Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The effects of racism
The US civil rights movement
Civil rights movement in the usa
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: The effects of racism
Between the late 19th and early 20th century, a more diverse America, specifically in the South and West, had begun to noticeably come into existence. In South America, a number of African Americans are known to have first been present as slaves to the white men for many years, until after the North’s success in the Civil War. Moreover, soon after China’s devastating loss in the Opium War against the British, as well as around the time of the California Gold Rush, copious amounts of Chinese immigrants were found to be overflowing into the Western part of America. With the United States becoming noticeably more of a diverse group of peoples, the white men who felt they were superior to a majority of other races can be perceived to have been widely discriminatory against a multitude of them. Specifically speaking, African Americans in the South and Asian Chinese American immigrants in the West had both experienced some degree of racial conflicts originating from certain contributing political, economic, and social factors.
After the Civil War had ended, the destruction of African American slavery as a political system had been accomplished. With the 13th Amendment having been ratified, slaves gained their freedom from the white man’s control. Also, with the 14th Amendment, anyone who is either born or naturalized in America is thereby an American citizen and deserves all of the rights that are granted by the Constitution. In addition, with the 15th Amendment, anyone who is a citizen of the U.S. has the right to vote no matter their race, color, or previous servitude (Davidson 339). However, despite these adjustments to the Constitution, it did not mean that as soon as the Amendments were to be ratified that all African Americans wo...
... middle of paper ...
... African Americans and Chinese Americans to become completely equal. Through the economical factor, both African Americans and Chinese Americans were unable to obtain the jobs they imagined since certain whites who felt superior believed only their race deserved them. Meanwhile, white landowners became wealthy due to the cheap labor from African Americans and Chinese Americans, which also allowed for an increase in white’s land value. Through the social factor, both African Americans and Chinese Americans were able to live their lives as long as they separated themselves.
Works Cited
Davidson, James W., DeLay, Brian, Heyrman, Christine L., Lytle, Mark H., and Stoff, Michael
B. “U.S. a Narrative History.” New York: McGraw-Hill. 2012.
Takaki, Ronad. Strangers from a Different Shore: A History of Asian Americans. Revised ed.
New York: Little, Brown, 1998. Print.
In this essay I will be writing about the effectiveness of the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America and considering whether they achieved the purpose of making life better for African Americans. I’m going to start this essay by talking about the Amendments and what they were designed to achieve.
The English immigrants are given a brief introduction as the first ethnic group to settle in America. The group has defined the culture and society throughout centuries of American history. The African Americans are viewed as a minority group that were introduced into the country as slaves. The author depicts the struggle endured by African Americans with special emphasis on the Civil War and the Civil Rights movement. The entry of Asian Americans evoked suspicion from other ethnic groups that started with the settlement of the Chinese. The Asian community faced several challenges such as the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, and the mistreatment of Americans of Japanese origin during World War II. The Chicanos were the largest group of Hispanic peoples to settle in the United States. They were perceived as a minority group. Initially they were inhabitants of Mexico, but after the Westward expansion found themselves being foreigners in their native land (...
Although many laws were passed that recognized African Americans as equals, the liberties they had been promised were not being upheld. Hoffman, Blum, and Gjerde state that “Union League members in a North Carolina county, upon learning of three or four black men who ‘didn’t mean to vote,’ threatened to ‘whip them’ and ‘made them go.’ In another country, ‘some few colored men who declined voting’ were, in the words of a white conservative, ‘bitterly persecute[ed]” (22). Black codes were also made to control African Americans. Norton et al. states that “the new black codes compelled former slaves to carry passes, observe a curfew, live in housing provided by a landowner, and give up hope of entering many desirable occupations” (476). The discrimination and violence towards African Americans during this era and the laws passed that were not being enforced were very disgraceful. However, Reconstruction was a huge stepping stone for the way our nation is shaped today. It wasn’t pretty but it was the step our nation needed to take. We now live in a country where no matter the race, everyone is considered equal. Reconstruction was a success. Without it, who knows where our nation would be today. African American may have never gained the freedoms they have today without the
American minorities made up a significant amount of America’s population in the 1920s and 1930s, estimated to be around 11.9 million people, according to . However, even with all those people, there still was harsh segregation going on. Caucasians made African-Americans work for them as slaves, farmers, babysitters, and many other things in that line. Then when World War II came, “World War II required the reunification and mobilization of Americans as never before” (Module2). They needed to cooperate on many things, even if they didn’t want to. These minorities mainly refer to African, Asian, and Mexican-Americans. They all suffered much pain as they were treated as if they weren’t even human beings. They were separated, looked down upon, and wasn’t given much respect because they had a different culture or their skin color was different. However, the lives of American minorities changed forever as World War 2 impacted them significantly with segregation problems, socially, and in their working lives, both at that time and for generations after.
On December 6, 1865, the thirteenth amendment to the United States constitution was ratified (Archives). This amendment effectively abolished slavery with the exception of a punishment for a crime (Archives). This was a great victory for blacks, who had been the preferred target for slaves. For many, however, the passage of the amendment failed to change the attitudes of white Americans. Blacks were clearly not welcome in many cities across the nation, with laws allowing blacks to work within a city’s limits, but requiring them to leave before sundown.
After hundreds of years of slavery in the western world, the end of the American Civil War brought forth a new age of questions which debated what rights qualifed as unalienable civil and human rights, and who should be afforded them. Whether it be the right to marry, the right to own land, the right to work, the right to vote, or the right to be a citizen, African Americans had to fight for and prove that these were rights that could not be denied to them as freedmen in America. After the Civil War and the abolishment of slavery, there was a great split in opinion between white and black Americans about what American freedom entailed and whether or not African Americans had fair access to it.
It was during the 1850s that the number of Chinese-Americans increased. Why is this? The answer is tree simple words: “The Gold Rush”. Almost everyone and their mother grew really excited by the prospect of making it big in new frontier that was “The West”. In addition, some adventurers and travelers were enthusiastic about the idea of expansion in itself. Many people heard the call of Manifest Destiny. With these large droves of Ch...
“The early Chinese immigrants came to America in search of gold, and the rest of them who came to help United States to build railroad; afterward some of the Chinese immigrants they sent large amount money back to their family, some of Chinese immigrants who stayed in United States”( Manuel). That’s how Chinatown was built. In our lecture, I studied that many of Chinese immigrants who were coming in the 1840s to 1860s were to look for gold, just like people were coming to California from all over the world to look for gold, At that time, China was controlled by Qing dynasty, and people who were living Guangdong province were suffering poor disease, and war, so they did seek a place to make large amount money. Later on, they had a new mission, the Chinese immigrants built railroad for American. The Chinese immigrants found that the American people did not like them at all, even though they were working diligently. In our lecture, we see many photos of old Chinese immigrants, the photos of building the railroad, the photos of digging gold, and the photos that when they were treated unfairly. Chinese American should not forget those tough, being discrimination, and poor days; Chinese American should thank their predecessors. But today, everything is changed; Chinese
African Americans have a history of struggles because of racism and prejudices. Ever since the end of the Civil War, they struggled to benefit from their full rights that the Constitution promised. The fourteenth Amendment, which defined national citizenship, was passed in 1866. Even though African Americans were promised citizenship, they were still treated as if they were unequal. The South had an extremely difficult time accepting African Americans as equals, and did anything they could to prevent the desegregation of all races. During the Reconstruction Era, there were plans to end segregation; however, past prejudices and personal beliefs elongated the process.
The eastern frontier became the start of the “melting pot” due to many settlers coming in and settling in different areas in America. However, once people start migrating towards the west, everyone started to travel together and settle in together with people who were of the same race or ethnic group. Because many people settled together in the western frontier, racial tension rose between each group. For example, before the migration into the frontier, there was already discrimination between the whites and the Natives and blacks. Some wondered which race was better than the other, Natives or blacks, and what about Asians, how superior are the Asians, or the Hispanics (52). In the western frontier,...
Millions of immigrants over the previous centuries have shaped the United States of America into what it is today. America is known as a “melting pot”, a multicultural country that welcomes and is home to an array of every ethnic and cultural background imaginable. We are a place of opportunity, offering homes and jobs and new economic gains to anyone who should want it. However, America was not always such a “come one, come all” kind of country. The large numbers of immigrants that came during the nineteenth century angered many of the American natives and lead to them to blame the lack of jobs and low wages on the immigrants, especially the Asian communities. This resentment lead to the discrimination and legal exclusion of immigrants, with the first and most important law passed being the Chinese Exclusion Act. However, the discrimination the Chinese immigrants so harshly received was not rightly justified or deserved. With all of their contributions and accomplishments in opening up the West, they were not so much harming our country but rather helping it.
Yes East and West and North and South, the Palm and the pine, the pole and the equator, the crescent and the cross - how the great Alchemist melts and fuses them with his purging flame! Here shall they all unite to build the Republic of Man and the Kingdom of God. (Rereading America 535)
It isn’t just that Chinese-Americans have developed a “‘how dare they look down on me’ mentality and an iron will to succeed.” It’s more that the second wave of Chinese immigrants—those who have formed the foundation of current Chinese communities—were professionals (nurses, doctors, and engineers) who brought wealth and education with them. (Most of the first-wave Chinese, who were poor railroad workers and miners, died or were sent back.)
The first settlers, who were WASPs, viewed themselves as emigrants and everyone else afterwards as immigrants who should assimilate fast into their culture. America is a nation built by immigrants who received different treatment depending on their origins. WASPs were the settlers and had privilege in all aspects of life. Immigrants were needed to populate the lands that was captured from the native populations in America since Britain limited immigration to the US. Immigration policy in Britain changed the US immigration policy by making it more liberal. The arrival of non-British groups led to xenophobia. A racial hierarchy soon formed with WASP above all other groups. The need for more people led to indentured servants who paid their transportation by giving seven years of labor. The result of the importation of slaves was the transition from an agricultural to industrial economy. The development of textile factors and manufacturing brought in a large influx of immigrants. Economics, race, and employment soon became connected (Steinberg, 1981). Once Slavery was ended, blacks remained in lower end in the racial and economic hierarchy. Majority of blacks migrated to find better economic and to escape racism in the south. Black women remained in the unskilled sector and most worked as domestic servants. However, it was competition within the domestic service sector
It wasn’t easy being an African American, back then they had to fight in order to achieve where they are today, from slavery and discrimination, there was a very slim chance of hope for freedom or even citizenship. This longing for hope began to shift around the 1950’s. During the Civil Rights Movement, where discrimination still took place, it was the time when African Americans started to defend their rights and honor to become freemen like every other citizen of the United States. African Americans were beginning to gain recognition after the 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868, which declared all people born natural in the United States and included the slaves that were previously declared free. However, this didn’t prevent the people from disputing against the constitutional law, especially the people in the South who continued to retaliate against African Americans and the idea of integration in white schools....