Essay on History of African Americans in America 1865-1960’s

Africans first arrived in the area that later became the United States of America in around 1619 in the Chesapeake area. The large amount of fertile land in the area gave the settlers their biggest cash crop, which was tobacco. As time went by, more and more tobacco was being exported to England. Because of this, more labor was needed. This need for more labor was not only in the north, but in the south as well due to their mass production of cotton. This movement started the institution of slavery in America. Then, the colonies and other countries started to trade slaves and it became a business. The Royal African Company was the first slave trading company, which was started in 1672. The slaves were transported by the Middle

in February 1869, the Fifteenth Amendment gave black men the right to vote. Ultimately, the push to secure

The Fifteenth Amendment granted black men to vote. Put emphasis on men because at this time women still couldn't vote.This amendment would not be fully followed until almost a century. What the government did was that they made a literacy test so difficult that no slave could pass because they had no education. So no blacks could vote really for a long time. So to loop their loophole that made a rule called the Grandfather Clause. This made if your grandfather could vote you did not have to take the literacy test. So every white person's grandfather could vote since they lived in england. So this rule did not apply to blacks since their grandfathers were black and could not vote. One of the main reasons that they made this rule is because

Life for African Americans in the United States has never been easy. First they were enslaved and later became free. Lastly they just needed the same rights as everyone else. The Klu Klux Klan wasn’t going to let that happen. The Klan wanted to stop all political and economical equality for African Americans. They were violent and terrorized all African Americans and anyone who tried to help them acquire equality. The Klu Klux Klan is a harsh and is extremely racist. They had a part in economic and social problems in the United States in the late 1860s (History.com Staff).

During 1800-1860 there were many factors that severely limited black lives in the free states. Unjust laws and discrimination dominated the free states and made it so that blacks had limited opportunities in life, whether it be politically, economically, or socially. This discrimination was the catalyst which severely limited black life in the free states between 1820 and 1860 were segregation, discrimination, violence, and political exclusion was present. First, we understand that segregation wasn’t only present in the south. “North and Northwest served as the area for the earliest forms of segregation in the U.S before the South stated to follow.

The Ku Klux Klan was a racial hate group in the south that made sure blacks did not get any civil rights. Members in the Ku Klux Klan believed whites were superior to other races. The KKK hated the blacks because they believed slaves, who were the blacks, are to be less than human. Only white Anglo-Saxon Protestants or known as “WASPS” could become members. The members also had to pay monthly fees so they could “adopt a highway” to look good in the eyes of the communities.

In the essay “On the Evolution of Scholarship in Afro- American History” the eminent historian John Hope Franklin declared “Every generation has the opportunity to write its own history, and indeed it is obliged to do so.”1 The social and political revolutions of 1960s have made fulfilling such a responsibility less daunting than ever. Invaluable references, including Darlene Clark Hine, ed. Black Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia 2nd ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004); Evelyn Brooks Higgingbotham, ed., Harvard Guide to African American History (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2001); Arvarh E. Strickland and Robert E.

Americans in the 1950s-1960s During this period of 1950-1960s, the nation experienced tremendous conflicts within the American society. This is due to increasing numbers of suburbs in American society, which caused tension between the rich and poor and also among women roles in society. The socially disorder from communism scare, the rise of culture rebellion of African American fighting strongly for their rights and Vietnam War also contributed to the social conflicts within the United States. The end of the World War II has led to many class conflicts.

Throughout the 1900’s we have documented African Americans being persecuted and slaughtered by hate groups, while the United states government turned a blind eye. Minstrel shows successfully convinced the American public that people of African ancestry have the natural urge to rob, rape, and murder innocent women and children without any remorse. Naively, the American people bought into the act and became frightened of the color black on a man’s skin. Movies and skits mocked African American’s culture and appearance. European Americans AND African Americans were taught that African Americans were uneducated and mannerless. That they did not have any self-value, dignity, or honor and nor should they be treated with any. African Americans became hated. Racism and brutality against them were encouraged and taught by local civilians without any punishment from the local and state government. Segregation was prevalent in restaurants and bathrooms and African Americans were discouraged to have a proper education.

America has changed, as a whole, throughout this time period. There have been many different presidents, elections, wars and other world issues. These factors contribute to the drastic change in America and to the American people. African Americans have gone through many different changes other than those of the other races. With the end of the Civil War, African Americans went through a lot of change with the end of slavery. Throughout this essay I will explain the legislature, economic, philosophies, leaders, movement of people and other factors that contributed to the drastic change of the African American people between 1865 to 1920.

The Ku Klux Klan is a homegrown terrorist organization responsible for countless murders of African Americans throughout the south as well as projecting white supremacy by terrorizing opposing. At the end of Reconstruction, the KKK and White Leagues (opposition to the Union Leagues, made up of southern whites and members of the KKK) helped elect the Democratic party to power through repressive measures on the black citizens in the south. This era of states rights began with the help of terrorist groups who worked to deny the right to vote to black citizens. The KKK also used terror to keep control

Racial supremacy was the driving force of the group’s initial driving force. Ku Klux Klan objectives aimed at re-establishing white authority throughout America. The southern states were characterized by lawlessness and violence in an attempt to intimidate the black community and sympathizers of the Republican’s policies of slavery abolishment. The group has been powerful and very evident twice in the American history (Southern Poverty Law Centre, 2011).

Imagine living in a world where your friends, family and neighbors are murdered because of the color of their skin, who they vote for, or the place they choose to work. What did they do so wrong? They simply existed. This is how African-Americans had to live in the southern states, Radical Republicans in the south, and northerners that supported Reconstruction during the Radical Reconstruction era. Later in American history, this was also settled upon Catholics, Jews, Gays, and many other groups during the World War II and the Civil Rights Movement periods. This hatred and cruelty was brought upon those who did not believe in causes that these white supremacists wanted them to believe in. The creation of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was a major contributing factor to racism and prejudice in America for over 100 years. Many opposed the KKK, but there was a slight few that supported the Klan, glorifying them and their cause. The Ku Klux Klan is known as a racial hate group, who forced African Americans and other minorities to live in fear, and influenced many social and economic issues of American culture.

The Ku Klux Klan is a native-born American racist terrorist organization that helped overthrow Republican Reconstruction governments in the South after the Civil War and drive black people out of politics. It revived in the 20th Century as a social lodge and briefly became a nationwide political power. During the 1960s, the Klan fought the Civil Rights Movement in the South. Under attack in state and federal courts, in a racially changed and disapproving South, the Klan hangs on —marginally, but still violent.

The Ku Klux Klan was formed in 1866 by six former Confederate officers in Pulaski, Tennessee. The K.K.K was at first a social organization to play practical jokes on themselves and others, but then turned into a racist organization that threated the lives of African Americans. “The first two words of the organization’s name supposedly derived from the Greek word “kyklos,” meaning circle.” The members of the K.K.K hung African Americans to kill and show that all whites want to rule this country. Some modern historians call The Ku Klux Klan trials a great victory while others say it was an epic failure. The K.K.K. wanted white people to rule, even if they used “forced by force, to use force.”[Bartoletti, pg.13] By farming this group Klansmen