The View from the Bottom Rail Essay

Since my written source was concerning the Jim Crow laws, I chose a letter which was written by the father of the abolitionist movement, Fredrick Douglass. He expresses his concerns about the unjust treatment which the African- Americans are forced to endure. He concludes that it is the old mentality of slavery and racism by the White race that has led the Jim Crow laws to be enacted. Furthermore, Fredrick Douglass documents some his observations and beliefs in this letter. He has noticed several incidences of segregation and inequality. I chose this primary source because it had a direct correlation to the Jim Crow Laws. It explores several instances of inequalities in the southern states, proving the brutal treatment of African- Americans.

From 1865 to 1900 African Americans, despite being presumed free; blacks quickly realized they were only free from was the whippings, break-ups from their families, and sexual exploitation. (Experience History 457) African Americans were still force to live with the hostility of whites. It has taken blacks a long time to be freed from the hatred, and discrimination of white southerners, and after decades’ racism among whites still exist today.

Slavery was abolished after the Civil War, but the Negro race still was not accepted as equals into American society. To attain a better understanding of the events and struggles faced during this period, one must take a look at its' literature. James Weldon Johnson does an excellent job of vividly depicting an accurate portrait of the adversities faced before the Civil Rights Movement by the black community in his novel “The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man.” One does not only read this book, but instead one takes a journey alongside a burdened mulatto man as he struggles to claim one race as his own.

African American that became a Freedmen are now officially a full United States citizen, but now face with segregation from the white. The government however, help with these problem with the Freedmen Bureau program. The South’s reaction to the Reconstruction that were given out to the North however, felt that their land are being taken by the carpetbaggers from the North for their political and economic gained during the 1863 to 1877. The Reconstruction are still seen overall as both positive and negative because it has had it’s downfall and gain from it. The aftermath of Reconstruction however, allowed blacks many rights that they have never gotten before and it’s a good beginning to Americans and the country as a whole for ending the unholiness of

Slavery by Another Name gives readers an interesting and eye opening look into the past of the re-enslavement of Black Americans. The author, Douglas Blackmon, presents a compelling and effective presentation and argument; which adds on to my previous knowledge of this familiar and personal topic, that slavery did not necessarily end with the Emancipation Proclamation. He argues that from the Civil War to World War II Black Americans were re-enslaved through hard labor. He uses various examples of real life experiences from descendants of the re-enslaved Black Americans and documents to support his presentation which gives the reader a better view as to what those times were like. Blackmon researched all the facts and information for this book himself being certain not to alter any quotations from individuals to keep everything true. Although Blackmon uses many stories in his book he chose to focus this narrative on one forgotten black man and his family, Green Cottenham. Blackmon states in his introduction, “The absence of his voice rest at the center of this book” (pg 10).

The life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination… the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land (qtd. in W.T.L. 235).

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“ Black Codes” and “ The reconstruction Amendments ” (Documents B and A) are articles that support the argument that African Americans weren't free during reconstruction period as well as, used to diminish the liberty of the “ Freedmen ”.This was displayed by introducing new significant challenges that controlled the labor and behavior of former slaves and other African Americans. Furthermore this also claims to assist the counter argument that, former slaves were free and in addition introduces the idea that the institution of slavery continued to exist in spirit if not in law. Under the command of President Andrew Johnson in 1865 and 1866, new southern state legislatures passed restrictive “ Black Codes ” to control the labor and behavior of the freedmen and other African Americans. Outrage in the north over these codes destroyed support for the approach known as Presidential Reconstruction and led to the victory of the more radical part of the Republican Party. Some of these codes were extreme and absurd, for example SECTION

The discriminating social stratification in 1950’s developed a set of servile behavior on the blacks. They were thought to be inferior to whites, and were treated accordingly. Moreover, different parts of the country had various ranges of sensitivities while dealing with the blacks. For example, in Mississippi things were particularly tense after the Parker lynch case. No black man would dare look into any white man’s eyes in fear of the repercussions. On the bus, a man warned Griffin to watch himself closely until he caught onto Mississippi’s ways. In an extreme case like this, it was vital to learn about their roles and behave accordingly.

They were free from slavery and had new opportunity, but were often met with limited ability to pursue those opportunities as well as being met with outright resentment and violence from the white population in the form of gangs like the Ku Klux Klan. However, despite all the violence and resistance they faced the freepeoples had a significant interest in how Reconstruction policies affected them as now they had the ability to marry legally, which created legitimacy for children and access to land titles. (Nash, et al., 2007., p. 471) The creation of the Freedman’s Bureau was also another policy that attempted to benefit them, but it’s resources being stretched too thin and too often turned disadvantageous for them in terms of contracts giving rise to sharecropping and tenant farming. (Nash, et al., 2007., pp.

 In today’s society, racism and stereotyping occur in every aspect of life. No one should ever take anything for face value before they examine it first. In reading the narrative, “The View from the Bottom Rail” by James Davidson and Mark Lytle and “Frederick Douglass's Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas” by Harold Bloom. I became very aware on how American history can be looked at as one sided or bias. Even in today’s society, there is still a lot of biasness presented in American history that is told when it is related to the history of slavery.  For us to understand history, we must enable ourselves to look deeper into the articles and examine the prejudices and the source

Body Paragraph #1 Northern blacks were somewhat free in the area of Politics. For example in ‘’Document A’’ it takes about how in the New England states ⅚ allowed male suffrage and the rest of the region did not allow it and in Massachusetts they also allowed Male Jury Duty in 1860 and no other colonie allowed that besides them. In Document B it talks about how black people [ Free / Not Free ] in the north should be allowed to shop at the same stores they should be able to talk to whoever they choose to talk to. This Political restriction of freedom was important because It gave the free black males in the New England Colonies a chance to be like the white people and have a a bit more freedom then the black males had in the South but also in the north just not as

One of the most prominent social advances that various African Americans made following the Emancipation Proclamation and the civil war was gaining economic independence and social outspokenness. Jourdan Anderson, an emancipated slave, enslaved in Tennessee, who later moved to Ohio is an example of both. When asked to move back to Tennessee to work for his old master, he asked for back pay for the time he and his wife worked for him as a slave and said, “We trust the good Maker has opened your eyes to the wrongs which you and your fathers have done to me and my fathers.” He also compares the freedom he has in Ohio as a freedman to what thing would be like back in Tennessee. He says, “As to my freedom, which you say I can have, there is nothing to be gained on that score.”

The source suggested systematic oppression impacted free men's ability to attain land and jobs and therefore their ability to expand westward for greater progress. It would shape my argument because it explains why black settlement was limited and the black individual's inability to attain more power despite the civil war and 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. I can use this source to explain the jobs and social settings black individuals migrated to overtime as well as the reality of western expansion for black people. The source would be a a foundation for my other research as it explains why black jobs were often limited to cowboys as well as the mass migration to Kansas. It has changed my view on the topic because it has linked my other sources to larger themes surrounding the black experience with manifest destiny and western expansion. This source explains why Frederick jackson turner does not include any mention of black individuals and their frontier life, because it suggests the evolution of slavery allowed separate but equal to restrict the freedoms of black people in the

Freedmen had an undefined social status in the society. Taking the law at face value, one would think that the freedmen were afforded the same privileges that the white classes do (page 67). In reality however, they were not treated equally to whites and did not have a defined role/position in society. It is this experience of not having an assigned place that inspired the title of the book. The word unappropriated means “not taken, allocated or assigned ”. Since freedmen did not have a defined place in society, they struggled to be acknowledged as a class/group within the society. This experience contributed to the lack of a structured national community in the territory. Issues such as these can lead to a lack of unity within a community,