Black Reconstruction Essay

Following the Civil War, America was in shambles. There were many groups with strong, conflicting ideas of how things should be. However, most groups had one idea in common: reducing the rights of African Americans as much as possible. Freed slaves had very little freedom under the law, were treated like a lesser species by those around them, and faced dangerous environments everywhere they went. Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation may have legally freed slaves, but African Americans were barely more than paid slaves.

The time has come again to celebrate the achievements of all black men and women who have chipped in to form the Black society. There are television programs about the African Queens and Kings who never set sail for America, but are acknowledged as the pillars of our identity. In addition, our black school children finally get to hear about the history of their ancestors instead of hearing about Columbus and the founding of America. The great founding of America briefly includes the slavery period and the Antebellum south, but readily excludes both black men and women, such as George Washington Carver, Langston Hughes, and Mary Bethune. These men and women have contributed greatly to American society.

African American’s first legal sight of freedom came in 1799 with the Gradual Emancipation of slaves that were born on or after 1799. Many whites against slavery helped with their efforts in bring the Gradual Emancipation’s approval. The Quakers were the first to help the slaves fight for freedom. The New York Manumission Society contributed the most for the emancipation of slaves, but let’s not give all the credit to the whites. Black efforts undeniably helped in the process of gradually abolishing slavery as well.

The first American slaves were brought to the North American colony of Jamestown, Virginia in 1619. Their job was to aid in the production of crops such as tobacco as the Virginians “were desperate for labor, to grow enough to stay alive… needed labor, to grow corn for subsistence, to grow tobacco for export” (Zinn 24,25). The slaves that were being brought to the Americas were seen as builders of the economic foundations of the new nation and as time passed the ownership of slaves dwindled but inequality and segregation grew to be more prevalent in the U.S (“Slavery in America”). On January 1st, 1863 President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, an executive order which freed slaves in the United States not within the Confederacy, under Union Control. Two years later the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution which abolished slavery but many Southern States managed to create unattainable prerequisites for blacks to live, work or participate in society. With nearly one hundred years after the Emancipation Proclamation, African-Americans were still treated just as unequally. Oppression, race-inspired violence, segregation and an unequal world of disenfranchisement lingered across Southern States for African-Americans. The Jim Crow Laws

The American Civil War claimed the lives of over 700,000 people. The war was fought from 1861-1865. The results of the war were described as; a union victory, abolishment of slavery, territorial integrity preserved and the destruction and dissolution of the Confederate States. The twelve years that followed were called the Reconstruction Era, 1865-1877. The purpose of the Reconstruction Era was to restore National Unity, strengthen the government, and guarantee rights to freed slaves. The reality of reconstruction though was; violence (260,000 dead), newly freed slaves suffered the most, and Lincoln's hopes of trust and rededication to peace were lost when he was assassinated on April 15th, 1865. It is these realities of the Reconstruction Era and beyond that this paper will address and how those realities affected the newly freed slaves. Life in post-bellum America for African - Americans was violent and filled with fear because of white supremacy, lynching, and the brutal mutilations of blacks.

Reconstruction was the time between 1863 and 1877 when the U.S. focused on abolishing slavery, destroying the Confederacy, and reconstructing the nation and the Constitution and is also the general history of the post-Civil War era in the U.S. between 1865 and 1877. Under Abraham Lincoln, presidential reconstruction began in each state as soon as federal troops controlled most of the state. The usual ending date is 1877, when the Compromise of 1877 saw the collapse of the last Republican state governments in the South

It is impossible for anyone to survive a horrible event in their life without a relationship to have to keep them alive. The connection and emotional bond between the person suffering and the other is sometimes all they need to survive. On the other hand, not having anyone to believe in can make death appear easier than life allowing the person to give up instead of fighting for survival. In The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill, Aminata Diallo survives her course through slavery by remembering her family and the friends that she makes. Aminata is taught by her mother, Sira to deliver babies in the villages of her homeland. This skill proves to be very valuable to Aminata as it helps her deliver her friends babies and create a source of

The racist beliefs of many Americans prevented African Americans from being able to forget their past and be free. In an attempt to end slavery, laws were enforced that legalized African American

Willis Rodeshia Willis HIST1302.DCBG.16SP March 14, 2016 Essay 1 1 What accounts for the failure or success of Reconstruction to bring about social equality to the freedman? There are many things that account for the failure of Reconstruction to bring about social equality to the freedman. Examples are the Freedmen’s Bureau, the Civil Rights Act, and Voting Rights Act. 2

Following the Civil War came a period of regrowth and rebuilding known as Reconstruction. Reconstruction can be broken into different sections and types, one of which is Congressional, or Radical, Reconstruction. There are many scholarly debates about Congressional Reconstruction and its failures, successes, and its overall logistics. Another common debate concerning the Reconstruction period is its purpose and what the intentions of its instigators were. This paper will be discussing an article written by Frederick Douglass entitled Reconstruction. In this article Douglass discusses the Congressional session taking place in 1866. He calls upon the Congressmen to undo the "blunders" of the previous

The slaves from Africa were forced into unimaginable circumstances during the colonial American times, and because of this they were forced to change and adapt their culture and lifestyles extremely. This culture was mainly composed of Christian religion, resistance against slave owners, and their original tribal African culture. The slaves were quickly forced to adapt to these lives, yet they also still strove to retain their traditional African practices and customs. These horrible times also drove the slaves together, forming new communities and strengthening their importance of families. The Africans were forbidden to read or write, and thus responded to this trauma through the use of firm oral traditions. Many prayers, stories, and

The South was in desperate need of workers in the time before the mid-seventeenth century; however their help arrived in the mid-seventeenth century in the form of black workers. There once was an idea that the Afro-Black race was the only eligible people that should populate the system of slavery in America. Afro-Black slavery in the United States of America has been argued in two ways by historians and researchers. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the two points that one side asking if slavery was the result of white racism and the other side asking if white racism was a result of slavery.

As an African-American, slavery is a controversial topic that I face from time to time. To this day, I have Caucasian-Americans apologizing to me as if I was previously their own personal slave. I would often wonder if anyone was against it during that era despite it being the accepted way of life. If anyone refused to own slaves, no matter how “convenient” they were, or reluctantly possessed slaves even though they felt what they were doing was not righteous.

The Black Civil Rights Movement The Black civil rights movement emerged as a mass movement in the

The Civil Rights Movement affectively gained black Americans use of public accommodations, the right to vote, fair employment and housing opportunities. Although, legislation had been passed the spirit of racism and segregation remained in American society. Gaps between black and white societies widen leaving black American men public enemy number one. Historically black communities are plagued with poverty, unemployment, violence and high incarceration rates. Subsequently, black children have a higher chance of growing up in single parent homes, becoming gang members or inmates. Wood states (1994), “In the fall of 1995, Minister Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam, and the Reverend Benjamin Chavis, Jr. organized the first Million Man March” (p.96). In a stated of desperation seeking solace black men from across the country converged on Washington D.C. to atone for their sins and reconcile with one another. Much like the previous march on Washington, The Million Man March was a call on black men in America to address the current state of their community.