuries has been a truly storied past. One of the most astonishing aspects of African American life, in this period, is the degree to which it was heterogeneous. The experiences of African Americans differed widely based on geographic location, class, gender, religion, and age. Despite a high degree of variability in the experiences of Blacks in America, if one were to consider the sociopolitical fact that Black people as a group in America were a subordinate caste in dominant society, then it becomes possible to make certain overarching connections. One such connection is the presence of secretive subversive ideologies and actions. The existence of these secretive subversive activities is apparent if one examines the labor tendencies, the folklore, and the outward societal projections of black people. By briefly examining the labor practices of Black women in Atlanta during the latter part of the 19th and early part of the 20th centuries, The Uncle Remus tales, and cultural icon Louis Armstrong, one can deduce that secretive subversive actions and beliefs were an integrated aspect of Black existence during this period.