It was hot, and sticky July afternoon in 1895 Lunenburg, Virginia when Edward Pollard found his wife’s, Lucy Jane Pollard, dead body lying on the ground with an axe next to it. She was on her way to set her hens when the murder happened. There were immediately suspects thrown into the case, three being African American women, Pokey Barnes, Mary Barnes, and Mary Abernathy, all of which had connections to the Pollard’s farm. Mary Barnes and Mary Abernathy both worked on the farm and Pokey Barnes was the Pollards neighbor and lived next to the farm. Mary Abernathy was the last person to see Lucy Jane Pollard alive and within 24 of the murder, she was in custody. The other suspect was Solomon Marable, the only male suspect in the case. He was …show more content…
The 14th amendment guaranteed citizenship to blacks and demolished the Naturalized Act of 1790 which limited it to only whites. The 15th amendment allowed African American men the right to vote which lead to many of them to seek office positions and utilizing public education. (History.com, n.p) Even with these amendments and acts passed giving African Americans more rights and more freedom, whites in the country still discriminated against them. During reconstruction in the 1870’s, white’s that opposed black rights came into power and formed groups like the Red Shirts. The Redshirts were a white terrorist groups that were active in the southern states during the end of the Reconstruction period. (ncpedia.org, Hunt) They were influential enough to encourage smaller groups to form in other states and eventually lead to the Ku Klux Klan to form. Other tortuous acts happened in the southern states when the white supremacists gained political power like lynching, which is what the four suspects in the Lucy Jane Pollard murder case faced if they were not properly protected. The most lynching in the United States happened during the years of 1882 to 1920, right through the time of the murder. The white supremacists that took power in the south also imposed Jim Crow laws which were laws enforcing racial segregation. These laws,
In the wake of the Civil War, the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments were ratified which abolished slavery and in theory granted people of all races the citizenship rights, equal protection, and suffrage that society owes them. However, that did not stop a wave of backlash policies from passing especially in Southern states that felt their way of life was threatened by the newfound independence of black Americans. These laws served to perpetuate racism and white privilege, and further divide the racist,
A good thesis from this article would be, “A trio of amendments to the U.S. Constitution was meant to help integrate blacks into society. The 13th Amendment, which became law in 1865, abolished slavery. The 14th Amendment (1868) gave all Americans equal protection under the law. The 15th Amendment (1870) proclaimed that voting rights should not be infringed by race, color, or previous servitude.” This was quoted from the article and it shows that these amendments were set out to make all blacks the rights and freedom that everyone else had. The thesis is supported by giving proof that not only the 13th Amendment allowed blacks to obtain the same rights as everyone else had. It introduces the Jim Crow Laws which band colored people from being able to go to certain restaurants, movie theaters, etc. Eventually they were banished
The 14th Amendment to the Constitution defined citizenship as anyone born in the U.S. or naturalized, thus giving citizenship to African Americans. Like the 13th amendment, the 14th was not enforced. Had this amendment had been enforced, as citizens of the United States the most basic rights of black people should have been protected, like any other citizen. However, they were continually marginalized. If a crime was committed against them, the legal system turned a blind eye. If they were in need, no one would offer a helping hand. The government largely funded public white schools, whereas African Americans had to raise much of their own funding for their schools. Although they raised a large sum of money, it was still insufficient to educate the millions of newly freed children and adults (Franklin 250). These are just a few examples of the inequality experienced by blacks. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 explicitly states that African Americans do have citizenship “regardless of race
Back then, many African Americans suffered from unfair treatment in the society due to their race, but this Amendment prohibited this from happening again. In the Amendment it stated that, “the amendment prohibited states from disenfranchising voters “on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”(US Constitution). After this rule was established, the Americans began to decrease their racism towards the African American race. Moreover,as time passes by, there has been less and less outbreaks that happened in communities due to the racial discrimination. This shows that the Fifteenth Amendment did have a positive impact on the society in terms of improving the way people were treated.
Though the federal government created Amendments giving rights to slaves, opposers prevented them from benefitting from their rights. Within the 13th Amendment, the national government affirmed that slavery wouldn’t be accepted in our country “except as punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted”. The added exception allows states to determine what crime is appropriate for the punishment that is similar, if not identical, to slavery. The state governments used the exception to their advantage, creating minute laws with severe punishments. Then the national government establish the 15th Amendment, giving the freed black men the opportunity to vote, as the right to vote couldn’t be denied “on account of race, color,
In December of 1865, Congress passed the 13th amendment abolishing slavery in the United States. By July of 1868, the 14th amendment was passed to grant citizenship to anyone, regardless of race, born in the United States and prohibiting states from depriving any person of his life, liberty, or property without due process of law, or rejecting to any person, within their jurisdiction, the equal protection of the laws (Jim Crow Stories). Immediately following the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln and Republicans were trying to give equal rights to African Americans and set rules that would allow the Southern states back into the Union. At the same time, the Radical Republicans were working to minimize African Americans’ rights; this era is known as
Reconstruction (1867-1877) under Congress was a fast tightening of a noose in the South. Congress no longer trusted Andrew Johnson’s loose plan for Reconstruction, so they began closing in on their plans. Radical Republicans made many lasting impacts in this period. Under Congress, the 14th and 15th Amendment was created, guaranteeing rights to African Americans. A newly created Freedmen’s Bureau help create many schools and colleges, lasting up to modern times. African Americans held power in office, although they were quickly brought down by the Ku Klux Klan’s terrorism. The main path Reconstruction took was based on the government’s plans. There
When Confederate states wanted to join the Union after Civil war, they were required to undertake “Civil War” Amendments. The Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments were developed, with each supporting equality within the states. However, these Amendments proved to be insufficient in the provision of equal rights to African American citizens (Medley,2003). In the late 19th Century, laws limiting civil rights of the Blacks swept through state legislatures. Segregation then became a requirement in both Southern and Northern states.
The Thirteenth Amendment of 1865 abolished slavery, the Fourteenth Amendment of 1868 granted African Americans citizenship and equal protection under the law, and the Fifteenth Amendment of 1870 granted African Americans the right to vote. These amendments were passed in an effort to combat racism and reshape public perception of blacks, however, these laws were hard to enforce and Southern states developed their own laws like the Black Codes to control the newly freed slaves. Jim Crow-era laws in the South like the poll tax and literacy tests prevented many blacks in the South from voting. Anyone who tried to break Southern traditions was subject to violence and intimidation from the Ku Klux Klan.
The 13th amendment abolished slavery. However the states made their own laws that still affected African Americans in a negative way. This caused for the making of the 14th amendment to be made. The 14th amendment gave a further blow on the fact that all persons born in the United States have The right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This allowed for African Americans to get more rights within the states. However the states still made ways to retard the rights of the African American people. This can be seen in elections during reconstruction. The southern states found ways to block African Americans from voting. The 15th amendment is the amendment that allows for any citizen to vote and that this right can't be taken away By the federal government or the state
At this, the federal government took control of the southern states not yet readmitted to the Union. In order for the states to get readmitted to the Union, they needed to agree to observe the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments. Amendment fourteen guaranteed all citizens the same rights without regard to color. Amendment fifteen made it illegal to discriminate against people based on race in voting rights. African Americans and northerners held a number of government positions during this time, and southern whites did not really accept these governments. Southern whites used legal and illegal means to fight the changes in the status of African Americans.(Royster 7,8)
Through the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments to the constitution, the republicans tried to protect and establish black freedoms. At the same time southern state legislators were passing laws to restrict free blacks’ freedoms. Through the use of black codes and vagrancy laws, the south attempted to keep blacks in a state of slavery. These laws were worded in a way such that blacks rights would be so restricted that it would remain impossible for them to gain any real freedom.
The 14th and 15th Amendments of the Constitution were passed after the American Civil war and were designed to enfranchise the African American population and bring the country into a new time of acceptance and equality. The 14th amendment of the Untied
According to the thirteenth amendment, “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.” The purpose of the thirteenth amendment was to end slavery or any form of involuntary servitude everywhere among the United States. There was new hope for African Americans throughout the country but unfortunately their freedom had a limit and coincidentally, President Lincoln was assassinated shortly after. Jim Crow laws were established among the states and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the southern states of the United States up until 1965. This is how white southerners
For the greater part of the nineteenth century, black people were slaves for white men. The Fourteenth Amendment was placed into effect to protect the rights of the black community after emancipation. It stated that, “all persons born or naturalized in the United States” would be supported under the doctrine. However, this article failed to uphold the rights of the newly freed slaves. The blacks, ridiculed and scorned by the public, were greatly suppressed by the white backlash. The states put into effect laws that would suppress the blacks even further, even though they were protected under the Amendment. The states made stipulations on rights the African Americans were granted, like the right to own land, vote, and even hold certain jobs. Voting was a major controversy for the newly freed slaves, they wanted the chance to be heard through politics. Nevertheless, they were still denied the simple right to vote in many of the states if they could not meet the prerequisites for reading or could not pay a voting tax. They made contracts for them to work for white men, just as if they were slaves and nothing changed. Black people were still waiting for their salvation under this new piece of legislation, but were unable to grasp it through the government. African Americans stood for their newly given rights under the Constitution and were denied by the people who put