What Is Growing Up In America?

However, all the privileges that come accompany freedom were still unattainable. It was no secret that the Republican Party wanted freedom for the slaves and in 1864 Lincoln granted it by establishing the 13th amendment. This amendment abolished slavery forever. Even though, the act was a noble one, the end result was not favorable for blacks. They were still segregated, and not given any rights. They could not vote or receive a decent education. They were separated from whites at social events and public places. This amendment may have ended the Civil War but it did not help the African Americans in their quest for fair and equitable treatment.

The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution officially abolished and prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime.The 14th Amendment provides the citizenship, due process and equal protection clauses. The 13th amendment was adopted on December 6, 1865. It was preceded by the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, which freed all slaves from the Confederate states during the Civil War. Most of these states were in the South below the Mason-Dixon line.The 14th Amendment was adopted on July 9, 1868, and it is the longest of all the Reconstruction Amendments, having five separate sections. The amendment also covers citizen's' right to hold public office, suffrage, compensation for emancipation and debts of war.

When elected, President Lincoln vowed to prevent the extension of slavery. As a result, the Southerners chose secession, while Northerners believed that the collapse of Union would destroy the possibility of a democratic republican government. This resulted in the Civil War, which lead to the end of slavery in the United States. Throughout the war, there was much debate over whether or not the Civil War was about slavery or the Union. Lincoln first rejected the end of slavery as a goal of the war, but slave escapes in the South bothered Lincoln. The Union’s fate was at stake and Lincoln’s major goal of the war was to save the Union. Lincoln finally surrendered to the pressure of antislavery republicans, making the Civil War mainly about slavery, and seeing slave abolition as a way to end the rebellion and protect the Union. Abraham Lincoln created the proclamation of emancipation in July 1862, which called for an end to slavery. The proclamation was issued on September 22, basing its legal authority on his responsibility to suppress the rebellion and was signed by Lincoln on January 1, 1863. After the war, abolitionists were concerned that the Emancipation Proclamation would be forgotten about, so they pressured the congress to pass a law that would finally abominate slavery. In January 1865 the Congress approved the Thirteenth Amendment to ending slavery, and sent it to the states

Issued by Abraham Lincoln, the Emancipation Proclamation set all slaves, under Confederate control, free, and armed black troops for the Civil War. A year later, beginning in September of 1864, Maryland, Tennessee, Missouri, and Louisiana abolished slavery. Shortly after, approved by Congress in February of 1865 and ratified in December, the Thirteenth Amendment was official. This amendment abolished slavery throughout the entire Union, which finally freed Kentucky and Delaware slaves. The war started as a fight to preserve the Union, but the new amendment went to show that the war had shifted to a fight to end slavery. The Thirteenth Amendment resulted in the abolition of slavery permanently. Although this freedom did not mean equality. Northern African Americans had been battling for their civil rights before and after the war. They were petitioning and campaigning at the state level, and created the National Convention of Colored Men and the National Rights League at the national level. None of these had as big of an impact as when the Radical republicans in Congress got involved to help overturn the inequalities.

The constitution laid the groundwork for America's citizens giving essential rights to everyone. That would have been the ideal America; Humans are flawed and there of course has to be some form of disagreement. Throughout America's existence there have been arguments, public unrest, deadly altercations and disagreements when it comes to people's rights. An instance of this can be shown through Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s campaign. He dreamed of abolishing the mentality of the south not allowing blacks to vote. Dr. King also wanted to unite people not matter their skin color. Dr. King was another activist who contributed to the Civil Rights Act being passed. Due to Dr. King's acts the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was established to overcome legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote under the 15th Amendment (1870) to the Constitution of the United States.

Granting African Americans rights, and uniting the North and South politically and socially proved to fall short of expectations, while rebuilding the Southern economy was achieved. After the Civil War ended, and the 13th amendment was passed in 1865; African American slaves were completely freed. This had given a

Therefore, on January 1st, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation was passed, which said that "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free”(National Archives). Even though this was a large step for America during the war, it was only a war measure and “might have no constitutional validity once the war was over”(History). There were many proposals for amendments based on the Emancipation Proclamation, but as the war ended, no formal requests had been made. The 13th amendment was introduced into congress on March 14th, 1864, but there was much opposition to the amendment in the senate, especially from the border states. Eventually the amendment was passed in 1865. It was called “the grandest event of the century” by many and gave hope to many previous slaves, but what many could not foresee is that even though this goal had been achieved, the 13th amendment allowed many other problems to open up that had to be

Rather, it declared free only those slaves living in states not under union control.” (“Historical Documents 1863”). The 13th Amendment, ratified on December 18, 1865 actually abolished

Up until the year 1870 African Americans could not vote in any election in American. (U.S. Voting Rights). In the past America has been making a lot of changes in our voting system’s equality. In the present, legally African Americans have the same rights as a white man does. In the future the rights will not get any better or worse. Throughout history The African American voting rights have improved to the present day and will stay the same in the near future.

President Lincoln's Liberation Declaration, which took impact on January 1, 1863, announced the opportunity of all slaves in Confederate domain. In spite of this triumph, Douglass upheld John C. Frémont over Lincoln in the 1864 race, refering to his failure that Lincoln did not openly embrace suffrage for dark freedmen. Subjection all over the place in the Unified States was in this way banned by the endorsement of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution.

Society has been significantly revolutionized since the beginnings of the United States. The very history of the country has been cursed with racism and the harsh oppression of minorities. In fact, America’s power and economy were founded on a Marxist theory of a two-class system. On the top of that system were the slave owners, and at the very bottom were the slaves themselves (Balkaran, 1999). Slavery and segregation used to be huge components in the lives of Americans. During those times, “Americans” were white, landowning men; obviously that principle has been altered a great deal. People of color, women, and the poor actually have been given suffrage by amendments in the Constitution. Although the United States’ culture and society

However, the Emancipation Proclamation did not free all slaves in the United States. It declared that only slaves living in states not under Union control be free. This officially changed the purpose of the Civil War. The North was no longer only fighting to preserve the Union but also to end slavery. The Civil War continued for the next four years, ending on April 9, 1865. Legal freedom for all slaves did not come until the final passage of the Thirteenth Amendment in December of 1865. President Lincoln was a strong supporter of the Thirteenth Amendment; however, he was assassinated before its final presentation.

Ratified in 1868, the fourteenth amendment guarantees equal protection of all persons under the law. In the 1960’s though, African Americans were still being discriminated against because of the color of their skin. After the broadcast of 600 peaceful African Americans being attacked and beaten after attempting to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, President Lynden Johnson decided it was time to create some legislation to prevent incidences such as this from happening in the future. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 have been hailed as some of “the most far-reaching bills on civil rights in modern times” (Schmidt et. al. 2010, 98). At that time in history, they were exactly what the country

Many Americans have the good fortune to be brought up believing that they can trust their governmental system. Unfortunately, the American Dream of an unbiased judicial, executive, and legislative branch cannot be equally accessed by all Americans. Some parents find it is necessary to dispel the myth of the American Dream for their children, to protect their young minds from future mental strife and in some cases to protect their bodies from future physical harm. This is a reality in our country today. In the increasingly tense political and social environment corruption festers and bad politics reign. While the situation may seem hopeless, it is important to realize that the struggle to ensure equal rights for all has been a cause that countless people have been committed to throughout the history of our country. They have dreamt and continue to dream of a better future, one in which race and economic status do not define a child’s potential. People have been fighting for equal treatment since nearly the founding of the nation- first to end slavery, then to stop the legal and social practice of segregation. While discovering its point of origin is unlikely, it is possible to examine the time frame which saw the struggle for equality fully developed into the Civil Rights Movement. The movement reached its peak in the 1950s and 1960s with significant figures like Martin Luther King Jr., Bayard Rustin, and Thurgood Marshal.

America, despite appearing as a beacon of hope for many, possesses very little glory once the American Dream facade fades. Throughout American history, every minority and underprivileged group fought tedious, uphill battles for the freedoms they hold today, yet many affirm America’s undoubted might. African-Americans, Native Americans, women, immigrants, and many other minorities persevered through generations of discrimination and loathing before any legal writ dictated their acceptance within American culture. Even now, decades after these laws came into existence, the xenophobic, discriminatory mindset still infects the psyches and consciences of many average American citizens. While individual freedoms and social issues support the lack