Blacks from 1880-1955
Race relations have changed dramatically since 1801 and 2001. In 200 years, blacks and whites have found some common ground; they for the most part can work together, play together, and some can even worship the same God of their choice together. But between the years of 1880 and 1955, things weren't always that simple. Although slavery had ended some years ago, the mental impact of slavery had yet to be emancipated. The miracle of change was nowhere to be found during that time; and the eras of Reconstruction after the Civil War, the Harlem Renaissance, African-American views on World War II, and even the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka outcomes would all have been very different had the racial tensions been eased. African-Americans only wanted to be considered equal to whites, but would that ever happen? The period of Reconstruction- the immediate age after the Civil War, which was how and when the northern and southern United States had to come together to mend their broken nation. African-Americans, or rather former slaves, would reap the benefits of reconstruction because Northerners fought to secure economic rights and civil liberties for them. After the war, blacks did
not have legal rights or the material resources to make them even feel close to equal to their white counterparts. Conditions in the south weren't good for anybody. There were approximately 4 million black people being released from the epidemic of slavery, some had been of service to the Confederate army or as teamsters and laborers for Southern armed forces. Nearly 200,000 had fought for the Union, and 38,000 had died. (Brinkley 509) For blacks, freedom meant a series of things; slavery was over and so were the inequalities and degradation that went along with it. But it also should have mean that they (African-Americans) now should have the same rights and freedoms that white men and women had. However, black people wanted reparations. Some demanded a redistribution of economic resources, especially land, because as a convention of Alabama freedmen put it in a formal resolution, "the property which they hold was nearly earned by the sweat of our brows." Others simply asked for legal equality, confident that given the same opportunities as white citizens they could advance successfully in American society. (Brinkley 509) The majority of African-American people only wanted total independence from whites. They created organizations that were solely for blacks; schools, churches, and many other types of groups. As another step up for African-American people, the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments became a part of the U.S. Constitution in 1866 and 1870. The fifteenth amendment was important in theory, but in practice it had little effect on black suffrage for many years. (Brinkley 515) The U.S. had a lot of rebuilding to do, and it was the merely the beginning of cultural clashes in this country.
Some common words found in the essay are:
Civil War, Milam Bryant, Mose Wright, Main Streets, Commission June, Money Mississippi, Jim Crow, Mamie Bradley, Thurgood Marshall, History Race, civil rights, black people, mose wright, blacks whites, pick life, jim crow, harlem renaissance, crow laws, jim crow laws, world war, board education topeka, civil war, world war ii, brown board education,
Approximate Word count = 2090
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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