Definition Of Freedom For African Americans

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.

In 1865, slavery was abolished, by the Thirteenth amendment. This Amendment brought humongous changes and a large number of problems. (Lecture 1) After the destruction of slavery, it left nearly four million African American with no property, little training, and few rights; which made the definition of freedom for African Americans the central question on the nation’s agenda. The big question of the time period was, “what was freedom for African Americans?” (Give me liberty! An American 550)

According to the Declaration of Independence, signed in 1776, "[...] all men are created equal, [and] they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." One would then expect that every man, would be entitled to their freedom, and it was true, for all white men. African-Americans, however, faced a very different reality. They were still forced into slavery, they were deprived of those rights that all men were meant to have. While the north states opposed slavery, it was permitted in the south, and as the slavery issue raged on, one man would stand to fight for his freedom. His case, would go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court's decision would

Certainly, freedom was supposed to be “freer”” for those slaves that had fought for their rights after years of submissionn, but, unfortunately, many white Southern people continued to ignore the law by not showing any respect for Africans-Americans. Because of the radical reconstruction in the south, the African-Americans were a step closer from the same political

During Reconstruction, African Americans’ freedoms were very restricted. There were strict regulations on voting, relationships, employment, firearms, and other freedoms that white people had. African American faced disenfranchisement for years after being freed and becoming citizens. In What a Black Man Wants by Frederick Douglass, Douglass angrily demands the freedom to vote that every American deserved. He assesses the black man’s contribution to society and wonders why this contribution has not led to more rights. Those who were supposed to be fighting for the rights of freed slaves were not speaking up. Even the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society was not fighting for the rights of the freed slaves. Because of the restrictions on voting, African Americans did not have the same power over their own lives that white people had. Disenfranchisement is just one way white people limited freedoms of freed slaves.

We live in a country that has a pledge of allegiance that says “freedom for all” however black communities have not received their freedom. Freedom is defined as the power and right to act, speak, or think as one wants without any restraint. African Americans have not been allowed to enjoy any of these luxuries even after the end of slavery. African Americans had to face a variety of issues such as segregation, mass incarceration and poverty. These challenges continue to oppress African Americans, therefore, they still have to struggle to obtain freedom. Freedom in which they feel accepted anywhere and are exposed to the same opportunities and support as any other race. With leaders like, Reverend T. J. Jemison and W. E. B. DuBois, African Americans have been reminded and encouraged to keep striving through their life filled with struggles because they

Reconstruction after the civil war gave African-Americans an extremely limited amount of freedom compared to the equality and freedom that slavery had denied them. Though they were free in theory, in practice, they were not as free at all. At times, they were so restricted that they were basically treated like slaves, even though that isn’t what they were called after reconstruction. Their freedoms in practice were not the humane freedoms they dreamed of; their sphere of freedoms had increased very minimally compared to what they had as slaves. Some of what they had to face now was arguably even more brutal than what they had to face as slaves. After the Civil War, freedom for African-Americans were only “lip deep” (Doc

Frederick Douglass once said, “No man can be truly free whose liberty is dependent upon the thought, feeling and action of others, and who has himself no means in his own hands for guarding, protecting, defending and maintaining that liberty.” Throughout the history of America his words have proven true seeing that those of African descent have been faced with a tremendous amount of prejudice. Whether that be in terms of the basic rights vital to African americans, or the freedom of expression that should be allotted to every human being. They were subjected to endless economic and social prejudice. While at the same time being refused the decencies all American citizen deserved. But most importantly, African Americans were denied the right to decide how their country was controlled and in turn their “liberty”. These atrocities prove that the reform introduced during the Reconstruction era did little to resolve the problems plaguing African Americans or improve their quality of life.

The first reason why they were free was shown in Document B, where the southern states makes the Black Codes. More specifically, it shows on the document that the blacks practically can’t do anything they want. For example,” Section 1. No negro shall be allowed to come within the limits of the town of Opelousas without special permission from his employer.” This demonstrates the lack of freedom because the Black Codes gave huge limits to what the blacks can do. The blacks basically were being outcasted as much as possible. The second reason why they were free was in document C, where it explains how a black man was not free even after the Civil War. He talks how every black was still being beat and treated poorly even though they were supposed to be free. As stated here,” You should say ‘master’. You all are not free… and you shall call every white lady ‘missus’ and every white man ‘master’.” This is evidence of lack of freedom because the blacks were supposed to be free after the Civil War, but slave owners will not accept it and continued to keep their slaves. Therefore, black americans were not truly free because of Document C and B, where they made codes to control the blacks and continued to treat the blacks as slaves even though they were supposed to be free from

African-Americans were partially free. They did get the right to vote, some were voted into Congress, they could get jobs and do normal everyday things. But a lot of cities added a lot of restrictions to the black men. They needed to be accompanied by white men or needed special permission to go into the city. They could not be out past a certain time or they would get possible jail time or fines. Yes the fines do not seem like a lot to us now but back then $2.50, $5.00, and $10.00 was a lot of

After years of abuse and oppression, black men were supposedly now subject to the same constitutional rights as their white counterparts, extending the gift of equality to all men, regardless of their skin color or economic status. Emancipation for African-American slaves provided freedoms that had, never before in their lifetime, been obtainable. Intent on preventing former slave owners from restricting any efforts to achieve the slaves' freedom, Congress passed the Fourteenth Amendment, which “defined an American citizen as anyone born in the United States...thereby automatically making African Americans citizens.” For the first time in American history, black men had the ability to vote, hold office, acquire land and receive a proper education. Most importantly, freedom meant that their labor would be for their own benefit, and not for their master’s.

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.

According to Document 5, (Anti-Slavery Almanac,1839) ¨Peter John Lee, a free colored man of Westchester Co., N.Y, was kidnapped by Tobias Boudinot, E. K. Waddy, John Lyon, and Daniel D. Nash of N.Y.,city, and hurried away from his wife and children into slavery.¨.This quote demonstrates that African Americans were not treated as free men, but still being kidnapped and forced back into slavery. As stated in the Preamble of the United States Declaration of Independence, ´´We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. ´´¨This shows that the Declaration of Independence fulfills the Ideals of freedom not for every man, but for white males.

African Americans living in the North, as well as those in the South, faced multiple challenges. In 1860, tension grew between the North and South. Most southern states still held onto slavery, because their slaves were worth money, while the North was trying to abolish it. The North had many free African Americans, but the question is, were they actually free? Free Africans Americans in the North before the civil war were not actually free because, they had little to none political right, they were not allowed to associate with whites, and making a living, no matter what, was hard.

The United States of America is known for its claims of democracy, equality, and freedom for all of it’s citizens. These claims are the foundation of America’s independence and essentially its entire history. But “claims” are simply all they were in history. While many achieved equal democracy and freedom, the African-American population of the US was exempt from these “inalienable rights” and heavily oppressed by society. The cruelty of slavery and oppression as a whole reached its peak in the 19th century bringing upon the abolitionist movement, which eventually aided in the historic removal of slavery and the continued fight for equal right of citizenship for African-Americans. Of the many abolitionists who fought for