African Americans from 1865

The period of 1917 – 1955 saw the positions of black Americans change. However, in this first half of the century, not drastically. The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of coloured people) was most of the driving forces behind the advances black Americans in the 1930’s, 1940’s and 1950’s, experienced, with every case fought in that decade won; however, whether won or not the ultimate power remained in the hands of the Supreme court, where in some cases, policies would take from a year to a full decade to come to fruition; examples being many schools in the South that were ruled to be desegregated. In terms of general civil rights achieved on a mass scale for black Americans, progress was lacking, with the main changes occurring throughout the 1960’s.

The South was still extremely unhappy regarding the freedom of the slaves. The Thirteenth Amendment states, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their

On December 6, 1865 the 13th amendment was introduced to the U. S Constitution. This amendment allegedly proclaimed to abolish slavery. Yet, the interpretation of the

Although freedom to become citizens took longer and the fight more difficult, a great number of African Americans steadily gained various rights which accumulated over time. It is important to note that racial segregations momentum dissipated over time as more and more blacks held positions of authority and congressional approval overwhelmingly supported more rights for blacks. Nonetheless, it is also imperative to consider how white supremacists such as the KKK fought to undo the important developments. Till this day, both the executive legislative and judiciary wings of government are constantly battling instances of racial segregation. However, the long range effects of federal government struggle to secure equal rights for African Americans has been significant successes in the rise of African American entrepreneurship. The proliferation of blacks in both government and civil society, the rise of blacks in academia, sports and liberal arts are long effects of the fight for African American rights. This has progressively opened up American society and in a way, levelled the playing field. Also this federal government action to intervene in the affairs of the state has lived on throughout the 21st century.

Even though slavery was abolished in 1865 by the thirteenth amendment, it declared that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."[1]

African Americans have come a very long way from 1865; they have fought many battles to earn their place in America’s Society. From the ending of slavery African Americans have had various achievements from their suffering. Some fought, some spoke, some marched, some sat, some cried, some died, some even dreamed, but all of these things left a footprint in history. In this paper I will discuss some very important events in African American history beginning with the ending of slavery which has brought us to the America we all enjoy today.

In the 19th and 20th centuries Europe was thriving and wealthy while most of their colonies in Africa were suffering under their rule. The Europeans all wanted a piece of Africa’s land with its plentiful resources and free labor. Around this time, Europe was going through the industrial revolution and because business was booming the European countries need more resources than they already had. The Africans had the land the Europeans wanted to use to continue having booming businesses, they also had African slaves and workers that they can use so they don’t have to pay for labor. In the 19th century leader of the Europeans countries want to discuss how they will divide Africa without the leaders of Africa knowing. The Europeans then started to invade Africa and take control over the citizens. As the Europeans got more powerful, the Africans become more miserable. Unable to match the guns Europe had, African countries began getting claimed, one by one with the exception of two. The Europeans ruled in a cruel way that left many Africans dead or suffering. Many countries tried and successfully broke away from Europeans after many years under colonization. The Europeans had a negative impact on the lives of many Africans in the 19th and 20th centuries, especially with racism and assimilation. People were taught to be a human they had to be like a European which led to many racist views on African people and culture and is why some nations like France used assimilation to make

The thirteenth amendment was the first to abolish slavery, or so people say. The thirteenth amendment reads, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude except as punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction,” the constitution. This amendment could easily fool people into believing that all was right within the world. However, soon after this amendment was added to the constitution unjust laws started to pop up within the states, “When slavery was legally abolished. A new set of laws called Black Codes emerged to criminalize legal activity for African Americans. Through the enforcement of these laws, acts such as

African Americans were a very important addition to the American Civil War such as fighting and spying for both the north and the south sides. The American Civil War was a war fought in the United States between the North and South states. The war was from 1861-1865 and was because the South wanted to establish itself as a separate nation. The northern states were called the Union and the southern states were called the Confederate. Between the north and south states were the Border States, which did not belong to either of the sides. The Border States included Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, Kentucky and Missouri. In the north, slavery did not exist but the south was the opposite. In the war, the north and south states fought against each other while the Border States were neutral. Before the war and during the war, African Americans were treated very unfairly compared to white people. This essay will examine how African Americans were treated before, during and after the Civil War.

The life of African Americans in the 19th and 20th centuries has been a truly storied past. One of the most astonishing aspects of African American life, in this period, is the degree to which it was heterogeneous. The experiences of African Americans differed widely based on geographic location, class, gender, religion, and age. Despite a high degree of variability in the experiences of Blacks in America, if one were to consider the sociopolitical fact that Black people as a group in America were a subordinate caste in dominant society, then it becomes possible to make certain overarching connections. One such connection is the presence of secretive subversive ideologies and actions. The existence of these secretive subversive activities is apparent if one examines the labor tendencies, the folklore, and the outward societal projections of black people. By briefly examining the labor practices of Black women in Atlanta during the latter part of the 19th and early part of the 20th centuries, The Uncle Remus tales, and cultural icon Louis Armstrong, one can deduce that secretive subversive actions and beliefs were an integrated aspect of Black existence during this period.

Until the late 19th century, which was to say until European Colonization, Tutsis people were represented as the aristocratic upper classes. (Hutus) people were represented as the peasant masses. The European people brought with them an idea of race science, and people took this tradition structure and made it more extreme and more polarized into a some sort of sytem. Identity cards were issued and (Tutsis) people were privileged for all things and Hutus people were made into a very oppressed mass.

In the 1600's Whites bought Africans as slaves and made many Africans serve for life. When Whites were servants, they would serve for short terms such as a few years, but Blacks would have to work for a lifetime (Holt and Brown, 2000). Whites were also punished by receiving whippings, many times in front of other Africans or Blacks if they had sexual relations or committed fornication with a Black person or African(Holt and Brown, 2000). Blacks were considered more valuable, for example, Whites would pay 2000 pounds for a Negro man and pay 1300 pounds of tobacco for a White man.

"Neither Slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime; whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." (13th amendment, section 1.)

Ratified in 1865, the thirteenth amendment to the U.S. Constitution formalized this result in U.S. law, abolishing slavery throughout the country and every territory subject to its jurisdiction.

According to the thirteenth amendment of the U.S. Constitution, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist within the U.S. (TVPA, 2000). This concept became the