African American Education Dbq

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Recommended: Slavery in Southern America during 1800-1850

In the history of African Americans in the United States, the year 1863 marks an important start for change. “The Peculiar Institution” of slavery has been in the United States for years at this point in history and African Americans have been incapacitated with no real chance to advance in society. But with the arrival of the Republican candidate, Abraham Lincoln, came a burst of chaos brewing within this institution. However, before he was even elected, colonies such as South Carolina, decided to secede from the Union, ultimately leading the Civil War, between the Union and the Confederacy. As president, Lincoln's goal was to preserve the Union and after a couple of years of the war not seeming to head anywhere, Lincoln issued the Emancipation …show more content…

But as time progressed, things were done in order to attempt to change this. For example, the Freedman's Bureau was a federal government agency that helped African Americans get their help they needed, with things such as implementing over 3,000 schools for them. This change continued with the passing of the 14th Amendment being passed, making any person born in the United States a citizen with the state not having any power to deny citizens equal protection of the law. There is then the 15th Amendment being passed as well which made the right to vote not being denied based on race, color and previous state of servitude. Change for the African American community seems hopeful with even an African American being in the Senate for the first time, that being Hiram Revels. However, this change really goes away over the years. With the Compromise of 1877 being issued after Republican Rutherford B. Hayes wins a contested election, there is a removal of federal troops from the South. This removal allowed the South to be a bit more flexible with the way things were run politically, resulting in things such as poll tax being issued, as well as literacy tests to keep African Americans from voting. It even went to the extreme with people such as Senator Ben Tillman saying, “We do our best to keep negroes from voting. The best way to keep a negro from voting is visiting …show more content…

After the Emancipation Proclamation comes into effect, there is a document called Sherman’s Field Order, No. 15 that gave the now former slaves land from their old plantations with 40 acres and a mule. This in a sense allowed the African Americans to get a start in trying to make something with their lives and move on from the shackles of slavery. However, not too long after they were passed, President Andrew Johnson removes the field order, really killing any chance of African Americans being able to advance economically in the United States. This continued with African Americans being held in prison at times if they weren't employed, preventing them from getting a job and starting up a life for themselves. Then, there were slave owners that made use of the naive mindset of the former slaves by asking them to stay on their plantation for a wage and this was known as share sharecropping. However, the way this sharecropping worked was that the owners offered a certain amount of wage for the job the slaves were doing, and then ask for payments for things such as rent for staying at their home, rent for tools, payment for clothing, food and other necessities that they would need to survive about equal or more than the amount they made. Therefore, although they were technically employed, the money they were receiving never really went to them and they found themselves in wage slavery.

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